Babbitt · Chapter
Chapter XII explained
Babbitt returns from Maine determined to reform his life, vowing serenity, new interests, and to quit smoking, but his resolve quickly crumbles.
What happens
Babbitt returns from Maine determined to reform his life, vowing serenity, new interests, and to quit smoking, but his resolve quickly crumbles. He attempts to adopt baseball as a hobby but soon reverts to his habitual hustle. The chapter depicts his weekend golf at the Outing Country Club, family movie outings, and the relentless pace of business life in Zenith, underscoring his struggle between aspiration and conformity.
Themes in this chapter
Conformity and Materialism
Babbitt's attempts at reform are undermined by his ingrained need to conform to the hustle and social rituals of his class, such as country club membership and movie-going.
Midlife Crisis and Disillusionment
Babbitt's fleeting resolutions to change his life and his failure to sustain them highlight his underlying dissatisfaction and the hollow pursuit of activity for its own sake.
Characters to notice
- George F. Babbitt
Returns from Maine with resolutions to change, but quickly falls back into old habits; attends baseball games, golf, and movies.
- Myra Babbitt
Accompanies Babbitt to the movies; prefers films about wealthy New Yorkers.
- Tinka Babbitt
Goes to the movies with her parents.
- Theodore Roosevelt Babbitt
Plays gentle back-lot catch with Babbitt.
- Paul Riesling
Mentioned as a companion for long talks at the Athletic Club.
Key passages
“He invented a new and perfect method. He would buy no tobacco; he would depend on borrowing it; and, of course, he would be ashamed to borrow often.”
He devised a clever plan to quit smoking: stop buying cigarettes and rely on borrowing them, assuming embarrassment would prevent him from asking too often.
Illustrates Babbitt's self-deceptive approach to self-improvement.
“In Zenith it was as necessary for a Successful Man to belong to a country club as it was to wear a linen collar.”
In Zenith, joining a country club was an essential status symbol for any successful man, just as necessary as wearing a proper collar.
Highlights the social pressures and conformity of Babbitt's world.