Babbit Essay -- Essays Papers

Babbit The depressing tragedy known as Babbitt, by Lewis Sinclair, accurately portrays the convention of life in the 1920’s. Sinclair precisely evokes the conformity and orthodox life styles that shaped a growing culture. Man, in the 1920’s, is caught in a lifestyle where he is continually fed on what to think. Lewis cunningly explains the constraints of convention that plagued George Babbitt, and mocks society as a whole for its lack of liberal views. Babbitt throughout the novel seems to be trapped in a maze, and is told by â€Å"the machine† when to turn. Only when Babbitt revolts against conservative America does his life change, but the question is was it for the better? The economy is booming with success, and your wealth portrays ones position in society. George Babbitt is infatuated with having the latest â€Å"gadgets† and technology in his home, as is the rest of Middle-class America. Lewis portrays society as a group of self-centered people who must have the best of everything (sounds similar to our world today). Middle-class America is disturbingly the same to the last detail in the 1920’s. Life begins for Babbitt waking up to an unappreciative family, and a typical fake show of affection from his wife. Babbitt realizes his life is dull and mundane. Even the kiss from his wife is typical. Babbitt, like most men in the 1920’s, finds his home not as a haven but as a depressing reality of what his life has really become. Babbitt recognizes he is disgusted with his life, and that he doesn’t even love his wife. Only when Babbitt escapes his home does he find satisfaction. Babbitt is found in his community as a role mode l of every businessmen, even the mechanic at the gas station commends him for organization. Babbitt temporarily feels relief when freedom encompasses his life, but later in the novel Babbitt illustrates that even â€Å"business† is shaped by society. Just as business is shaped in Zenith, so are the women who live there. Women in the novel are accurately portrayed as they were in the 1920’s. Lewis presents two different scenarios in the novel, but both of these cases can follow the same mannerisms. First, Lewis depicts the loving housewife. Myra, Babbitt’s wife, continually comforts Babbitt throughout the whole novel. Myra even accepts the blame when Babbitt decides to cheat on her. Women are depicted throughout the novel as inferior when... ...e hand of social order is telling them this is â€Å"ok.† That is why liberal views in Zenith are so quickly extinguished. The superior class wants people to think that there always must be a lower class because that is the way God has planned it, which in retrospect sustains their rank as the higher class forever. It’s ironic that this idea is still relevant today. In conclusion, Babbitt’s revolt toward society had actually changed nothing. He went back to not loving his wife and continuing his job as a realtor. His popularity recovers from his era of revolt. Babbitt regains his place in the world by allowing society to influence his life. He stops fighting and this is the simple reason why his life is a tragedy. How does Babbitt analyze the successfulness of his life? He never took complete control and experienced freedom in any of his actions. He only valued the acceptance of others, rather than what was true to his heart. Babbitt life had no meaning, since he constantly let the constraints of society shape it. One must wonder if society in the 1920’s could have changed by reading this novel. This is not probable, considering that society is the same today as it was 80 years ago.

Once More

Read over something you've written with an eye for the devices you've used to connect the parts. Underline all the transitions, pointing terms, key terms, and repetition. Do you see any patterns? Do you rely on certain devices more than others? Are there any passages that are hard to follow-and if so, can you make them easier to ready by adding appropriate transitions or trying any of the other devices discussed In this chapter. Try revising your text to Include different ones. Pointing words help orient your reader and establish continuity wealth your writing.KEY POINTS use pointing words to help orient your readers. Plotting words point forward or backward to other sentences. Plotting words help to give your paragraphs continuity. Key terms a key term is a word that will be important on whatever subject you need to know, that involves a key term. You'll usually have to define a key term like in social studies a key term would be: Ideology so you would define it as: a set of beliefs and values. Key terms are Vocabulary that someone should know in order to understand the topic. Petition The writer is usually trying to express an emotion or a phrase. Just like in Robert Frost's poem â€Å"Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening† he repeats the last line â€Å"and miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep† to stress the extent of his journey and his exhaustion. In â€Å"the charge of the light brigade† repetition was most likely used to honor the men who died. By repeatedly stressing the number of men who fought and died for what they believe in they stress that they will not be easily forgotten.

Quotes From Civil Rights Icon Rosa Parks

Rosa Parks was a  civil rights activist, social reformer, and racial justice advocate.  Her arrest for refusing to give up her seat on a city bus triggered the 1965-1966 Montgomery bus boycott and became a turning point of the civil rights movement. Early Life, Work, and Marriage Parks was born Rosa McCauley in Tuskegee, Alabama, on Feb. 4, 1913. Her father, a carpenter, was James McCauley; her mother, Leona Edward McCauley, was a schoolteacher.  Her parents separated when Rosa was 2, and she moved with her mother to Pine Level, Alabama.  She became involved in the African Methodist Episcopal Church from early childhood. Parks, who as a child worked in the fields, took care of her younger brother and cleaned classrooms for school tuition.  She attended the Montgomery Industrial School for Girls and then the Alabama State Teachers College for Negroes, finishing 11th grade there. She married Raymond Parks, a self-educated man, in 1932 and at his urging completed high school.  Raymond Parks was active in civil rights, raising money for the legal defense of the Scottsboro boys, a case in which nine African-American boys were accused of raping two white women.  Rosa Parks began attending meetings with her husband about the cause. She worked as a seamstress, office clerk, domestic, and nurses assistant. She was employed for a time as a secretary on a military base, where segregation wasnt permitted, but she rode to and from work on segregated buses. NAACP Activism She joined the Montgomery, Alabama, NAACP chapter in December 1943, quickly becoming secretary.  She interviewed people around Alabama about their experience of discrimination and worked with the NAACP on registering voters and desegregating transportation. She was key in organizing the Committee for Equal Justice for Recy Taylor, a young African-American woman who had been raped by six white men. In the late 1940s, Parks participated in discussions within civil rights activists about desegregating transportation. In 1953, a boycott in Baton Rouge succeeded in that cause, and the Supreme Courts decision in  Brown v. Board of Education  led to hopefulness for change. Montgomery Bus Boycott On Dec. 1, 1955, Parks was riding a bus home from her job and sat in an empty section between the rows reserved for white passengers at the front and colored passengers at the back.  The bus filled up, and she and three other black passengers were expected to relinquish their seats because a white man was left standing. She refused to move when the bus driver approached them, and he called police.  Parks was arrested for violating Alabamas segregation laws. The black community mobilized a boycott of the bus system, which lasted for 381 days and resulted in the end of segregation on Montgomerys buses. In June 1956, a judge ruled that bus transportation within a state couldnt be segregated. The U.S. Supreme Court later that year affirmed the ruling. The boycott brought national attention to the civil rights cause and to a young minister, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. After the Boycott Parks and her husband lost their jobs for being involved in the boycott.  They moved to Detroit in August 1957 and continued their civil rights activism.  Rosa Parks went to the 1963 March on Washington, site of Kings I Have a Dream speech.  In 1964 she helped elect John Conyers of Michigan to Congress. She also marched from Selma to Montgomery in 1965. After Conyers election, Parks worked on his staff until 1988.  Raymond Parks died in 1977. In 1987, Parks founded a group to inspire and guide youth in social responsibility. She traveled and lectured often in the 1990s, reminding people of the history of the civil rights movement.  She came to be called the mother of the civil rights movement. She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1996 and the Congressional Gold Medal in 1999. Death and Legacy Parks continued her commitment to civil rights until her death, willingly serving as a symbol of the civil rights struggle. She died of natural causes on Oct. 24, 2005, at her Detroit home. She was 92.   After her death, she was the subject of almost a full week of tributes, including being the first woman and second African-American who has lain in honor at the Capitol Rotunda in Washington, D.C. Selected Quotations I believe we are here on the planet Earth to live, grow up, and do what we can to make this world a better place for all people to enjoy freedom.I would like to be known as a person who is concerned about freedom and equality and justice and prosperity for all people.Im tired of being treated like a second-class citizen.People always say that I didnt give up my seat because I was tired, but that isnt true. I was not tired physically, or no more tired than I usually was at the end of a working day. I was not old, although some people have an image of me as being old then. I was 42. No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in.I knew someone had to take the first step, and I made up my mind not to move.Our mistreatment was just not right, and I was tired of it.I didnt want to pay my fare and then go around the back door, because many times, even if you did that, you might not get on the bus at all. Theyd probably shut the door, drive off, and leave you standing there.At the time I was arrested I had no idea it would turn into this. It was just a day like any other day. The only thing that made it significant was that the masses of the people joined in.Each person must live their life as a model for others.I have learned over the years that when ones mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear.You must never be fearful about what you are doing when it is right.From the time I was a child, I tried to protest against disrespectful treatment.Memories of our lives, of our works and our deeds will continue in others.God has always given me the strength to say what is right.Racism is still with us. But it is up to us to prepare our children for what they have to meet, and, hopefully, we shall overcome.I do the very best I can to look ​upon life with optimism and hope and looking forward to a better day, but I dont think there is anything such as complete happiness. It pains me that there is still a lot of Klan activity and racism. I think when you say youre happy, you have everything that you need and everything that you want, and nothing more to wish for. I havent reached that stage yet.