Main Street book cover

The satirical novel Main Street by Sinclair Lewis was published in 1920. It is set in Gopher Prairie, Minnesota, a fictionalized version of Sauk Centre, Minnesota, Lewis’s hometown. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (713x1100, 209 KB) Cover of Sinclair Lewis novel, Main Street. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (713x1100, 209 KB) Cover of Sinclair Lewis novel, Main Street. ... Sinclair Lewis Sinclair Lewis (February 7, 1885 — January 10, 1951) was an American novelist and playwright. ... 1920 (MCMXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar) // Events January January 7 - Forces of Russian White admiral Kolchak surrender in Krasnoyarsk. ... Gopher Prairie, Minnesota, located in the real Stearns County, Minnesota is the fictional setting of the Sinclair Lewis novel Main Street. ... Sauk Centre is a city located in Stearns County, Minnesota. ...

Plot summary

Carol Milford is a liberal, free-spirited young woman, raised 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 Gopher Prairie, where he was raised. Carol tries to convince herself that Gopher Prairie isn't so bad, and is compelled to reform the town from its dusty, conservative ways: she tries speaking with its members about potential changes; joins women clubs; divulges literature amongst the townfolk; attempts to hold exciting parties to liven up Gopher Prairie's inhabitants; is cordial and friendly--all of which is in vain. Her efforts are constantly backlashed, and cannot find any source of remedy save a few kindred spirits, all of whom, in Carol's mind, aren't enough to make this conformist town bareable.

Carol eventually leaves her family to go live in Washington for a time, but she, inevitably, returns. However, Carol does not feel defeated: "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 at Gopher Prairie, but she finds that life in a big city is not so hot either. She learns to settle with Gopher Prairie and accept it for what it is.

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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. Also, 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 could be the same anywhere in the country.) Humor and veritable facsimiles of small town life and personas made Main Street the commercial phenomenon it was, easily relatable to the majority of America. Controversy about the small-town portrayal of vicious back-stabbers and hypocrites was also probably a factor to the novel's popularity; in 1920, it was a heralded thought to live in an area like Gopher Prairie--a notion hilariously denounced with Main Street's powerful inculcation. Feminism is a social theory and political movement primarily informed and motivated by the experience of women. ...

Literary significance & criticism

Though it was not expected to be extremely popular, in the first six months of 1921, Main Street sold 250,000 copies. 1921 (MCMXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ...

There is some criticism toward the novel concerning the seemingly lack of direction and endless description. Also, some of Lewis' contemporanous 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. Despite its bleakness, the general public clearly found a tinge of truth in the novel's message of distilled ambition and conservative mindframes, making Main Street the best-selling novel of the first quarter of the 20th century.

Allusions/references to actual history, geography and current science

This portrait of the town was not particularly sympathetic, and the book was banned in nearby Alexandria, Minnesota. Alexandria is a city located in Douglas County, Minnesota. ...

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 prize went, instead, to Edith Wharton for The Age of Innocence. In 1926 Lewis refused the Pulitzer when he was awarded it for Arrowsmith. The gold medal awarded for Public Service in Journalism The Pulitzer Prize is an American award regarded as the highest honor in print journalism, literary achievements, and musical compositions. ... Edith Wharton Edith Wharton (January 24, 1862 – August 11, 1937) was an American novelist, short story writer, and designer. ... The Age of Innocence is a 1920 novel by Edith Wharton which won the 1921 Pulitzer Prize. ... 1926 (MCMXXVI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Arrowsmith is a novel by American author and and playwright Sinclair Lewis that was published in 1925. ...

See also

• Main street - the iconic street in small town America.

Main Street or Main Street America is an almost fanciful, dated reference to the main region of small town/suburban America, since it really no longer exists. ...

External link

• Main Street, available for free via Project Gutenberg