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| Author | Sinclair Lewis |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Novel |
| Publisher | Penguin Classics |
| Publication date | 1920 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 448 pages |
| ISBN | NA |
Main Street is a satirical novel written by Sinclair Lewis, and published in 1920. Sinclair Lewis ( February 7, 1885 – January 10, 1951) was an American Novelist, Short-story writer and The United States of America —commonly referred to as the English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States A novel (from Italian novella, Spanish novela, French nouvelle for "new" "news" or "short story Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of Literature or Information &ndash the activity of making information available for public view Design Penguin Books have paid particular attention to the design of its books since recruiting German typographer Jan Tschichold A hardcover (or hardback or hardbound) is a Book bound with rigid protective covers (typically of cardboard covered with Cloth Paperback, softback, or softcover describe and refer to a Book by the nature of its binding. Sinclair Lewis ( February 7, 1885 – January 10, 1951) was an American Novelist, Short-story writer and Year 1920 ( MCMXX) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display 1920 of the Gregorian calendar The story is set in Gopher Prairie, Minnesota, a fictionalized version of Sauk Centre, Minnesota, Lewis' hometown. Gopher Prairie Minnesota is the fictional small-town setting of the Sinclair Lewis novel Main Street. Sauk Centre is a city in Stearns County, Minnesota, United States.
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Plot summary
Carol Milford is a liberal, free-spirited young woman, reared in the metropolis of Minneapolis. She marries Will Kennicott, a doctor, who is a small-town boy at heart.
When they marry, Will convinces her to live in his home-town of Gopher Prairie, Minnesota. Carol is appalled at the backwardness of Gopher Prairie. But her disdain for the town's physical ugliness and smug conservatism compels her to reform it.
She speaks with its members about progressive changes, joins women's clubs, distributes literature, and holds parties to liven up Gopher Prairie's inhabitants. Despite her friendly, but ineffective efforts, she is constantly derided by the leading cliques.
She finds comfort and companionship outside her social class. These companions are taken from her one by one.
In her unhappiness, Carol leaves her husband and moves for a time to Washington, D.C., but she eventually returns. Washington DC ( formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D Nevertheless, Carol does not feel defeated:
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- "I do not admit that Main Street is as beautiful as it should be! I do not admit that dish-washing is enough to satisfy all women!"
Carol is discontented with life in Gopher Prairie, but she finds that big city life also has disadvantages. In the end, she learns to settle with Gopher Prairie and accept it for what it is.
Major themes
Main Street is important for a number of reasons — among them is the portrayal of a strong female protagonist, and what one might now call feminist themes by a male writer. Feminism is a discourse that involves various movements theories, and Philosophies which are concerned with the issue of Gender difference, advocate
Literary significance & criticism
Critics have written that there is very little plot to the novel: description and satire take prominence over strong characterization and obvious action. Characters tend to be static; they are archetypes to display that these people in Gopher Prairie are the same as in "thousands of small towns from Albany to San Diego". Humor and veritable facsimiles of small town life and personas made Main Street a commercial success.
Readers' fascination with the portrayal of petty back-stabbers and hypocrites in a small town was also probably a factor in the novel's popularity. When the book was published, it was common to wish to live in a wholesome small town like Gopher Prairie--a notion hilariously denounced by Main Street's vicious realism and biting humor.
Though it was not expected to be extremely popular, in the first six months of 1921, Main Street sold 250,000 copies, becoming a major bestseller of its time. Year 1921 ( MCMXXI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1921 calendar of the Gregorian calendar
Some critics derided the novel's seeming lack of direction and endless description. Also, some of Lewis' contemporary writers and critics said the novel was too bleak, even humorless, in its conveyance of ignorant small-town life and people. However, Main Street is generally considered to be Lewis' most significant and endearing work, along with its 1922 successor Babbitt. Babbitt, first published in 1922, is a work of fiction by the American Novelist, Short-story writer and playwright Sinclair
Some small town residents resented their portrayal and the book was banned in nearby Alexandria, Minnesota. Alexandria is a city in and the County seat of Douglas County, Minnesota, United States.
Because of the popularity acquired by Lewis and his book, his hometown of Sauk Centre, Minnesota began to be call their high school teams the Main Streeters as early as the 1925-26 school year. Sauk Centre is a city in Stearns County, Minnesota, United States. This name was essentially given to the town by the nearby towns at school events. [1] The Sauk Centre High School still goes by the name in a tribute to Lewis.
Allusions/references to actual history, geography and current science
The novel takes place in the 1910s, with references to the start of World War I, the United States' entry into the war, and the years following the end of the war, including the start of Prohibition. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, also known as Noble Experiment, refers to a Sumptuary law which prohibits Alcohol
With the book published in 1920, Lewis could not have written about the roaring 20s or the Great Depression to follow, but his characters give voice to many of the social and cultural attitudes which would become significant in the years to come. Roaring Twenties is a phrase used to describe the 1920s principally in North America, that emphasizes the period's social artistic and cultural dynamism
Awards and nominations
Main Street was initially awarded the 1921 Pulitzer Prize for literature, but was rejected by the Board of Trustees, who overturned the jury's decision. The Pulitzer Prize, ˈpʊlɨtsɚ PULL-it-sər is an American award regarded as the highest national honor in Newspaper journalism, The prize went, instead, to Edith Wharton for The Age of Innocence. Edith Wharton ( January 24 1862 &ndash August 11 1937) was an American Novelist, Short story Writer The Age of Innocence (1920 is a novel by Edith Wharton, which won the 1921 Pulitzer Prize. In 1926 Lewis refused the Pulitzer when he was awarded it for Arrowsmith. Year 1926 ( MCMXXVI) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Arrowsmith is a Novel by American Author and Playwright Sinclair Lewis that was published in 1925
See also
- Main street - the iconic street in small town America. Main Street is the generic Street name (and often the official name of the primary retail street of a Village, Town, or small City
Notes
- ^ Gilbert, Rosalind: Our Century: Revisiting Sauk Centre, 2000. p77
External links
- Main Street, available at Project Gutenberg. Project Gutenberg, abbreviated as PG, is a volunteer effort to Digitize, archive and distribute Cultural works
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