It would be easy to assume that author Sinclair Lewis shared nothing in common with Henry David Thoreau. At first glance, Lewis’s popular satirical novel Babbitt would appear to be a completely different work from Thoreau’s philosophical classic Walden, uninspired by and possibly even disputing Thoreauvian principles. Upon closer inspection, however, it can be seen that both touch upon the same ideas. The two writers express concern over various secular issues, speaking about the life of the individual and that person’s place in society. Should he conform or rebel? Should he live simply or under the rule of material wealth? Through these conflicting issues, the links between American writers Lewis and Thoreau are even clearer. Even though offering opposing ideas on the various aspects of earthly life, the two literary classics visibly share a common concern for the functions of society, and it is evident that Sinclair Lewis, in his satirical voice, actually viewed the work of Thoreau with the utmost respect.

Lewis’s character of George Babbitt and Henry David Thoreau actually represent opposite extremes of an individual living in

The matter of money falls along the same lines in both books as that of possessions. Although Thoreau states that money is needed to pay for some of the things that are needed in life like items to build a simple house, money is not needed in large quantities. What use does a person have for money in the ideal lifestyle that Thoreau describes? The less money a person spends on the essentials of life, food, shelter, and fuel, the less work that person will have to do to earn that money back to get out of debt, which allows that person to have more time to do what he or she enjoys most. Thoreau also mocks those who spend their youth making as much money as possible so that they could retire and live comfortably during their “golden years” by calling them silly. He thoroughly believes that a man should live during all times of life. Babbitt is always talking about money and about others’ money. He is concerned about how much he is making as a real estate agent and compares those figures to the amount of money other characters make in a year, like McKelvey, or he thinks about how much he could have made as a lawyer or some other well-paid profession.

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