Materialistic Values, Hypocrisy And Treachery

Sinclair Lewis (1885-1951), a famous writer, the first American winner of Nobel Prize for Literature, writes the novel Babbitt (1922) that is regarded as his masterpiece to reveal American commercial culture in the early 1920's with the description of the commercial life of Babbitt who as a representative of businessman embodies the avarice, selfishness, decay and depravation of American commercial world. Many literary critics have studied Babbitt from the angles of its making process, themes and satirical arts etc. This thesis analyzes the commercial culture in Babbitt and its influence on American politics, economy and social customs from the perspectives of the transforming process of businessmen and the commercial ideas.It consists of six chapters.Chapter 1 introduces Sinclair Lewis and Babbitt, and presents the literary review of the studies on Babbitt.Chapter 2 briefly introduces the definitions of culture and commercial culture, and analyzes historical, religious and philosophical factors related with American commerce. In addition, it expounds the setting of American society and commerce in the 1920's.Chapter 3 analyzes the businessmen who are the main part of commercial culture. By analyzing this novel, it is found that businessmen who have experienced a transforming process in a diachronic way can be classified into three categories. Babbitt, as the model of the successfully-transformed businessman, having experienced the ages of commercial exploration and rebellion, comes to the age of commercial maturity finally. The poet Frink and the pastor Drew etc. representing those transforming businessmen collude with other businessmen in commercial activities for the pursuit of profits. Paul as the representative of the abortively-transformed businessman cannot endure the pressure brought by commercial society and thus ends his commercial life by extremely degenerated and self-destructive ways. Chapter 4-expounds the commercial ideas in the novel that are the main contents of the commercial culture. From the angles of the narrative scenes, the daily activities and the thinking patterns of the characters in the novel, it is found that under the influence of materialistic values, people have overwhelming desires to possess profits and fame. Lured by huge profits, businessmen who are more possessive in commercial field collude with masters of power by hypocritical and treacherous means with the aim of obtaining advantages in-commercial competition. Meanwhile businessmen stimulate consumption by designing exaggerated advertisements and utilizing personal vanity.Chapter 5 explores the influence of the commercial culture in Babbitt on American society. To some extent, the prosperity of commerce causes the conservatism in politics, the prevalence of exaggerated consumption, and the fake prosperity in economy, which constitute part of reason for the Great Depression of America in 1929.Chapter 6 is the conclusion. The uniqueness of Babbitt is that it appropriately grasps the commercial spirit in the transforming period, vividly portrays the images of businessmen, and describes the authentic details to present the supremacy of the materialistic values. Meanwhile it reveals the spiritual emptiness, hypocrisy and treachery of American commercial culture.