Health and Diet Scottish Recipes Ferret for Ferrets


RE: [pf] "Babbitt" by Sinclair Lewis
by Fitzsimmons, Diane
01 December 2000 16:02 UTC

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It's been at least 20 years since I read "Babbitt," but, as I recall, it was
the story of a businessman who never learned to stop and smell the roses,
who allowed himself to be corrupted by materialism and hypocrisy -- a common
theme in Lewis' works (I read about all of them in my 20s) and many other
writers of that time.

At one time, "Babbitt" (the word, not the title) was a synonym for that kind
of person, a puffed-up, materialistic businessman who took advantage of
others.

I've never heard of Babbitt used as a synonym of blue-collar workers or
other "wage slaves."  I have heard of Babbitt used as a criticism of people
who put the acquisition of money first in their lives.

Diane Fitzsimmons
Norman, Okla.