Sinclair Lewis And Satirical Art In American Literature

As the first American author to win the Nobel Prize for literature, Sinclair Lewis has been called the worst important writer in American literature. Although a man of a great talent, Lewis is, somehow, neglected and despised in the literary world. He is rarely, if even, taken seriously as an author deserves to be. Some writers regard him as a commercial writer; others simply refuse to treat him as a literary artist; and many, especially academic critics, frankly regret the decision of the Nobel Prize Committee to give him the award. However, Lewis may deserve better. He helps to discover "real America" and clear any vestiges of the genteel tradition out of the way so that a greater freedom both in technique and theme is ensured for the younger, rising generation. However Lewis is a distinguished satirist as well as realist. Something of this opinion is obviously behind the decision of the Swedish Academy to name Lewis in 1930 as the first American writer to receive the Nobel Prize. In choosing Lewis over Theodore Dreiser and other American writers, the Academy is most impressed by the typicality and representativeness of Lewis's fictional creations, and by the artistic and affirmative qualities in Lewis's work, as well as its more notorious satire and critical realism. These qualities have raised American literature to a place among the world's literature. And Babbitt is acknowledged as the apex of Lewis's achievement.Sinclair Lewis satirizes bourgeois materialism in Babbitt (1922), which is usually considered to be his masterpiece. The triumph of the novel consists in the creation of the central figure, George F. Babbitt. He is a realtor in Zenith, a city typifying the rapid commercial growth and the concern for large profit-making of the time. Babbitt's position as a middleman determines his dependence upon the upper class for advancement and he is often obliged to compromise. He triesdesperately to wedge himself into the ruling circle but does not succeed. Then he tries to spite convention by pursuing liberalism and sexual freedom, but is checked by the social leaders, who invite him to join the Good Citizens' League, While narrating Babbitt's daily activities, the author holds up to ridicule his materialistic standards, smug complacency and intellectual poverty, which characterize the class he represents. Lewis's probe does not stop there. He further reveals that, although Babbitt is noisily optimistic, he still suffers from a gnawing sense of unfulfillment. Finally he encourages his son to challenge the forces he himself has compromised with.The social significance of the novel lies in their satire on Babbittry, a word that has established itself in the English vocabulary to mean bourgeois provincial smugness. The American economy grew rapidly in the twenties after World War I. The former Midwest wilderness soon developed into a prosperous modern society. This gave rise to the self-satisfaction of the bourgeoisie, who reveled in nothing but material gains. Seeing this, Lewis used his pen to make a timely puncture in their complacency.Babbitt is a good illustration of Lewis's satirical methods. This paper tries to explore the value of Lewis's satirical art in his masterpiece Babbitt, based on a general study of satire and his achievements in the history of American literature. Babbitt continues to attract readers because it is a significant work of satire. It is stylistically distinguished. Lewis is a different satirist from others even though the greatest comic Mark Twain, who has given an important influence on him, was capable of withering satire. Lewis's best work, as represented by Babbitt, continues to occupy a distinctive place in American literary history.