Babbitt – Sinclair Lewis

Description

This paper has multiple facets to it but is not as hard as it sounds. The most important thing to do is prove to me that you read and thought about the novel. To do that you need to get beyond the literal aspect of the plot and delve into the deeper levels of interpretation. What is the historical aspect of Lewis’ work? Does he portray the time period in an acceptable way? Additionally, describe what you feel is Lewis’ moral found in Babbitt. How does he show that moral and how does it fit into his description of the time frame in which he places the story? Lastly, how does that moral fit into the contemporary world of today? This will cover the critical thinking portion of the assignment and a good chunk of what I am looking for. Additionally you will need to pick a couple of characters and show, using examples from the text, how they exemplify social responsibility. If we define Social Responsibility as intercultural competence, knowledge of civic responsibility, and the ability to engage effectively in local, regional, national, and global communities, by using Lewis’ work, explore a couple of characters and show how they are examples of social responsibility. The other aspect that we need to explore is personal responsibility. If we define Personal Responsibility as the ability to connect choices, actions, and consequences to ethical decision-making, who in the story exhibits personal responsibility? Again, pick a couple of characters (could be the same or different characters from the social responsibility) and explore how they showed personal responsibility by their understanding of choices, actions, and consequences. Papers will be double-spaced, 12-point Times New Roman, with standard margins. If any outside sources are utilized they must be properly documented. Make sure your name, class, and some title appear on the first page or on the cover page if you desire to have one. A cover page is not mandatory and certainly will not be counted in the evaluation of the paper. At the conclusion of the paper should be the works cited page if you consulted any outside sources