Main Street
by Sinclair Lewis
Summary
Carol Kennicott, an idealistic young woman from the city, marries a country doctor and moves to the small Minnesota town of Gopher Prairie, where she chafes against its complacency, gossip, and resistance to any change she proposes. Lewis satirizes small town American conformity with a sharp, often savage wit, using Carol's frustrated ambitions to expose the gap between the nation's self image and its actual provincial narrowness. The novel became a sensation and helped establish Lewis as America's leading social satirist.
Historical Context & Significance
The Pulitzer fiction jury actually recommended Main Street for the 1921 prize, but the Pulitzer board overturned that choice and gave the award to Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence instead, judging Lewis's satire too harsh on American life. Lewis never forgot the snub, and when he later won the Pulitzer for Arrowsmith he refused to accept it.