Societys Influence On The American Dream

Term Paper Title	Societys Influence On The American Dream
# of Words	1108
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	4.43

Society's Influence on the American Dream

"Do as most do, and men will speak well of thee."

[Thomas Fuller (1654-1734):Gnomologia]

Men have a dream to improve their lives and better their social status but each
man does not realize that he pursues this dream in hopes of pleasing others and
not for his own well being.  Fuller's quotation demonstrates that people find
success and social mobility if they act and do what others want them to do. The
American dream of success and happiness can not be reached independently because
people need to feel accepted to achieve satisfaction.  Each man strives to
improve his place in the community oblivious to the hypocrisy around him.
Everyone works to impress others rather than pleasing himself.  Paralleling
Fullers quotation,  Sinclair Lewis' Babbit is a satirical portrayal of a man in
search of himself enveloped by a society of hypocrisy .  George F. Babbit, a
middle class man, struggles to find social mobility and beatitude. Babbit
overlooks the essential items of life and concentrates his attention towards
material goals and impressing the upper class. Due to the loss of his best
friend,  Babbit realizes his life has no meaning and  rebels against society's
conformity destroying his reputation.  Lacking the courage to be independent,
Babbit's dream of true ecstasy crumbles when he succumbs to hypocritical
lifestyle realizing that he needs conformity.  Strongly influenced by a
sanctimonious society, Babbit, a man in search for himself, realizes that he
needs conformity to live.

Babbit dreams of improving his status in the community, not realizing that
hypocrisy is influencing every decision or action he makes. Babbit concentrates
his time and energies towards activities and events that impress the upper class.
His life revolves around material items and goals.   Mr. and Mrs. Babbit host a
dinner party, only inviting the utmost respectable couples. They plan a
"highbrow affair…with evening clothes required" in hopes of impressing their
prosperous guests.  The evening is filled with meaningless conversation and the
men tell crude and unsophisticated jokes.  Everyone seems to be having a
wonderful time even though there is no real meaning in the evening.  Shortly
afterwards Babbits "name and face" become noticed throughout the city.  In
another attempt to impress the upper class, Babbit delivers a stirring speech
and suddenly finds that he has become one of the most "popular and well-known
figures" at the convention. Babbit's dream of improving his position is coming
true, although Babbit is oblivious to society's hypocrisy.  From a solid citizen,
Babbit becomes an important citizen and volunteers his services as an orator for
a political campaign.  Babbits spirits rise because he "visualizes himself
entering Zenith's most fashionable circles."  In addition to his involvement in
politics, Babbit gets involved with the church because he feels it is a "highly
respectable activity to engage in."  Babbit concentrates on the improvements the
church makes in his business life when he should be concentrating on important
elements such as religion.  Babbits soul concerns are not for the well-being of
the church but rather to make sure that "prospective customers see that he is an
active church member."  Babbit becomes enveloped by hypocrisy in society and
focuses his attention on materialistic goals rather than thinking about his
friends and family.

Although an active member of Zenith society, many incidents increase Babbits
discontent with life and he revolts against conformity.  After the imprisonment
of his best friend Paul, Babbit realizes that his life has no meaning.  His
dream of acc...

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