Zenith's Flawed System
The flavor of America during the economic boom of the 1920’s is captured within the setting of Sinclair Lewis’s Babbitt. The initial view of Zenith, an American Midwestern city, is one of prosperity and newness. It is a city that is fully worthy of its name, which means “highest point.” It epitomizes twentieth century industrialized America with its modern conveniences, manufacturing plants, progression for science and engineering, and success-hungry Americans. Zenith worships the false gods of the business world: its automobiles, factories, and modern skyline. Lewis exemplifies this premise through the protagonist, George Babbitt, “That’s one lovely sight!’…but he was inspired by the rhythm of the city…beheld the tower as a temple-spire of the religion of business, a faith passionate, exalted, surpassing common man” (p.13). As Lewis takes the reader inside the middle-class Zenith residence of realtor, George Babbitt, it becomes apparent that a life fraught with discontentment exists within this sleek modern appearance. A close look reveals a depressing sameness and a demoralizing competition for social status. Without question, the city of Zenith is filled with flaws, and its inhabitants adhere to a mora
Though Babbitt and his friends perceive themselves, as highly respectable businessman of Zenith, their lives are empty and shallow. They crave the friendship of those who travel to Rome, not for its culture and enrichment, but rather to frequent, “a little trattoria on the Via della Scrofa where you get the best fettuccine in the world” (p. 204). They are required, as is any decent man in Zenith, to “belong to one, preferably two or three, of the innumerous ‘lodges’ and prosperity-boosting lunch-clubs…[where they] can shoot pool and talk man-talk and be obscene and valiant” (pp. 210-211). Blinded by an obsession for social status, the inhabitants of Zenith have ultimately manufactured a hypocritical way of life. They are forced to conform to a value system, which is flawed; therefore creating a community that exploits and oppresses its own citizens. l and value system, which is full of holes. The most blatant of Zenith’s flaws is the mirror-like similarity, which exists throughout. Downtown Zenith is no different than any other downtown in America, and though Babbitt’s living room, “observed the best Floral Heights standards,” it mirrored every other living room in Floral Heights: “Two out of every three houses in Floral Heights had before the fireplace a davenport, a mahogany table real or imitation, and a piano-lamp or a reading-lamp
Some topics in this essay:
George Babbitt,
Floral Heights,
Charley McKelvey,
Republican Party,
American Midwestern,
Americans Zenith,
Babbitts Zenith,
,
Presbyterian Church,
America Babbitt’s,
george babbitt,
social status,
middle class,
floral heights,
obsession social status,
furnace-man raked,
value system,
babbitt’s living,
upper class,
obsession social,
citizens zenith,
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Approximate Word count = 926
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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