An Analysis on the Cause of Babbitt’s Failure in Rebellion

艾亚平

【Abstract】Sinclair Lewis is the first American writer who won Nobel Prize in Literature and Babbitt is considered to be his magnum opus. Babbitt is also the protagonists name in this book. As a rich merchant who lived in America over the 1920s， Babbitt was tired of his monotonous life. So he began to do a series of rebel activities， but his rebellion failed at last. The thesis analyses the cause of failure in his rebellion from two aspects： internal cause and external cause.

【Key words】Babbitt； failure； rebellion

Introduction

The protagonist George F. Babbitt， 46 years old， was a real estate broker in Zenith. Due to the economic security and social reception， everyone in Zenith feared that he was different with others and were compelled to be consistent with community standards. As a member of them， Babbitt was tired of his monotonous life and tried to get rid of it. He attempted to look for a real life. So he left home to roam and took a series of rebel activities. He even picked up revolutionary mood. However his behavior was reproached and he could not get rid of external pressure. So he had to go back to the original life. The thesis analyses the cause of failure in his rebellion from two aspects： the weakness in Babbitts character which was internal cause and the social and environmental factors which were the external cause.

I. The weakness in Babbitts character

The failure of Babbitts rebellion had a lot to do with his character weakness. As a member of middle class， it was impossible for Babbitt to abandon all his existing high position and great wealth and break with the flashy upper class. Babbitts degradation and falling was just his deep dissatisfaction and negative revenge for the cruel reality. Because of his rebellion， the business was deteriorating day by day； all his friends deliberately avoided him； even the typist lady left him suddenly and worked for his competitor. When all this happened， Babbitt was already walking with difficulty and besieged on all sides. He could not suffer from stress. Under that circumstance， he had no choice but to compromise with others and surrenders to standardization. In order to survive， he had no other way but to compromise and return to his friends and his virtuous and tolerant wife， becoming a standard citizen， husband， father and a businessman.

II. The social and environmental factors

The failure of Babbitts rebellion had a strong relationship with the environment where he lived in. Babbitts story happened in the first decade after World War I when America was in the boom years. At that time， American economy got a relatively stable and lasting development. And we all know that economic base determines the superstructure. Apart from the changes of social structure，American moral idea， value standard as well as lifestyle had changed too. Puritan lifestyle characterized by frugality， diligence and restraint had declined. Instead， capitalistic new lifestyle distinguished by speculation， hedonism and money worship rose. Indulging in pragmatism and obsessed with money， the whole society had a crazy competition for increasing treasure and achieving success. Utilitarianism had been all the rage； everyone seemed to be mammonist who was keen on making money and flaunting his fortune.

When people who used to this lifestyle left group living suddenly， they would lost sense of belonging. If one wanted to coordinated with surrounding and achieve success， he must follow the general trend. When Babbitt rebelled against orthodoxy， he experienced short freedom. But he felt fear and loneliness， so he came back to original life. One of the important reasons lay in the whole environment. In a sense， Babbitt had to follow standard and fixed social pattern so that he lost his personality and become a victim of social environment.

Conclusion

While we put sympathy to Babbitts unsuccessful rebellion， we inevitably observe our own life. Babbitt is a typical representative of the 1920s. In today's world， economy develops rapidly； there are middle-class businessmen emerging in large numbers. And there must be many people who have spiritual confusion like Babbitt. The development of economy brings not only superior material life but also the suffocating standardization. In this environment， people are full of contradictions. They want to rebel and escape but find that they have inseparable connection with this world. Lewis does not give ways to solve this problem， but he gives us a warning to try to harmonize the relationship between us and the society. Though it is tough， it is worth doing.

References：

[1]Lewis，Sinclair.Babbitt.New York：Bantam Books，1998.

[2]Rapson，Richard L.Individualism and Conformity in the American Character.Boston：D.C.Health and Company，1967.

[3]杨傲霜.试论巴比特成长失败的根源.北方文学旬刊，2012， （10）.