An Analysis Of Babbitt From The Perspective Of Consumerism

Sinclair Lewis is the first American novelist who won the Nobel Prize for Literature.His novel Babbitt is regarded as his masterpiece,and it describes the commercial life of the protagonist Babbitt,who is struggling to show his ascendancy.While pursuing and enjoying the rich and affluent life,Babbitt occasionally feels restless,dissatisfied and regretful because consumption actually becomes a new symbol of social value and status recognition.In order to improve his status and gain more wealth,Babbitt manages to gain fortunes unscrupulously.Inevitably,he falls into the trap of consumerism.Fortunately,Lewis points out some solutions at the end of the novel,which are also quite meaningful today.Jean Baudrillard’s theory in The Consumer Society provides new possibilities for the interpretation of the sign value in Babbitt,guides readers to evaluate the conspicuous consumption,the overwhelming advertisement,and the great influence of consumerism in the novel.Therefore,this dissertation intends to analyze the manifestation and influence of consumerism in Babbitt from the perspective of Jean Baudrillard’s consumer theory,which aims at making up for the lack of previous studies.Meanwhile,this dissertation is also designed to explore the survival strategies of protagonist with the theory of Abraham Maslow in order to display Sinclair Lewis’ super-normal foresight and strong cognition.The first part not only contains the introduction to Sinclair Lewis and Babbitt,as well as literature review,but also establishes the theoretical framework for the dissertation.The second part focuses on the analysis of manifestation of consumerism in Babbitt.For one thing,conspicuous consumption is regarded as a mark of self-identity,such as beautiful mansion,glamorous automobile and advanced electronics.For another,mass media make great contribution to stimulating consumption,including sales-pulling letters,advertisements and modern merchandising.The third part deals with the influence of consumerism in Babbitt.One result indicates obsession with climbing social ladders,the other result shows spiritual dilemma.Both of them unveil the negative effects of excessive consumption.The fourth part is mainly on the analysis of survival strategies which Sinclair Lewis wants to convey.At the same time,the thesis combines Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy ofneeds theory to explore how the protagonist,Babbitt,gets rid of his spiritual dilemma.To conclude,Sinclair Lewis’ ways out are appropriate even today,during which the consumerism has been increasingly growing.Only the spiritual pursuit can set people free from the heavy shackles of signs consumption.The practical and meaningful solutions from Sinclair Lewis decide that he can be considered as one of the forerunners in perceiving consumerism,and he has super cognition and foresight.