To The Lost Idealism

Sinclair Lewis is the first winner of Nobel Prize in American literature. Thisaward indicates that American literature has been accepted and recognized by theworld literature and it also symbolizes that the American writing style has beenacknowledged by the world literature. It is the work Main Street that helps SinclairLewis win this award. In1920s, he published five works successively, among which,Main Street is the starting point of his success in his literature and has beenrepublished for28times and is called “the most sensational event in the twentiethcentury American publishing history”(Schorer,1961:322).From the perspective of Social and Historical Criticism, the thesis conducts adeep analysis of Carol’s idealism in the novel of Main Street and the thesis appliesthe core concepts of Social and Historical Criticism into spelling out the formation,the development and the disillusionment of Carol’s idealism. Social and HistoricalCriticism means that literary works are the reflection of social and historical life andcreated under some certain social and historical surroundings. The formation ofCarol’s idealism is closely related to the women’s movement for suffrage at that timeand Carol is the spokeswoman of this movement. The novel begins with a traditionalAmerican midwestern town called Gopher Prairie which is ugly, shabby,conservative and the descriptions about the small town destroy people’s original ideaabout the peaceful and friendly life in the small town. Carol is full of vigor,confidence and idealism to devote herself to changing the small town but she failsand feels depressed and has to leave the small town. Although she returns to GopherPrairie, she is still bewildered and confused about her future life. This is exactly thereal reflection of the Lost Generation who are also at a loss about their future. Fromthe perspective of Social and Historical Criticism, the thesis demonstrates the formation and development of Carol’s idealism. Similarly, the thesis demonstratesthat Carol’s idealism exerts great influence on the American social environment andthe traditional values, helping readers have a better understanding of Carol’sidealism.