1. Realism in nature and human nature as found in Main Street. 2. Reflection of the lives of the author and his father in the characters of Carol and Dr. Kennicott. 3. The use of satire as an urge to reform in Main Street. 4. American life of the first […]

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1. In what ways may Main Street be considered a satire? Explain fully. 2. Would you have the book end differently? If so, why and how? 3. Explain how local color is used as background for the novel. Give several concrete examples. 4. What to you are the points of […]

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Local Color reflects the characteristic appearance, mannerisms, speech, and dress of a place or a period. It is a term applied particularly to literature and the arts. Main Street is rich in local color, for Sinclair Lewis saw nature as well as human nature with a photographic eye. Because of […]

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The Nobel Prize, according to the official citation, was awarded Lewis for his “powerful and vivid art of description and his ability to use wit and humor in the creation of original characters.” It is doubtful if the Europeans who selected Lewis for the award understood that America was not […]

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Realism, according to Mark Schorer, Lewis’ most minute biographer, is “a faithful depiction of the details of ordinary life and a willingness to come to grips with all that is not genteel in experience.” It is opposed to the optimism of romanticism, which paints a rosy picture of the lives […]

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Social criticism is the keynote of Main Street. Lewis is akin to Dickens in that both were “angry young men” of their own generation and locale. Both called attention to the faults and shortcomings of people and places, but neither proposed a definite or rational cure. Both criticized manners, morals, […]

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Lewis’ style is vivid and readable, though not of first-class literary quality. He uses background liberally, with figures of speech making his narrative graphic. More dialogue appears in Main Street than in some of his later books, such as Arrowsmith. Dorothy Thompson especially commended his use of verbs. He has […]

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The story is told in the third person, Carol Kennicott being the central figure, though her husband or Vida Sherwin occasionally take the center of the stage. The narrative for the most part moves in a straight line, with few changes of scene. Events in Minneapolis foreshadow those in Gopher […]

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Sauk Center, Minnesota, where Sinclair Lewis grew up, is Gopher Prairie. The story begins in Minneapolis and shifts briefly to Washington, D.C. in the latter part of the book. Even then, however, Gopher Prairie and its inhabitants are always in the background. Hence regional unity is preserved.

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The theme of Main Street is portrayal in detail of the mediocrity of the American small town and the narrow-mindedness and lack of vision of its inhabitants. The plot is rambling and episodic. The first three-fourths of the book deals with Carol’s rebellion against Gopher Prairie and its inhabitants. In […]

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