Throughout the centuries, architecture and interior design have changed drastically. Design centers, such as Paris, London, and Italy, have all had their share of input, and each has its own unique styles which have been preserved over time. America is one of the few countries in the world where design has come together from all of these centers to create a ‘melting pot’ of designs. Indeed, America has no one style that she can claim as her own. After World War I, Americans experienced a surge of industrialization, which was reflected in new designs of furniture and architecture. Throughout Babbitt, Sinclair Lewis describes the average home in America during the early part of the 1900’s as being simple, modern, and identical.
Modern art and design were just entering the American scene when Babbitt was written. Streamline Moderne was both a reaction to Art Deco (born in Paris, France) and a reflection of austere economic times. Gone was unnecessary ornament or, in many cases, any ornament. Sharp angles were replaced with simple curves, and exotic woods and stone were often replaced with ordinary cement and glass. Products of modern design included both individually crafted luxury items and mass-produced wares, or, as des
. . .
Babbitt becomes involved in more and more clubs as the novel continues. They appeared to be simple yet beautiful, however, to the sophisticated businessman, represented economic power rather than art, just as the aura of modernity in the city of Zenith represented its vigor and authority. ” These different devices and amenities are representative of the industrialization at the time, as electric vacuums and lamps, for example, were replacing now ‘out-of-date’ devices, such as candles and brooms. Babbitt does not realize the mistake he has made until his old friends begin to snub him or ignore him when they see him, and suspect him for rebelling against society. The lobby, with its thick pillars of Caen stone, its pointed vaulting, and a brown glazed-tile floor …is a combination of cathedral-crypt and rath-skellar. “…so glittering and so ingenious that they resembled an electrical instrument board. He begins to spend less and less time with his family, and he makes many new friends. Yet, one must stop to ponder the question, doesn’t all of this, in excess and clutter, revert back to the traditional styles from which he was trying to escape? The basis Streamline Moderne and Art Deco were simplicity and minimalism.
Modernism tries to show observers that simplicity is not only elegance, but also a happier, less difficult lifestyle, as Babbitt eventually learns to be true. Lewis describes the Athletic Club where Babbitt often socializes: “The Athletic Club building is nine stories high, yellow brick with glassy roof-garden above and portico of huge limestone columns below. ” Symmetry and large, oversized columns of stone and cement dominated the architecture of large, skyscraper buildings at this time. Babbitt is also involved in a very busy, ‘cluttered’ lifestyle. At first he does not find any troubles with rebelling against the conformist society, trying to escape from the common norm. ” In the second chapter, Lewis describes the color scheme in the bedroom and its “cubic contents” (referring to the style of the furniture, which was representative of the commonplace styles of the time).
In Zenith, it was important for each and every businessman to take part in at least one sort of club that reached to and cared for the welfare of the community.
Approximate Word count =
1068
Approximate Pages =
4 (250 words per page double spaced)
Simply subscribe to view this paper, and 100,000 others.
| CREDIT CARD |
ONLINE CHECK |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
JOIN BY PHONE
|
|
|
