Babbitt: Tarina Amerikkalaisesta Miehestä, Hänen Perheestään Ja Ainoasta Ystävyydestään
1922
Babbitt: Tarina Amerikkalaisesta Miehestä, Hänen Perheestään Ja Ainoasta Ystävyydestään
1922
Translated by Eino Voionmaa
Published in 1922, 'Babbitt' by Sinclair Lewis is a satirical novel that critiques American middle-class life and the pressures of conformity. The story follows George F. Babbitt, a middle-aged real estate salesman in the fictional city of Zenith, as he grapples with personal discontent and societal expectations. Through Babbitt's mundane existence and complex family dynamics, Lewis explores themes of modernity and the search for meaning in a consumer-driven society. The novel's impact was significant enough to influence Lewis's receipt of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1930.
Editions
X-Ray
“You're so earnest about morality that I hate to think how essentially immoral you must be underneath.””
— Sinclair Lewis
“Whatever the misery, he could not regain contentment with a world which, once doubted, became absurd.””
— Sinclair Lewis
“Thus it came to him merely to run away was folly, because he could never run away from himself.””
— Sinclair Lewis
“But I do know that about ten times as many people find their lives dull, and unnecessarily dull, as ever admit it; and I do believe that if we busted out and admitted it sometimes, instead of being nice and patient and loyal for sixty years, and then nice and patient and dead for the rest of eternity, why, maybe, possibly, we might make life more fun.””
— Sinclair Lewis
“You," Said Dr. Yavitch, "are a middle-road liberal, and you haven't the slightest idea what you want. I, being a revolutionist, know exactly what I want -- and what I want now is a drink.””
— Sinclair Lewis
“Well, if that’s what you call being at peace, for heaven’s sake just warn me before you go to war, will you?””
— Sinclair Lewis
“The men leaned back on their heels, put their hands in their trousers-pockets, and proclaimed their views with the booming profundity of a prosperous male repeating a thoroughly hackneyed statement about a matter of which he knows nothing whatever.””
— Sinclair Lewis
“The cocktail filled him with a whirling exhilaration behind which he was aware of devastating desires”
— Sinclair Lewis
“There’s no stronger bulwark of sound conservatism than the evangelical church, and no better place to make friends who’ll help you to gain your rightful place in the community than in your own church-home!””
— Sinclair Lewis
