An Analysis Of Romanticism In Main Street

Main Street is one of most famous works written by Sinclair Lewis who is the first American writer to win Noble Prize for Literature. As a great work, Main Street has a profound impact on readers. With the small town life in American Midwest as the background, the work reveals hypocrisy isolation, narrow mind and conservation of small towns through the beautiful and pure eyes of Carol. Through humorous metaphor, detailed descriptions and comparisons, the author reflects the social defects like utilitarianism, materialism, fetishism, cultural limitations, narrow-minded conservation and blind arrogances. However, the whole work doesn’t depict the social reality negatively but positively, the Romantic ideas in the novel instead of realistic narration make the novel a great book.Romanticism renders us concept of artistic freedom whose highest significance is integrity, sincerity and willingness to devote oneself to ideals, sacrificing all for some worth. The result of romanticism is liberalism, tolerance, decency and understanding of imperfect life. It is an enhancement of rational self-understanding. Therefore it is not difficult to understand the romanticism presented by the author.The paper is divided into five parts:The first part gives the introduction of Sinclair Lewis and his Main Street, together with the researches on this work at home and abroad. The second part elaborates the definition of Romanticism, the development of Romanticism in literature and Romantic stage in English and American literature. The third part shows the Romanticism contained in the natural and humanistic landscapes. In the novel the prairie represents dream and sunshine signified hope. Then, by the comparison between utopian town and reality, and the description of the town from clean to muddy, the work reflects the difficulty of realizing dreams. The fourth part analyzes the romantic ideas characterization and ideology from Romantic perspective. It shows the continuous efforts of the heroine Carol to realize her dreams, which is positive romanticism. And from the negative Romanticism point, on the other hand, Sinclair depicts the villagers who are content with their present situation and give up their dreams because of the reality, which is negative Romanticism. The last part is the conclusion. Through the embodiment of Romanticism in natural landscape, humanistic landscape and characters, Main Street can be read as not only a work of realism but that of Romanticism.