Sinclair Lewis, the author of Babbitt, devised several key literary elements
to explain his full effect and purpose for writing his novel. Babbitt is a
satirist look at not only one man, but an entire society as well. He exposes
the hypocrisy and mechanization of American Society in the 1920's. In the
novel Lewis focuses on his main character Babbitt, the protagonist throughout
much of the book, who is a businessman with lofty aims and a desire to climb
the ladder of the social class. To fully achieve his opinions and beliefs,
Lewis used the literary effects of irony and theme.
The novel begins in the 1920, a decade that had started in economic boom
and avid consumerism, only to end in crash and depression. This was a
parallel used by Lewis to illustrate the theme of the story. Lewis was
trying to show that materialism and shallow attitudes of the middle class of
America in the 1920's. Lewis blatantly criticizes his own characters to
get his point across. Here Lewis writes, "He hadn't any satisfaction in the
new water cooler! And it was the very best of water coolers, up to date,
scientific, and right thinking. It had cost of great deal of money (in
itself a virtue.)" Pg 31. This quote reflects Babbitt's excitement about
material items and how those items mirror his position in society. Babbitt's
morals and values were full of holes, which is what Lewis wanted to point
out. He had chosen to satirize Babbitt as living in a fairytale world,
oblivious to what was really going on around him.
Irony is very strong and evident throughout the story. Since Babbitt is
the ultimate conformist, he must uphold his own beliefs and values even
though they are shallow and transparent. He spends his life trying to relate
to the "status quo" and put himself on a pedestal. Buying only the very best
material items and throwing dinner parties are only a few of the ways Babbitt
tried to accomplish a more noteworthy place in society and impress his peers.
However, at the end of the story, the irony is no more evident when Babbitt
admits to his son that he has wasted his life. He confides in his Ted that
he has ruined his life shooting for goals which, in Babbitts lifetime, are
realistically unattainable. He tells Ted that hopefully, the new generation,
Ted's generation, can recover from Babbitts ill fated dreams, and lead their
own lives the way they choose to. Here George Babbitt says to his son, "Take
your factory job if you want to. Don't be scared of the family. No, nor all
of Zenith. Nor of yourself, the way I've been. Go ahead, old man! The
world is yours." Pg 326
Sinclair Lewis achieved the full effect in which he was aiming
at. He showed the tragic downfall of a generation too consumed in their own
egos to ever realize what was going on around them. The effect of Babbitt
made the public realize what the American Middle Class was like in the 1920's
and how they eventually lost everything.