Babbitt

"Babbitt" is the 1922 novel by Sinclair Lewis that tells the story of George F. Babbitt, a middle-aged partner, with his father-in-law, in a real-estate firm. Babbitt is married with three kids and a successful middle-aged businessman living in a common midwestern town, yet he is unhappy. He is a man unaware of the contemporary social and economic conditions that exist outside his own small circle. Eventually this lack of awareness begins to become apparent to him in an increasingly dissatisfying way. A feeling of consternation sets in. "Babbitt" is a classic novel that focuses on the power of conformity, and the vacuity of middle-class American life.