Babbitt · Chapter
Chapter XXXII explained
Babbitt faces increasing pressure from the Good Citizens' League, represented by a committee of powerful men including Colonel Snow, Dr.
What happens
Babbitt faces increasing pressure from the Good Citizens' League, represented by a committee of powerful men including Colonel Snow, Dr. Dilling, and Charles McKelvey, who demand he join their campaign for the Open Shop. He resists, asserting his independence, but suffers social and professional repercussions, including the loss of his stenographer Miss McGoun to a competitor. His rebellion strains his marriage and leaves him isolated, longing for Tanis Judique and feeling the weight of conformity.
Themes in this chapter
Conformity and Materialism
Babbitt's resistance to joining the Good Citizens' League highlights the societal demand for conformity among the business class, and the material and social penalties for noncompliance.
Rebellion and Conformity
Babbitt's internal struggle between his desire for independence and the pressure to conform to the expectations of his peers and community.
Hypocrisy and Social Pretense
The committee's self-righteousness and Babbitt's own pretense of liberalism while fearing the consequences of true rebellion.
Characters to notice
- George F. Babbitt
Resists pressure to join the Good Citizens' League, asserts independence, but feels increasingly isolated and fearful of social and professional consequences.
- Myra Babbitt
Confronts Babbitt about his evening out and his refusal to join the League; becomes the target of his frustration and guilt.
- Colonel Rutherford Snow
Leads the committee from the Good Citizens' League, pressuring Babbitt to join and warning him of the consequences of supporting liberal elements.
- Dr. A. I. Dilling
Part of the Vigilante committee that confronts Babbitt; later observes Babbitt's dissent at the Boosters' Club lunch.
- Charley McKelvey
Accompanies the committee to pressure Babbitt; reacts angrily to Babbitt's defiance.
- Virgil Gunch
Reported Babbitt's refusal to join the League; snubs Babbitt by crossing the street to avoid him.
- Theresa McGoun
Babbitt's former stenographer who leaves him, later joins a competitor, contributing to Babbitt's fear of a 'sinking ship.'
- Tanis Judique
Babbitt longs for her after cutting ties, feeling her absence acutely in his isolation.
Key passages
“They were large, resolute, big-jawed men, and they were all high lords in the land of Zenith— Dr. Dilling the surgeon, Charles McKelvey the contractor, and, most dismaying of all, the white-bearded Colonel Rutherford Snow, owner of the Advocate-Times.”
Three powerful and intimidating men from Zenith's elite confront Babbitt.
Establishes the authority and pressure of the Good Citizens' League committee.
“I don't propose to be bullied and rushed into joining anything, and it isn't a question of whether it's a good league or a bad league or what the hell kind of a league it is; it's just”
Babbitt asserts his refusal to be coerced into joining any organization, regardless of its merits.
Captures Babbitt's defiant stance against social pressure.
“He was so twitchy that when he rounded a corner and chanced on two acquaintances talking—whispering—his heart leaped, and he stalked by like an embarrassed schoolboy.”
Babbitt becomes paranoid, fearing that others are whispering about him.
Illustrates the psychological toll of his rebellion and social ostracism.
