Sinclair Lewis
Sinclair Lewis was one of the greatest American authors from the 1920s to the 1930s. Lewis’ early novels failed to bring him fame and success but that later changed when these novels came along. His successes in the novels Babbitt and Main Street shot him up to commercial fame. Lewis was a great American novelist and writer. Lewis wrote novels, poems, and even short stories. His works redefined and brought to light many issues in America that were thought to be normal and just but were not at the time. These issues include social norms, equality, and everyday life. That was what he primarily wrote about He was the first American author to win the Nobel Prize in 1930. Sinclair Lewis had a very positive influence on society because of his Nobel Prize in literature and his portrayal of the rich and the poor. His childhood and his adolescence also molded him to become what he was.
To understand how Sinclair Lewis has become a positive influence on society, we/first have to look at his childhood and early adulthood. It is simple to say that Sinclair Lewis had a rough childhood. His father was a very strict man and he did not care much for his son Sinclair. His mother also died when Sinclair was merely six years old. When he was in Oberlin College he developed a religious background but soon became an atheist after college. After college Lewis worked as a reporter and made short stories at the local newspaper. The first five novels Lewis wrote were unsuccessful and he lost money on all of them. Nevertheless Lewis pushed on and tried his luck at his next work. This novel was called Main Street and it was one of his most famous. Main Street was a huge hit with the public. Books were flying off the shelves and millions of c...
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... much human conflict and evil in the world. He concludes from one of his most famous novels that we have already conquered the earth and that we can gain nothing more from it except for violence. Because of this reason Lewis says that we should learn stop the wars and politics and just work together to make this world a better place.
I hate your city. It has standardized all the beauty out of life. It is one big railroad station with all the people taking tickets for the best cemeteries.(Sinclair Lewis Babbitt)
Sinclair Lewis had a very positive impact on society through his many novels, short stories, and articles. His books gave a satiric look at our society and America as a whole through his many novels such as Babbit, Main Street, and Arrowsmith. He pointed out what is morally wrong with society and how we need to initiate action to make a serious difference.
Upton Sinclair was born in Baltimore, Maryland on September 20th 1978. Sinclair grew up in a broken household; his father was an alcohol salesman and killed himself drinking. While his mother would not even think about drinking alcohol. So these personalities naturally clashed. So Sinclair found some solace in books, Sinclair was a natural writer and he began publishing at the young age of fifteen years old. Sinclair started off going to school at a small college by the name of New York City College. This was just temporary as Sinclair would need time and money to move higher up to a form of better education. So as a result Sinclair took the initiative and he started writing columns on ethnic jokes and hack fiction for small magazines in New York. The money he earned writing these columns allowed him to completely pay for New York City College, and eventually enroll to attend Columbia University. Sinclair worked as hard as he possibly could to get into Columbia University and he was going to do the absolute best he could while he was attending the University. Since Sinclair needed ex...
As Lewis said in one of his greatest works, The Last Battle, “All find what they
... middle of paper ... ... But more than anything, I believe, his contribution to society has been his legacy of service to others and the commitment to social justice for communities fighting against inequalities. References Ferris, Susan & Sandoval, Ricardo (1998).
Sinclair Lewis' Babbitt portrayed a man bent on following his political party; his actions seemingly followed that religiously, and today's version of the Republican Party is proof that we are not too far off from Lewis' version, despite the expanse of time. George Babbitt, the main character in Lewis' novel, viewed the world in the eyes of a businessman. He saw immigrants as a waste to society, business and the means to survive, and the ability to own the latest and greatest inventions as top priorities in his life. One must, in the 1920s and well as in today's world, set themselves in a political affiliation, generally one that describes the person and how he is. To Babbitt, the Republican Party held the most appeal, arguing that even the contents of his pockets "were of eternal importance, like baseball and the Republican Party" (Lewis 9).
Employment is hard to find and hard to keep and a job isn’t always what one hoped for. Sometimes jobs do not sufficiently support our lifestyles, and all too frequently we’re convinced that our boss’s real job is to make us miserable. However, every now and then there are reprieves such as company holiday parties or bonuses, raises, promotions and even a half hour or hour to eat lunch that allows escape from monotonous workloads. Aside from our complaints, employment today for majority of American’s isn’t totally dreadful, and there always lies opportunity for promotion. American’s did not always experience this reality in their work places though, and not long past are days of abysmal and disgusting work conditions. In 1906 Upton Sinclair’s “The Jungle” was published. His novel drastically transformed the way Americans felt about the unmitigated power corporations wielded in the ‘free’ market economy that was heavily propagandized at the turn of the century. Corporations do not have the same unscrupulous practices today because of actions taken by former President Theodore Roosevelt who felt deeply impacted by Sinclair’s famous novel. Back in early 1900’s in the meatpacking plants of Chicago the incarnation of greed ruled over the working man and dictated his role as a simple cog within an enormous insatiable industrial machine. Executives of the 1900’s meatpacking industry in Chicago, IL, conspired to work men to death, obliterate worker’s unions and lie to American citizens about what they were actually consuming in order to simply acquire more money.
Sinclair stated that “the animals’ faith emphasized [his] views of how industry treats humankind” (Sinclair 8). Machinery was more important and valuable than the human life, especially the life of an immigrant worker with no rights and freedoms. The author concluded that society was the jungle where people had to work hard in order to survive and escape the challenges of their living. Continuous struggle was needed to maintain the challenges and problems of people’s everyday life enabling them to maintain control over their life and to get the current opportunities. Exploitation of immigrants was another important problem covered in the book promoting specific changes in society. In conclusion, Sinclair made a very convincing argument and his writing was so influential it prompted government action.
Sinclair Lewis’s novel, Babbitt, details the life of the titular character, Babbitt, who finds discontent with his life but is unable to change it. Lewis uses this character to satirize 1920s the American lifestyle by highlighting the hypocrisy and hollowness of Babbitt’s life.
Douglass endured a brutal life as he was born into slavery, a major disadvantage, which challenged him to transform not only his own life but the lives of others so that they would not have to experience the torturous life as a slave. Douglass was betrayed by his family as they dropped him off at a plantation because they could not take care of him (PBS N.P.). His brutal life as a slave was compounded by the fact that his parents only gave him one thing in life, a white master. This tragic event allowed Douglass to put immense passion and emotion into his writing. He was not only writing to degrade the slave ridden society but to make a name for himself because he had no family to rely upon. His contributions to literature were immeasurable as he wrote from a perspective that had never been investigated. He added to the Southern culture accurate events that happened and the true life of a slave that historians later picked up. He taught himself how to read and write so his form was completely unique and personal (D...
... very good ending. The last few chapters are where Sinclair was just trying to quickly pack in his underlying message. In my mind, I thought “What next? Are we to hope that Chicago became socialist and workers were treated justly?” If Sinclair wanted to successfully promote Socialism, it would have been better to describe Jurgis’s life after becoming a socialist and the resulting benefits.
The Narrative of Frederick Douglass has had a profound impact on the abolitionist movement. It is believed that because Douglass was brave enough to write a story about his life and how it was affected by slavery and all the things that he went through, other slaves were able to find the strength to stand up for themselves as well. If Douglass had not done the things he had done, other slaves would not have gained the strength and the courage to stand up for their rights and there is a possibility slavery would still be around today. Douglass' book still remains relative today because it is a true story about the struggles, trials, and tribulations that were dealt with by slaves all over the country. Society may not have known what was going on if not for his bravery.
Frederick Douglass is well known for many of his literary achievements. He is best known, now, as a writer. "As a writer, Frederick Douglass shined. As a speaker, he was the best. There was no abolitionist, black or white, that was more for his speaking skills." (McFeely, 206)
The impact that these two individuals have had on our society has shaped our world to be a better and more fascinating place. They presented to us new concepts of writing along with, intricate ways to communicate their ideas with their audience. Edgar Allan Poe’s Gothic style of writing established a whole new view of how literature was viewed and received the attention from readers across the world. Mark Twain had a very light-hearted approach when he wrote his humoristic masterpieces. These authors left an enormous impression in the literary world that is still prevalent in literature today.
Although he made great points what stood out in particular was when Mr. Lewis stated,
London was an extremely publicized person in his day and used the media attention to his advantage. His strong support of Socialism, women’s suffrage and prohibition were often hot topics in his dealing with the press. He was also one of the first writers who worked closely with the movie industry, and had a good number of his novels made into movies. His first novel The Sea Wolf became the basis for the first full-length American movie. London was also one of the first celebrities to use his endorsement for commercial products in advertising.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was a man known for his classic writings, early career, and being a great figure to the American people. Longfellow was recognized because of his great writing skills and for being very focused, which helped him keep a straight mind on his writings. Longfellow still leaves an impact on the American people today. Most everyone has heard of who he is and thinks highly of what he achieved in his life and career. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was an American poetic hero that influenced the lives of mostly everyone who read his writings because they were so patriotically and realistically written. Longfellow was a man that will never be forgotten in the American culture.