Idealism in the novels of Sinclair Lewis.

Throughout his literary career Sinclair Lewis displayed idealism in his novels, though, with the exception of Arrowsmith, he became more realistic as he grew older. To trace his idealism, one may divide his literary career into three periods suggested by Geoffrey Moore in his essay "Sinclair Lewis: A Lost Romantic": the period of the young Lewis (from Our Mr. Wrenn to Free Air), the period of the middle-aged Lewis (from Main Street to The Man Who Knew Coolidge), and the period of the old Lewis (from Dodsworth to World So Wide). The five novels of the early period perhaps represent the high point of Lewis's romanticism. The protagonists, with the exception of Hawk Ericson (The Trail of the Hawk), remain romantic idealists for a while. Failing to reach their ideals, they settle for something else and move from a world of ideals to a world of reality. Most of the protagonists of the second period also learn that they cannot obtain the ideal. Carol Kennicott, for example, would like to reform Gopher Prairie and make it her ideal small town. Learning that hypocrisy and narrow-mindedness are not limited to the small town, she settles for life in Gopher Prairie as it is. Characters such as Babbitt and Ralph Prescott (Mantrap) try to escape the real world. Babbitt feels guilty after having a brief affair; Ralph finds hardships rather than romance when he vacations in Canada. Both return to the world of reality. Arrowsmith does reach his goal, the opportunity to do pure research, but he must leave society by retreating to the woods to do so. Though Elmer Gantry becomes a successful minister, Lewis perhaps is satirizing a society that would allow such a hypocrite as Elmer to reach his goal. Too, Lewis likely is saying that success in work is a realistic goal; conversely, trying to reform a town on one's own is not. The protagonists of the last period have more realistic goals than the heroes and heroines of the earlier periods. Here the goal often seems to be success in work. Bethel Merriday, for example, wishes to become an actress; she does reach her goal. Aaron Gadd (The God-Seeker) thinks at first that the ideal is a career as a missionary. After seeing hypocrisy in religion, he becomes a successful contractor. Myron Weagle (Work of Art), realizing that he will not be able to obtain the perfect hotel, decides to operate a tourist court. Though he cannot have the ideal, he can make a living for his family. For the most part, then, the idealists of the third period do settle for something else; they live in a world of ideals for a while, but eventually they return to a world of reality. An idealist who refuses to be realistic will meet defeat. Thus, Neil Kingsblood (Kingsblood Royal), announcing to the town that he is part Negro, is idealistic enough to think that the townspeople will accept him; they do not. Indeed, Lewis uses a similar pattern in most of his novels. The protagonist tries to find the ideal; but he realizes that the ideal is an impossibility, and he settles for something else. In going from a world of ideals to a world of reality, the protagonist learns that he can be happy, but only if he settles for second best. Happiness to Lewis is something that almost everyone can have, but only if he realizes that compromise often is necessary.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Doctoral

Grantor

Baylor University.

Year dc:date.issued

1973

Author dc:creator

• Mayer, Gary Howard, 1941-

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Long, E. Hudson (Eugene Hudson), 1908-1990.

• Lewis, Sinclair, 1885-1951.
• Idealism in literature.

Statement dc:rights

• Baylor University works are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. Contact libraryquestions@baylor.edu for inquiries about permission.

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/2104/14570

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:baylor-ir.tdl.org:2104/14570