Babbitt

Babbitt is a classic novel by the American novelist and playwright Sinclair Lewis, first published in 1922. It is a satire about American values, and its main theme is the power of conformity.

The book takes its name from the principal character, George Babbitt, a middle-aged real estate salesman. He lives a successful life professionally, but he is unhappy. He lives in a fictional Midwestern town called "Zenith," whose chief virtue is conformity and whose religion is boosterism. He gradually becomes disillusioned with his lifestyle and then rebels against it. However, he eventually finds himself too weak to do so, and lapses back into conformity by the end of the novel.

External link

• Notes from PinkMonkey.com
• Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis

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Other meanings:

• A babbitt is also a type of bearing. See Bearing (mechanical).
• Bruce Babbitt (born 1938) was United States Secretary of the Interior during the Clinton administration. See his article.
• Babbit is rumored to be the source word for Tolkien's hobbit.