In the fall of 1920 Sinclair Lewis began a novel set in a fastgrowing citywith the heart and mind of a small town. For the center of his cutting satireof Americ... » 

In the fall of 1920 Sinclair Lewis began a novel set in a fastgrowing citywith the heart and mind of a small town. For the center of his cutting satireof American business he created the bustling shallow and myopic George F.Babbitt the epitome of middleclass mediocrity. The novel cemented Lewissprominence as a social commentator. Babbitt basks in his pedestrian success andthe popularity it has brought him. He demands high moral standards from thosearound him while flirting with women and he yearns to have rich friends whileshunning those less fortunate than he. But Babbitts secure complacency isshattered when his best friend is sent to prison and he struggles to findmeaning in his hollow life. He revolts but finds that his former routine isnot so easily thrown over. «