Sinclair Lewis

Babbitt Sinclair Lewis

First published in 1922, Babbitt is set during the 1920s (the Jazz Age), the period in America following World War I that is considered especially materialistic and spiritually depraved. Politically, the country was charged with fear due to the communist revolution in Russia, with a burning mistrust of the "Reds." In this climate of doubt and paranoia, strikes and labor unrest seemed to pose a threat of Bolshevik conspiracy. The political rhetoric was thus polarized, and the growing mistrust extended beyond communists to foreigners and any individual with radical or progressive ideas. Not surprisingly, this environment of fear resulted in a widespread urge toward "normalcy" and intellectual standardization. In Babbitt, Lewis captures the political and personal unrest of the era, as well as the social rebellion at the heart of the Roaring Twenties. The characters include political extremists and those with overt mistrust of the opposite party (especially on the part of the conservatives). Seneca Doane, the novel's progressive liberal, is essentially blacklisted by influential society. Men like William Eathorne and Virgil Gunch view Doane as a communist threat, and when Babbitt suddenly defends Doane and liberal politics, these men are caught between complete disbelief and threatening mistrust.