Declare Books Supposing Babbitt
| Original Title: | Babbitt |
| ISBN: | 142640607X (ISBN13: 9781426406072) |
| Edition Language: | English |
Sinclair Lewis
Paperback | Pages: 348 pages Rating: 3.66 | 20774 Users | 1217 Reviews
Representaion To Books Babbitt
The Success of Failure Babbitt is perhaps the first comic novel of mid-life crisis. It shows Lewis at his most Dickens-like, creating prototypical American characters that live on in cultural mythology. The issue is this: How does an imperfect male human being, knowing his flaws only too well, make his way in an equally flawed society - without sacrificing either his own integrity or his ability to participate in that society? Lewis answer: Essentially he can't. Everything is irrational compromise. Plato's Socrates came to the same conclusion in the Republic. It is also the inevitability posed by Camus in his letters. It was the third century Christian theologian Tertullian who came up with the most precise formulation: Credo quia absurdum est, I believe in it because it is absurd. Babbitt's middle class American life is an absurdity. That he comes to terms with this absurdity is his, and our, only hope. Highly recommended as literary therapy during the reign of Donald Trump... or to understand where Philip Roth finds much of his inspiration.
Be Specific About Out Of Books Babbitt
| Title | : | Babbitt |
| Author | : | Sinclair Lewis |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Deluxe Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 348 pages |
| Published | : | May 29th 2008 by BiblioLife (first published 1922) |
| Categories | : | Fiction. Classics. Literature |
Rating Out Of Books Babbitt
Ratings: 3.66 From 20774 Users | 1217 ReviewsJudgment Out Of Books Babbitt
This is a love/hate thing. In Sinclair Lewiss previous novel Main Street there is more love than hate and in Babbitt its the other way round. He does hate George Babbitt for all his boorishness, his complacency, his wretched kneejerk reactionary rightwing politics, his pallid marriage, his blaring friends, his ridiculous slang, his stupid stupidity, but by the end, by the time George has been pulled through a couple of hedges backwards, you can see he loves him a bit too. This novel is about twoI just re-read Babbit after at least 45 years. I'm convinced that like Death of a Salesman, it can't be understood by younger readers. At least I didn't get it back then. I was surprised that this time around I found Babbit very sympathetic. After all, we all are Babbits to some extent. I was really rooting for him to become the town eccentric. As satire, Babbit works. As a "documentary" of post-war America it works. I found myself, however, mourning the death of American commercial culture, as
BABBITT is the devastatingly funny yet still endearing portrait of George Babbitt, a suburban real estate broker who is 46 in 1920. It's fascinating and disturbing when reading BABBITT to realize how little American business, American marriages, and American men have changed in the past 91 years. In 1920 gas cost 31 cents a gallon, liquor was illegal though in plentiful supply, and the internet had yet to be imagined, but George's emotional mix of bluster, bullying, babyish pouting, and his
Smart. Witty. Utterly satirical. If this is the kind of book you like, read this one. Even if you don't, read this one. Often when you read stellar books, the end lets you down. Not this one. From the first page to the last, Lewis succeeds in relaying the story of everyday America. Babbitt is an average upper middle to middle class businessman who suddenly realizes that he wants so much more. He was kind of waylaid into a marriage, away from career ambitions (no, not by pregnacy, but by
How I loved reading this book! The humoresque style in which it is told. It' a twenties story but actually very actual about a middleclass estate agent who is confronted with midlife crisis and something as a burnout. He wants to be popular, wants to do everything for it. His social staus is very important for him and his wife. But he climbs high and falls low and then understands that only self-relevation is the answer to life. The book never becomes dull. You have to laugh with Babbitt's
Clearly, Babbitt should be viewed as a criticism of conformity, consumerism and materialism. Tell me, today, is there anyone who would not support such criticism?! I have no complaint whatsoever with the message, although it is today no big news. To get the message across, readers must, however, spend time with George F. Babbitt, and time spent with him is not pleasant. This book led to the creation of a new wordbabbitt. A babbitt is defined as a materialistic, complacent, and conformist
Oh the pain of suburban ennui! It really and truly sucks when you do everything everyone always tells you will make you happy and then you realize that you're dissatisfied with the world. Poor Georgie Babbitt... or not.This is an early entry in the genre that has been driven into the ground by things like American Beauty, Norman Mailer's An American Dream and Bret Easton Ellis' American Psycho. Middle-aged realtor and pillar of the community, George Babbitt, is an up-and-comer. He says all the
0 Comments:
Post a Comment