Close
About
FAQ
Home
Collections
Login
USC Login
Register
0
Selected
Invert selection
Deselect all
Deselect all
Click here to refresh results
Click here to refresh results
USC
/
Digital Library
/
University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses
/
Social stratification as reflected in selected novels of Sinclair Lewis
(USC Thesis Other)
Social stratification as reflected in selected novels of Sinclair Lewis
PDF
Download
Share
Open document
Flip pages
Contact Us
Contact Us
Copy asset link
Request this asset
Transcript (if available)
Content
SOClAL STRATIFICATION AS REFLECTED IN SELECTED NOVELS OF SINCLAIR LEWIS by Irving Stein A Thesis Presented to the FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements tor the Degree MASTER OF ARTS (Sociology) June 1955 This thesis, written by ______________________________ J_r.y_1,ng __ s_te.1.n ________________________ _ under the gu1:dance of his ___ F acuity Co1nmittee, and approved by all its members, has been presented to and accepted by the Faculty of the Graduate School in partial fulfillment of the require1nents for the d egree of --- _____ -______ -- ----. Mas-ter ___ Q.f.._ -Ar. t.s.. --- ----- ------------------ ------------------------ -----------------------~ r A.,,_J/_~ D ean June 1955 Date _____ .. __ .... _ ..... _ ................ ____ -----------· Faculty Committee ' -.... ---... -.. -. .. .airman --~~-- - -•·· ..... V.( . . . -. . .. .. .. .. .. TABLE OF COlTENTS CHAPTER I . 1 1 HE PROBLEI\h A D DEFif ITIO S OF TE ,-,3 USED • • • I . The Pr oblem • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Statement of the Problem • • • • • • II . Definitions of the Terms Used •.• • • III . Organization of the Remainder of the Thesis • • • • • • • • • • • • • II . ALYSIS OF H SO CIOL GIC L F CTIO S OF III. THE OVEL • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • I . Selective ociol gical Functions of II . the I · ovel • • • • • • • • • • • • • • The ovel and Social Process The ovel and ocial Control • • • • • • • • The Concept of Social Stratification • III . The ovelist 1 s Treatment of Social Stratification • • • • • • • • • • • John Steinbeck ' s Treat:nent of Lo ~ver Class • • • • • • • • • • • • Theodore Dreiser ' s Treatment of !id '" le Class • • • • • • • • • • • John P. I J rquand 1 s Treatment of Upper Class • • • • • • • • • • • • ~V~LOP ··~ T OF HE C CE T OF C STE BY HA.SIZI 'G SPSC l4'I F T s OF co · TROL • • • PAGE 1 3 4 5 ? 8 10 11 15 18 18 21 24 28 111 CHAPTER PAGE I. Reviews of Novels and ~mp1r1cal Studies Used • • • • • • • • • • • • Deep South • • • • • • • • • • • • • Black ,'etropolis Kingsblood Royal • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • II. M arriage Controls Operating in the Caste System • • • • • • • • • • • • Iarriage Controls Depicted in Kingsblooa. Royal • • • • • • • • • Studies of Intermarriage in Black 1~ etropolis • • • • • • • • • rreatment of Interma riage in Deep South • • • • • • • • • • • • III. Controls Affecting Vertical ~ability Barriers and Yobility in • KingsblooJ! Royal • • • • • • • • • Vertical .ability in Black fu etroool1s • • • • • • • • • Vertical I ob111ty in Deep South. • • IV. Caste Control by eane of Social Symbols • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Social Symbols in K ingsblood Royal • Comparison of Social Symbols in Black 1 etropol .. s and Deeo South .• - • • • 29 29 30 30 32 32 34 37 39 40 43 44 47 47 49 C HAPTIB IV. .tETHODS OF I t DEXI G STATUS CHARACTERISTICS I N S.iLECTED OVELS OF SIN CLAIR L EWIS • • • • I. An Explanation of \farner I s ·ethodology • . • • • • • ' • • • • • • Evaluated Participation. • • • • • • Index of Status Characteristics. • • Scoring the Index of Status Characteristics • • • • • • • • • • II. Social Class of C haracters in Novels of Sinclair Lewie •.... • • • • • Samuel Dodsworth's Class Pl acement • Cass Timberlane 'e Claes Rating • • • Jinny ·arshl~nd's Class Placement Lucius Flie end's Class Placement Dr. Kennicott's Class Pl acem ent . Sam Clark's Clas s Placement ••• • • • • • • • • iv PAGE. 53 53 54 55 62 64 65 6? 69 ?O 72 74 ·11es Bjornstan1 1 s Class Placem ent . . 75 W illiam Earhorne 1 3 Class Placement • Charles cKelvey • • • • • • • • • • George F. Babbitt's Social Class Placement ••••• • • • • • • • • Ed Overbrook's Social Class Placement . . . • • • • • • • • • • Henry B. Boltwood • • • • • • • • • • 78 ?9 80 80 82 CHAPTER v. ri11ton Dag ett's Social Class Placement ........• SOCIAL \ OBIL~TY I SELECTED 1 0VELS OF SINCLAIR LE NIS .••.••..•... I. Social r obility ~ffecting Social • • • • • • Stratification • • • • • • • • • • • Democracy as a Climate for Vertical ob111ty •...... Barriers to Social •OVement ... How 1 obility is ffected by Values and Beliefs. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • V PAGE 83 8? 87 88 89 91 Differential Asnirations • . • . . . 93 VI. II. Social ·obility of Selected Characters in Sinclair Lewis's · ovels Jinny Iarshland ..•... • • • • • • • • • • Claire Boltwood .. George F. Bab itt. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Fran Dodsworth • • • • • • • • • • * rrows SU• ARY ADU N CLUSI NS Cone .. us ions • 1th • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • BIBITOGRAPHY • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 96 96 98 100 102 104 10? 109 1_11 LIST OF TABLES 'J 1 ABLE PAGE I. Utilization o~ Social Symbols in Black _etropolis as Co mpared to DeeR South • • • • 50-51 CHAPTIB I THE PROBLEM AND DEFINITIONS OF TERMS USED There is very little agreement among scholars as to an exact definition of art and the responsibilities of the artist. Nevertheless from the innumerable definitions that have been suggested, it is not too difficult to gl ean a common denominator which will serve operationally in the treatment of this problem. Art should be considered as a "hun1an act1v1ty" 1 which "appeals to the 1mag1nat1on*' 2 • • .while "it takes the conf used and distracting reality, and by omitting the irrelevant and giving life and color to the significant, enables us t o s e e the real aa the 1dea1." 3 Thie thesis will be concerned with a particul ar art form, that of the novel, which has as its strongest present influence "social awareness. 114 It ls presumed tha. t modern novelists have either participated in, or closely observed, 1 Leo Tolsto1, What is Art ( New York: Funk and Wagnalls Company, 1904), p:-50. 2 Charles Horton Cooley< Social Processes (New York: Charles Scribner's Sona, 1918J, p. 410. 4 Helen E. Haines, What•~ in_ 1 (New York: Columbia university Press, :942), p. 12. 2 the human behavior in the various social situations about which they write.5 An area of sociological interest which ls assuming increasing importance is that of social class systems. A great many empirical studies have been made since Thorstein Veblen's Theor~ of the Leisure Clase, published 1n 1918; among them are the Lynds' ~iddletown 1n Transition, Davis and Warner's Dee~ ~out.a., Hol11ngehead 1 e Elmtown's Youth, and Warner's Social Claes In America. --- --- oveliets also have shown keen awareness and i ns i ght into problems of social class, espec1a ly John Steinbeck, Theodore Dreiser, Erskine Caldwell, Sinclair L is, and John P. Marquand. Each one deals with the pr oblems of a par 1cu ar class or some form of con lie be tween classes . Sinclair Lewis, part1c lar y, has sho n great d1ssat1sfa.ct1on 1th the class sys em in America life, although 1 may be stated tat Lewis has be a severe critic of mos areas of Ameri can life. He has attacked certain aspects of the church, the small community, th medical profession, racial d1scr1 1natio, the prison , and t e nouvea r1che. It is his trea ment of social clas es ad stratification 1 orks cons i dered 1n ~ 1ch this thes s 1s concerned. His a thea1, in spite of their caustic 5 elvin J. - ~ncent, Syllabus for Social Aspects of F ~+10n and Drama (Loa Angeles: Un1 ·e rs1t f Southern val - - - .. 953), • 1. 3 nature, effectively demonstrate the class system 1n American life. Throughout Lewie's writing the role of the artist in communicating the sociologist's concept of stratification is clearly demonstrated. I. THE PROBLEM Statement of the Problem The writings of Sinclair Lewis are of particu ar co cern to this thesis, but the central problem is to demonstrate that the novelist has with1 hie art the eane for communication which may be translated easily in o sociological conce s, principles, and socia values. More specifically the problem is to analyze Lewi 1 s treatme t of the concep of socials ratification as expr ssed ough characters in his novels. Sinclair Lewis was aware of he problem of stra 1ficat1on and ite importance in erican life. His trea ment of the concept will be com ared w1 fi din a of sc1en 1f1c studies made by leaders in the fie Imper .ance of the j!tudy. It is to o often felt, although erroneously, that soc1olo ical think1 g is re str1cte to h pedan and his s·udents, and tat only the academi c 1 cture hall and social laboratory provide t e c 1mat in which this kind of think.in can take plac • The contributions of novelists, playwrights, and poets which et1mulat sociolo 1cal t inking have be n r ceivin more • 4 and m re attention from sociologists. This study attempts o demonstrat one novelist's interest in a specific socl ologic 1 concep, social stratification, and its communica tive po en 1al for the lay perso in a non-academic environment. II. EFI ITIONS OF THE T~RMS U SED Key terms will be defined so hat certain concepts an principles may be better understood . he caste is the most rigid form of soc, al strati fication in hi h membershi 1s determined by birth, and is characterized by clear cut stats, pow rand privilege, hich are rela i ve permanent. Although no such system ts in the ni ed ates, the Negro group affectea by re tric ions 1 he s re case-like. 1 ma as stem bove-ment1oned areas might be con Th te rm caste as used int is thesis 1 h cs e-11ke character1st1ce . Ope lase is a system that does not place categori- cal limit t1ons on the person w1 h respect to his class po sit on . A person may transfer from one class to another prov1 d he has th skills required for membership in the as red clas • class r e er to levels hich are reco n1za e in the e ral behavior and soc1 l attitudes of the whole commun ty here th levee exist. These leve s are ranked 5 into superior and inferior levels according to the values of the community. Social control is a process which regulatee) directs, or manipulates the behavior of members of the group. It 1s cont inually 1n operation in any group and may be direct as in the case of written law or indirect as in cuetumal traditions. Social mobllit~ refers to the changing status of a person 1n the stratification of a society. Social stratification refers to the ranking (higher or lower) of a person in a social system. It is a process of assigning and achieving differential status. Social process 1s the interaction of factors in social uhange and the tran ition from one social condition to another, the result bein an incessant interrelated evolution of persons and institut i ons . Status app ies to any social position and does not necessarily refer to higher or lower ranking . It is usu ally a position one is iven by me bers of the comm unity. Status char cter1st1cs are the indices or criteria such as occupation, house type, dwelling area, and source of income, which plac a erson in a part ular social po ition. 6 III ORGANIZATION OF THE REMAINDER OF THE TH~SIS Chapter II w111 contain an analysis of the novel as a form of art and ae a means to communicate sociological concepts, values and principles . This study will deal briefly with the social processes that shape human person al1t1es, groups, institutions, an d the problems with which the fiction writer is concerned. The concept of stratifi cation will then be discussed as dealt with by selected authors. Chapter III will be devoted to a discussion of the concept of caste as appl1e to egro-wh1te relations as re flected in Lewis's novel, K1ngsbloo~ Royal. His treatment will be compared w1tn t e empirical studies of Davis's Deep South and Cayton and Drake's Black etropolis. Chapter IV will deal with the open class system, analyzin characters in the various occupational and eco~ nomic levels as found in the novels Dodsworth, Babbitt, Free Air, Cass Timberlane and Main Street. Warner's Index of Status Characteristics will be app ied to these charac- - --- -------- ters to determine their soc1 1 level. Chapter V will be concerned with social mobility opera~ing in an open class, with emphasis on the barriers 1mped1n the movement. Characters in Arrowsmith, Free Air, Babbitt, Dodsworth, and Cass Timberlane will be considered for the evaluation. CHAPTER I ANALYSIS OF THE SOCIOLOGI AL FUNCTIONS OF THE NOVEL Reading for knowledge and pleasure has been an integral part of American culture since the arrival of the first colonists upon our shores. Religious reading, school texts, and Bible and Psalm books were at first the most widely read, followed by political and philosophical tracts, essays and biographies. It was not until 1740, with the publication of Samuel Richardson's Pamela, that the new art form, the novel, was born and with it a new reading public. In discussing he history of the novel, James D. Hart, referring to Pamela, says: Here for the middle class was something to read that was both easy and edifying. It had none of the romance's rarefied atmosphere, distant setting, fan tastic c1rcurnstances, or a randlzed characters . It was fict on about people with whom ordinary readers could readily identify themselves.l Since the adve t of farn la and be a se of t echnolo g~cal advancements, free educat1 n, an l eis re ime, the ncvel has become one o t h oat popul r dive s1ons in American life . A look at sale s of nov ls in the last two decades will bear his o t. O f erve - llen's Anthony Adverse, publ1she in 1933, three-quar re of a m1 1 11on lJarnes D. Hart, The P pular Book ( ew York: Oxford Un vers1ty Press, 195 ), p . 51. 8 copies were sold. Sales of Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind, published in 1936, exceeded ~wo million copies. The sale6 do not account for the number of persons besides the buyer who read each copy. It 1s because of the amazingly large reading public that the sociologist is interested in this medium as an area of inquiry. I. SELECTIVE SOCIOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS OF THE NOVEL Through the medium of the novel, the reader has become acquainted with the changing roles of basic insti tutions such as family, community, church, and overnment. Findings of Freud and Jung have been utilized by writers in the development of behavior patterns, a titudee, a.nd values of their characters. Somerset Maugha 's Of Human Bondage, Theodore Dreiser's .\merican Tragedy, and Jerome David Salinger's Catcher In the Rye, each r alistically communi cates to the reader the development of p rsonal isor a 1zat1on through physical hardship, social striving, or lack of basic needs. any of t~.e values, ideals, and principles which are the r sult of interpersonal relations in society are re flected 1n the novel. ar, 1..an._ne lust love, hate, pov rty, leisure, justice, 1n.ust1ce, social striving, and crime are dramatically portrayed, providing the reader with 9 knowledge of aspects of life about which he m ay have been unfamiliar. In a ddition to providin , the reader with this new knowledge, the novel instills within the re ade r a s ocial awareness which m a y have a salutary effect upon society. Sinclair's The Jungle did much to bring about the passing of the Pure Food and Drug Act as well as thee - po sure of abusive labor cond1ti ns . As t o t he social value of the nove l , Haine s says : In nov ls condit i n ere recore d , ides tr. e- mitte d , new res exper i ence opene . Proble ms of labor, of i n ustry , o icult rP , . loy t .n Y\elief ere roj ed i nto i l~ i at i ve re l ity for a multitude o readers i mmune t o socio o ical a nd eco nomic trends .2 . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Te novel has long been a i strtune t of so ci 1 p r pose , et i cal, hum nitaria , economi c and ooli tic al. Our present ay fiction concerned i t soc i 1 r obl e s, s 1 ~ense i n ran , s o v r i ouv in ind, h i ts herit a re f ro . Die ens , f ther of . unanit rian ic t i on ; f ro the Christian socialism novels of Charl s Ki sley; fr C rles Reade 's sine r odr ma ic c ampi o h i _ of prison reform, of proper anitary 1 ws , of · n usJr i a.l fair dealin ·; fro 1 the com ss i onate , cou eous novels of fr • Gas ell th t recorde miserie of industr i al oppr ession i La.nee.shir e cotton 111s durin the ' hungry f orties' a century a go . 3 Besi de s developing soci 1 a : 1ness, t h e novel shows in ctior tte soci 1 proces e which i nfluence the sh pin of hwnan personalities, the grot "', i nstitut~ ons , and problems related t o them. Finally , t hen el serv s as a form of 2Helen E. Haines, hat's in~ Novel? _ew rk: Columbia n1vers1ty Pi~ss , 1942) , p . 12. 3Ib1d., p . 83 . 10 social control in bringing about an equilibrium _n the interaction of society. It 1a in these social processes and especially social control that the student of sociology ~inds a major interest 1n the study of the novel. The Novel and Social Process When the sociologist refers to social process, he means an.v social change or interaction in which there is some direction to which a class name can be given. The social process may be neither good nor evil as such, but can be given a value judgment by appraising it in terms of some set of meanin ful values and norms. Some of tne names given to social processes are: interaction, assi ilation, social control, and social stratification. Since social processes create a change in structure, it is obvious that any social structure is at beat only relatively permanent. nan is 1nvol ved in an onward movement of life, but it is important to realize tha t hie onward or adaptive growth requires social contact or interaction to bring about change. As a result of social interaction in differ ent social situations, some forms of activities may be increased while others may be repressed; in any case, behavior patterns may be modified. The novel serves a sociological function by revealing in 1te own way how social process work, and tn con~ uences of tnese processes . • 1 According to Cooley, one of the purposes of art as a social process has been 11 to enlarge human sympathy and unite the individual to his fellows. 114 In this vein, Cooley remarks further: So all great art makes us feel our oneness with man kind, and the grandeur of the common lot; the tragedy 0f King Lear, say, or the Book of Job; or the medieval churches, or the figures of Tuichaelangelo , or the great symphonies. It is full of noble reminiscence, and of touches of things human till they rise to touch the spher s.5 The novel, consider as an art form, may serve as a very effective agent for man's adaptive growth, one which the student of sociology finds or hy of major consi deration .. The ovel and Social Control The name given t o a major class pattern of the social processes is social control, which refers to methods of keeping society functioning in an orderly fashion, or aseist1n society or e.ny sub-gr up within society to develop conformity to expected beh vi r norms. The techniques in securing this conformity can be either (1) coercive, using techniques of force to secure certain behavior responses, or (2) persuasive, using any techniques which 111 cause society to respo d in a certs.in ay. Art as a v1r1ole, tl1e 4 Charles Horton Cooley{ Social Processes (New York: Charles Sc1lbner's Sons, 1918;, p. 12. 5 Ibid., p. 412. 12 novel in particular, falls in the category of persuasive social control. Thus this thesis is concerned with how the novel functions as a means of social control. In E.A. Ross• book, Social Control, art, including the novel as an art form, serves to: (1) arouse the passions; (2) kindle sympathy; (3) exploit the aesthetic sense; (4) exploit the sense of the sublime; (5) perfect social symbols; (6) fasci nate with new types. These, in turn, will be considered briefly. Arousing th~ passions. The novel has within its scope ~he power to appeal to the emotions of the reader and spur him into an activi t y w hich otherwise would not be within hie behavioral framework. The desire to go to war and kill may emanate from a reading experience. Certainly the art form of music ha s oeen used succes fully to stir the patriotic and militaristic desires of m an; not only is man stirred on to fi ght, but he f eels completely justified in doing so. 6 Kindling the sympathY. The novel can arouse the emotion that is specifically social; it gives man the opportunity to experience the problems confronting hie fellow man without the necessity of direct contact with it. "The emancipation of Negro slaves or Russian serfs is 6 E.A. Roes, Social ontrol ( N ew York: The MacM illan Company, 1910), p. 25?. 13 hastened because a Ars Stowe or a Turgen1eff makes them comprehended. 7 Exploiting the ~esthet1c sens_Q. The artist, and 1n this case the novelist, has the power to create goodness by making it beautiful and at the same time to eliminate bad ness by makin it ugly: The faces of saints are shown as clear and beautiful while sinners are pained bla k and hid ous ..• the poets and painters of a olond race will make evil men swarthyA. while those or a dark race will make them red haired.t:1 hysical deficiencies are used by the nove~1ets in characterization. The malformed person, such as the hunch back or one naving a club foot has become almost symbolic of the wicked. This of course 1s truly an injustice to those suffering from such maladies. In snort the true stories of ideas and the1r cor relative feeling are completely blended. ora xcel lence is m a e akin to every form of e cellence ••. conformi t o t he princ le of assoc1a e 11 e ls puri y, whiteness, weetne) a, cl anne~ health, 1le non-conf rm1 y is filth, stain, bl 1 h, deformity, and decay .B Ex_plo1 ting sense of the su lime. The novel ie an agency by wh1ch man can be made to realize the 1ns1g n1fica e of the 1nd1 idual as compared to soc ety. Thus, 7Ib1d., p . 258 . BI id., p . 26 . 9 Ib1 . , pp. 262-26. 14 as Rosa shows, hie efforts may be directed to the better ment of society as he becomes altruistic: By skillful selection an~ fitting ~mergency the artist is able to impress Lthe reader/ with the trivi ality of life and the i ns i gnificance of the individual lot. The consequent quest for a fit aim of endeavor is directed to social advantage by dwelling on the vastness, might, and permanence of society, the nation, or the soil. Only the group is worth striving for, it alone can give eternity to one's name or work.lo Perfecting the social symbol. Ae man carries on his natural flow of social life, he finds his needs du y satis fied. At the time of a crisis, however, ma finds himself involved 1n new experiences for which he has never been prepared, and for which he has no desire . In the period of war, for example, man has to leave the comfort and ease of his social life and act in many respects irrationally. The artist must set up symbols to which man can look in order to justify a new behavior pattern. The glories of war are sung, and man feels it is good to fight. Other symbols having similar influence are uLa. Be le Fran~e," "Columbia," Britannia. 0 It w111 be notice d hat these symbols are femi ine -- a device used to lure man onto the battle field.11 Ross a1nta1ns: In such a way then ..• br athin · life and charms into symbols that enter amon the gu"ding stars of the individual's soul does the artist make himself ally and 10 1£1.9:. , p . 263 . 11 Ib1d., pp. 64-266. 15 friend of the purpose of society.1 2 Art fascinates with new types. The novelist can provide images of the ideal types, or ways of doing things- talking, acting, dressing, and the 11ke--that can be emulated. Character can be molded by imitating the behavior of good men. Thus, the writer, whatever the nature of his own personal conduct be, 1s able to help in the moral up lifting of man. This he can do by stressing the value of friendship, constancy, labor and simplicity, while at the same time condemning traits of laxity, laziness, immorality, hatred, stealing, lying, and cheat1ng. 13 The novelist, like other artists, functions in the sphere of social control and serves as an essential agent in providing order and conformity in society. This provides another justification for the interest of the sociolo 1st in the novel. II. THE CO CEPT OF SOCIAL STRATIFICATION This thesis is concerned with the novelist's treat ment of a specific concept, that of social stratification. According to the principles of group organization, differ ential status has been granted certain individuals and - 12 Ibid., p. 26?. 13 Ibid., p. 268. 16 groups due to differences in age, sex, occupation, economic level, social heritage, education, religion, and so on. In modern societies persons are placed in categories form ing a hierarchy of rank called social stratificatio~. Persons of certain levels 1n the hierarchy may be con sidered with more respect than others. Prestige, esteem, honor, and power are bestowed up n people of the upper level of the stratified hierarchy while gradations rangi g from indifference to ostracism are the lot of others as one scales downward on tr~s mythical stratified ladder. According to Cuber: Each stratified level on t e h1erarch1al arrangement classified as a social class or stratum of a society, is a major se ent or category of the population, in which persons have about the same status or rank.14 Pit1r1 A. Sor kin deli eates ar as of stratification into t ese hree main group --economic, political, and occupat1onal--wh1ch nave a tendency to become institutional ized around their functions in socie ty.15 W. Lloyd Warner, a pioneer 1n the field of empirical research in social class etr cture, uses four criteria in determing a person's class. Thea are: (1) occupation; (2) source of income; (3) house type ; (4) dwelling area. In a s even-level -· - 14John F. Cube, Socio ogy ( w York : Appleton Century-Crof s, 1951), p . 425. 15 itirim A. Sorokin, Social ~ob111t~ ( rew York: H rp rand Br there, 192?), p. 11. l? gradation scale which will be discussed in another chapter, it will be shown how Warner was able to make this class placement. 16 Warner's method of class placement will oe utilized in this study. It is not the purpose of this thesis to deal with the rationale behind the concept of social stratification, nor is it within its scope to discuss, compare , or evaluate theories of different sociolo gists. Basic to the thesis is the existence of the concept of social stratifica t i on, an understanding of wl1at this concept is, and a realization of its sociological significance. The existence of the social class system in America. has created much tension and certainly much unhappiness among those striving for s ocial status. Emphasis is placed upon the value of raising one's status with its accom pany ing prestige value a ~ t he expense of the more significant values of ethics, humility, the satisfaction of primary group relations, and even t he i ~portance of good health. George Jean Nathan and H.L. M encken, whimsicallyJ, but at the same time justifiably, make this stat ement about the passion of the America n to r aise himself up in the social ladder: 16 w. Lloyd Warner, archia M eeker and Kenneth Eells, Social Clase 1n America: A Manual of Procedure f or the Measurement ofSocialStatus (Chicago: Science Re search Associates, 19491, p. 122. 18 That is to say his dominant passion is a passion to 11ft himself by at least a step or two i the society that he is a part of--a passion to improve his po sition, to break down some shadowy barrier of caste, to achiev the countenance of what for all his talk of equality, he recognizes and accepts as his betters ••• The American is violently eager to get on and is thorou hly convinced that his merits entitle him to try and to succeed, and by the same token, he is sickeningly fearful of slipping back, and out of the second part spring some o his most characteristic traits.17 any novelists have taken advantage of the Am rican•s passion to push himself up in the social class s r u tu e , uei this si ua ion as a major eme . Marquand, Whar on Dr s , and Lewis, to mention a few, have d ne this. Other novelis s like Steinbeck and ri ~ ht have dealt with ep c1fic social clas es . III. THE OVELIST 1 S f l EAT .E T OF SO IL S RATIFICATIO brief an ysis of he nove ' reatment of a represent in partic lar c swill be iven 1th arqua th upper, re ser the middle, and Steinbeck the lower class. The two principal influenc s revealed in the orks of John Steinbeck re firs, his concer n with the class a rug 1, and second, hie sincere devotion and ar ent lo e for all tha 1s s all, weak, in r 1 late, and 1ITes pons1ble. l?G€or · Jean athan a H.L. encken, The AI er1can redo { ew York: . • Knopf, 192 ), p. • 19 Although these two 1nfluencee converge in several of his works (e.g., Grap~~ of Wrath, In Dubious Battle, Tortilla Flat, and Cannery Row), it 1s the former influence, his interest in the class struggle, with which this thesis is concerned . His most popular nov 1, Grapes of Wrath (1939), best illustrates his concern for the ill-fated lives of the victims of a faulty economic structure and of their sub sequent and complete estruction. Ber ar Raym nd 1n his essay on Steinbeck makes tn1s i ntere ting obse vation: It could be argued tnat two a penings alone made the Grapes _f Wrath po sible, t e u t storms of the Ameri can Southwest hat lotted ou the sun over half the continent , n he depr sion. I think, however, that I have shown ta~ uch a oten 1al had by this time been uilt up in he perso of Joh S einbeck that the 11 htning would a es ruck irre ect1ve of historical mov men. Only the story would have been different.18 Thus i c n b s id th St 1nbeck 's concern for the econo ically dep~1 ed c used him to rite the story of the Joa family. Grapes of rath tells the story of the Joads, share croppers living off the poor soil of Oklahoma, who, in spite of the meagern s of their 11vel1h od, find content ment in identifying themselves with the land alnce tne1r fathers, grandfat,....ere, and great-grandfathers lived there before. Th€V are soon re~laced by tractors and begin a l£Ber ard Raymund, Writers of Today (L0ndon: idgw1ck a· ~a Je - ·- ~ :i., .. J4 · ·), 1= . 122. search f o 20 rv1 val by T1 ?;rq+1 nr t: c~1.1 f rn1a to find work as grape-pickers. They 1nv st all they possess in the purchase of a truck. The family consists of Ma, Pa, Gramma, Grandpa, Tom, who 1s the eldest son and an ex-convict, hie brother Al, his sister R thie and Winfield, the youngest, Rosaleen and her young husband, Connie, and Uncle John. Thia family group begins their long trek with confidence , which gradually fades as death, hunger, and conflicts over power the gro· p, which is destined for complete destruction. What happens to the oad family has happened to thousands of their fellow "Okies. Pa and his fe~low "Okies 11 express their tragedy in his way: "But it d n't make no sense," Pa cried. "Not till you see this fella tha u ut th1 here bill. You'll see him, or somebody tha 's workin for him. You'd be a-ca.mpin by a ditch, you and forty othe r fa.m111es. An 1 he'll look 1n your nt and see if you have got anythl g l ft to eat . An' if you not no hln, he says: 'Wanna j ob? ' And you'll say : 'I sure do, m1s~er. I'll sure think yo for a chance to do some work.' An he 1 11 say: 'I sure can use you.' An' you'll say: 'When o I start? An he 1 11 tell you wb~r to go an what time, and then he'll 5 o on. aybe he needs two hundred men, so he talks to five hundred, a a they tell other folks, nd when you et to the pla e, theys a thousand en--tl~e more fellas he can et , and the hu grier, the 1 as he I s gonna pay . 11 19 Thus thro h the osed t a social cla s 1 t of rath the rea er 1s ex hierarchy of th c~aes struct e. ThiJ is per · ·a.ps th low st class a ~mber of 19John A. Ste i nbeck~ ~-apes of Wrath ( odern Library, 3 ), p. 25S . ... , ork: The 21 the class system can be a part of, and Steinbeck in a realistic and dramatic form is able to describe an aspect of life and of a people that has been one of the main concerns of the sociologist. Theodore Dreiser's Treatment of Middl~ Claes Just as Steinbeck tells the story of men who wrest their livelihood from the soil, Dreiser depicts the life of a man who 1s v1ot1mized by the birth of 1ndustI·1al1em and the new set of morals which accompany it. He tells the story of the larger city in which the striving for satis faction of material needs"· •• often amounted to a deadly battle of nerves and wits, wherein the less callow perished in bankruptcy, poverty, and sp1ri tual disintegration. •• 20 Henderson has said that everywhere in the big city, Dreiser saw men striving to acquire wealth and the in evitable power that wealth produces. Dreiser apparently explains this as due to an acquisitive instinct: "The acquisitive instinct, as all psychologists know, 1e an instinct for self-aggrandizement by the number and value of posaessions. 1121 It is the desire for acquiring wealth and the social 20 Burton Rascoe, Theodore Dreiser (New York: R.M. ~ cBride and Company, 1925), p. 9. 21 Ib1d. 1 p. 8. 22 problems which result from .t that Dreiser uses as the theme of several of his novels, including The Financier, The Titan, and American Tragedy. In the 1 d1ctment of ap1tal1st1c et 1 , Dreiser shows the class strug le of those who can acquire and those who suffer beca se of the failure in their acquisitive attempt. In An1er1can Traged:i_, Dreiser tells t e story of C yde G 1ff 1 ths, the son of oor is ion w r era, who is as we ed o the life he has to lea ' he clothe heh to , and hi parents, whos ife 1s so ifferent from that o he boy ' aren s. Taking a os1 on a page in a 1, e b cot es obsess d w th an al ost unnat ral craving rte ma er al lux ry which he b erves . Gettin in- vo ve i a unfortunate ob. He 1 aves his home cide t, s fore d to leave hi find his place 1n the sun." C n ob int e collar a shl.rt f act~ry owne by 1s ncle, a mi 1ona1re, he be ins as am n1al la or r in the s r nkin room, and soon is dreamin of future loft ad va cements . He continually is co par n his family's poor social tatua and tha of his unc1~. When seeing hie n le's re idence forte f irst tie, Cl de becomes imbued t pride : His uncle's . His residence.' Th n ta wa one of hie a omobll s standing in front of t he garage at the rear ..• a there wa another visib through he open doors of the arage. Indeed in hie immat re and really psycho l og1c~11y illuminated mind, it suddenly evoked a moo which w s as if roses, perfumes , lights nd music 23 •.• The beauty! the ease! Vlhat member of hie own immediate family had ever dreamed that hie uncle lived thus! The grandeur! And his own parents so wretched- so poor, preaching on the streets of Kansas City . Conducting a mission. And, although thus far no member of his family other than his chill cousin had been assigned so indifferently to a menial type of work, he was elated and uplifted.22 After having an affair with Roberta ason , an employee in his uncle's plant, he falls in love with Sandra Finchley, a member of hie uncle's social set, and ne plane to marry her. Clyde 1e at last on his way to achieve the social goal he had set out for since his arrival at nis uncle's plant. Tragedy rears its ugly head; Roberta, abou to give birth to Clyde's baby, is drowned. Clyde is ace eed of murder and executed. Dreiser dep1c~s the futili ty o a man ho is born in the lower stratum attempting to achieve the s au of the upper class. In telling thi s story, Dre1aer shows dramatically the social symb ls associated with he diff r ent classes, man's desire to move from one class t o another, and the futility in achieving hi s goal. So far, D reiser the novelist presents a soci ological development of man's attempt to be vertically mobile and the obst clea which prevent this movement. 22 Theodore Dreiser, The American Tragedy (Clev~land: Boni and Liveright , 1925) , p. 194. 24 John ~ arquand 1 e Treatment Qf. Upper Clase ar uand deals ~1th the upper stratum of the social hi rarchy . He is qualified to write about this level, for he was born i n t o 1 t, having come from a prorn1nent, wealtl1y Bost n family . The peopl e a bout whom he writes, the places he describes , the obser vations he makes about the ambitions, drives, an needs of hi s characters, ar produced almost photographi ally i n most of hi s novels. The Late George als with a fo r mer aristocratic s ection of Boston kno n s Beacon i 1 and it s sloJ decadence. In his novel 1ckford Point , arquan gives a penetrati~g description and st dy of an eccentri family and their humorous, if not p heti attempts to hol i on to the old homestead in New En land. Point of No Ret ur n is concerned with life in a - - fa 1onable New York sub r b as well as in a small town near Bost n . Thi s th sis will pre sent a brief description of Point Q_ LQ. Ret r n to illustr at the development of the upper class stratum in the novel. I t 1s the story of Charles and ancy Gr y and their two children, Evelyn and Bill, living in a e b rban are of N ew York within a social circle which the 1sintereeted soc i ol ogist wold classify as l ower-upper. Like e ple in 11 1 ve l s of society, Charlie, ur ed on by his ife, is st ivi ng f or t he next r un o the ladder. 25 This goal is not unobtainable as Charlie is looking forward to a promotion to vice-president of the bank 1n whjch he works. His fear of the possibility of losing out on this promotion to a less experienced colleague 1e the basis for the story. Charlie finally makes the grade and gets the promotion which results in his attainment of higher class standing with its social symbols. Upon learning of his appointment, Charlie says to his boss: "Well, Tony, I guess that means I can send Junior to Exeter.tt 23 A symbol of the class to which Charlie Gray belongs was the taking of the ei ht-thirty train to the office. ~arquand stresses the symbol: Shortly before the outbreak of the European War, Charlie had begun taking the eight-thirty train. This was a privilege that had raised him above the rank of younger men and of shopworn older ones who had to take the eight-ten. It indicated to everyone that his business life bad finally permitted him a certain measure of leisure. It meant th the was no longer one of the salaried class who had to be at nis deek at nine. The eight-thirty was designed for the executive arie tocracy.24 Charlie might be content to retain ~is status quo, but this would not satisfy his wife, Nancy, who is constantly push ing, urging, almost to the extent of nagging him to advance himself. She is aware of her role: 11 ! wish I could stop 23 John P. arquand, Point of No Return (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1949),P.55?. 24 Ibid., p. 16. 26 coaching from the sidelines, but I can't help it, can I?" "Hell, no! of course you can't, he said."25 Marquand acquaints one with the top stratum of the s ocial class system and the symbols that accompany this stratum, along with the tensi ons that are the result of such striving. Steinbeck, Dreiser, and Marquand have illustrated the role of the novelist in presenting a particular class in American society. The remainder of this thesis will be concerned with the selecte works of Sinclair Lewis and the concept of stratification as reflected 1n selected novels. Le is wrote in the a e of "acute self-consciousness.• Tis was the age of Edith Wharton H.L. encken, and Theodore Dreiser. The se were the writers who criticized t e habits, manners, and other as pects of American life. No writer is more idely reco nized for his criticism of certain aspects of society than Lewis, but this criticism is immersed in the love of his country, its ideals, ai ~ -d principles. Lewie, born 1n 188? 1n a prairie village of the ain Street type, as educated at Yale University. As journalist he travel d from one end of America to another, appreciating 1 s bea ty and at the same time cr1t1c1z1ng its faults. Lewis ha an alert appreciation of 25 Ibid., p. 1 • 27 the ridiculous in the life around him which could be de tected in his first novel, Our Mr. Wrenn. Principles and concepts of sociological value are vividly presented in his novels. This thesis, which is to discuss the concept of social stratification as reflected in selected novels of Sinclair Lewis, will begin with considerations of the caste system, as related to the social class hierarchy. CHAPTER III DEVELOP ET OF THE CONCEPT OF CASTE BY EYPHASIZING SPECIFIC FACTORS OF CONTROL Within the continuum of the social class system in American society, the lower lower class of the inferior caste and the upper upper class of the superior class represent the extremes. This chapter is concerned with the inferior caste, us ally referred to as the subordin te color caste, which may be clarified as follows: Color c ate refers to a system of values and be havior which placed all people who are thought to be white in a a per1or position and those who are thought to be black in an inferior status.l It is not the color of the person's skin that places him in the particular status, but the color he is thought to have. Thus a person may have very fair com lexion, and possess all other physical tra.1 ts tha.t are corr1monly associ ated with the Caucasian, but if heist ought to have some Negro blood--no matter how little or ho, far b ck in his ancestry--he will be considered as a egro and forced to accept the value systems of the inferior color caste. The color caste in American society is marked by a system of controls. It is this system of controls which 1 w. L. Warner, Socia.I Class In America: A 1 1 anual of Procedure for the eaeurement of Social Status (Chica ~ o: Science Research Associ tes-;-1949), p. 20. 29 shapes the values, attitudes, and behavior patterns of its members. The three main areas of controls are seen in relation to (1) marriage, in which endo gamy is to be practiced; (2) social m obility, with vertical mobility being denied the members; and (3) social symbols, in which an unequal distribution of the desirable and undesirable social symbols is carried out. I. REVIE S O F O VELS A~D E ~PIRICAL STUDIES USED The color caste evident in the Mid-western section of the United States is dealt with as a problem in Lewie's Kingsblood Royal. His views will be compared to findings of the empirical studies of Davis 1 e D~ep §_Quth and St. Clair Drake's Black 1 etropol1s. Deep South Dee South is a social anthropological study of the caste and class systems in tne area of the United States known as the 11 deep South." It attempts to describe the life of the Negroes and the whites in Old City, a small city of about 10,000 people, over half of wr1ich are Negroes. Davis and his staff focus their attention on the caste structure showing the fact ors creatin this sy~ tem and the relation ship between it and t e C aucasian open cla.ss system. 30 Black Metro2olis Black ~etropolip is an empirical study of the Negro community of Chicago in which Cayton and Drake analyze the social, economic and political behavior of this minority roup. Impl icit in the study is the observation of the American dilemma, which allows a racial group to be treated as inferiors within the confines of democratic principles and processes . The authors stress the caste-like structure of the egr comrnunit, as well as the social class stratification w1 hin i • Kingsbl od Royal 1 clair Lewis has always championed the cause of the abused while critically attackin the abuser. In King Royal Le is ra ed hi en in defen e of the Negr bye o in the inj ustice to which he must submit in rder to retain a least a parti 1 identity with membership 1n the human race. This is the s ory of thirty-one year old Neil Kin sblood, who disco ere he has one-thirty-second par t Nero bloo, and can no lo nger consider himself or be considered a a Caucasian. This discovery chan es his en ire life, the life of his beautiful wife, Vestal, who insists upon rema1n1n with her II ro husband in spi . of protests from her family, and his daughter, fair and blonde, Biddy, who by virtue of having one-sixty-fourth Negro lood, 31 is now to be considered a Negro. Before Neil's discovery of his Negro ancestry, he had a responsible position in the bank, was a prominent member of social and civic societies, and had earned the respect of all his neighbors and associates. It should be further noted that one could detect in him an attitude of indiffer ence if not slight contempt for the Ne roes with whom he had to come in contact, such as the maid, shoe-shine boy, porters and waiters. e11 was a ssuming the role that was expected of him by hi s social t. Upon dis overy of his Nero blood, the world be an to change drastically for Neil. He loses his job in the bank, is ouste from membership 1n his or anizations., and 1s reno need by his family and frien s. No longer is he a member of a fluid class system in which a man can raise himself from one level to another by his initiative and abilities, but rather finds himself pushed bodily from membership in a class to membership in a rigid inferior caste. Through Neil's exposure to the Negro community we are able to glean the characterlstics of tne caste. It has begn pointed out that the system of control which operates ln the color caste system shapes the atti tudes, va ues, an beha 1or patterns of its members . It has ~~ 0 ~ further poi ed out that these controls obta1 in re lation to marriage, mobility, and the distribution of 32 desirable and undesirable social symbols . II . MARRIAGE CONTROLS OPERATING IN THE CAST SYSTEM One of the most significant controls affecting the caste like system 1s in the area of marriage . Lewis's treat ent of hi char cters and s1 ua i ons 1n Kingablood Royal shows th. e i mpact o this control . This treatmen will be co pared t o the fl 1 s of h e 1. 1r1cal st dies in .. Bla k lis and Deep Sou • Mar riage Controls Dep1cteg in Kingsblood Royal It was only after Neil and Ve s al were married for f 1 ve years tha he dis covery wa ma~e ha ei was one- thirty-second part egro . Vestal 1 s father, orton e, president of the Pra1 ie Powe and Li ht Corpo ratio, was a member of the hi heat social se in Grand Rep blic . Upon learn1n of the racial herita e f his son- 1n-la, he a tern ts t o ersuade h s dau her to leave him: "She will o course leave you 1 media ely, n mere self-respect . 1 'I 111 not, said Vestal. "Think so? ait 'till Lorra.1 e ~argate and Janet Aldrich cut you on the street , her father said solidly . 'I won't wait, 1 1 11 cut them first . " orton was calm . 'Go a.head my dear. Get it out of yours stem . I woul expect you to be loyal . The Beehouses are a loyal folk . But when y u have done enough for honor , you will agree 1th me that this iellow, your husband- -temporarily--1 th mo st unspeaka bl , selfish, exh1b1t1on1et1c, vile, bra ling sot and 33 bounder that ever disgraced this city! 112 Exogamous marriages are forbidden in the social caste system. Neil's young sister, Joan, upon her brother's discovery of Negro blood, finds herself to be a victim of the rigid endogamy in the caste system. When her uncle Emery complains because of the new 11 d1sgra.ce 11 which he must face after Neil 1 ei announcement, Joan exclaims, "Johnny will never marry me now, and he'll bawl me out plenty for de ceiving him about my race, and I never meant to, I never did! 11 3 Mixed marriages do occur, but the member of the Caucasian race must assume the status of the Negro mate. In spite of the high social class of which Vestal was a member, the discovery of her husband's Negro ancestry caused her to move from this social class to the inferior color caste. Couples of mixed marriages are extremely sympathetic to those who have a similar problem. When the neighborhood learns of Neil's discovery of his Negro ancestry, the Kingsbloods are visited by members of the inferior caste: 11 My name is Bugdoll. I am a saloon-keeper. I heard there was a new mixed couple in town, and I always call and welcome them to our gang. 11 And to this hie wife, Farjols, adds, "Yeh, him and 2 Sinclair Lewis, Kingsblood Royal (New York: Random House, 1947), p. 232. 3 Ibid., p. 211. 34 me are mixed ..• and I'm Just as white as you folks, maybe more so, but I do love my little brown dumpling! Yes, I'm just like you, Vestal, living with a colored boy, and is it good cuddling ••• I'll say!"4 Studies of Intermarriage in Black Metropolis Although marriages between whites and Negroes are not illegal 1n M idwest Metropolis, the Negro community in Chicago, both Negroes and whites frown upon those who cross the color-line. It 1s this fear of intermarriage which plays a dominant role in keepin the Negroes "in their place." Drake and Cayton found that although there is quite a bit of intersocial sexual play, actual sex relations are most frequently either commercial or casual, and a very small proportion of these relations lead to marr1a e. The egro Community , in response to the prejudice of whites and with the rise of race pride, has developed a reciprocal feeling of disapproval which in its extreme form borders on abhorrence.5 The most j_mportant deterr nt to interracial marriages is the attitude of close friends and relatives. This study shows the attitudes and reactions of the employers of a white domestic who announced her engagement to a Negro. "y e player saw the notice about the marriage license in the Daily News . He told me he had seen it and asked me if it were true. He said, 'You are new 4 Ibid., p. 255 . 5 st. Clair Drake and Horace R. Cayton, Black etropolis (New York: Harcourt, Bancroft Company, 1948), p. 133. 35 here. You don't know what 1t 1s like here. Do you know what will happen if you marry this man? You will be ostracized. No one will want to have anything to do with you.• I said, 1 I 1 m going to do it.• He said, 'You have a friend in Texas. I 1 11 get you a ticket and you can go there until it blows over.' He tried to get me to go, but I didn't. 11 6 In a study, "Ne ro-White iarriagee in Chicago, 11 by Robert Roberts, which was prepared as a aster's Thesis from material gathered for Black etropol1,s in 1938, there were 188 mixed families that could be located and a similar number that could not be located. Of these 188 couples, 14? of the husbands were ?egroes. The reas ons s o few white men marry Negro women are (1) the endangering of the eco nomic position; and (2) the scarcity of e ro women who are most likely to attract the white male. One of the main problems of int rracial couples is keeping a Job. Both mates find it necessary to conceal their marriage from their employer. A white wife, inter viewed for the ~lack ~etropolie study had this to say about the concealment of her marriag~ from the boss: I stayed home from ay to August whe n he was sick. I couldn't let it be known that I was his wife. I was supposed to be in New York. I had to be careful that nobody from the office saw me while I was supposed to be away. I had to step about the house quietly, because the people from his railroad line came to visit him. I had a colored woman here and I went to the kitchen when the visitors ca.me. We have to be careful bee .use we're buyln our home and can't afford to lose our obs. 7 6 Ibid., p . 136. 7 Ibid., p. 140. 36 Another major deterrent to intermarriages is the difficulty in securing a place to live. Unless the Negro mate was light enough to pass, the couple had to live in the Negro community. Even in the Negro communities the bette apar tment houses refuse to rent to mixed married couples: W1 thin the Ne ·ro communi y, apartment houses and hotels w1 married coupl a for fear that narr1ed, and therefore a.re not nany of the better 1 not rent to inter he' are not really respectable.•8 The th1 d major deterrent to int rmarriage accord1 g to Drake and Cayton is t e social ostracism which results sch arrang ents. This oat acism come no only from society but even from close friends and family. Oft n the p rtner of a mixed marria e will move to another part of the country in or er to keep he family from knowing about the marriage . This arran ~ em nt more often than not is un successful, for in some way or other the marria e is apt to be discovered . An interviewee discusses the lack of acceptance of her marr1a e y her family: Some of my sisters and some of my brothers disap proved, but they still wrote and visited me. y other r latives don't at all. I have a brother in St. Louis who is very good to me. However, he doesn't approve of my marriage and is ashamed f or peop~e to know that his sister is married to a colored man.~ 8 I b1£!. , p . 141. 9 Ib1d. 37 The mixed-marriage couples fall into four general groups: (1) the intellectuals and "Bohemians"; (2) the religious and political radicals; (3) the "sporting world"; and (4) the stable middle class. The important thing to remember is that in all Negro-white marriages, the couple 1a placed in the Negro caste and is subjected to all the limitations of the caste systems. Treatment of Inte r marriage in Deep South Davis refers to endogamy as the keynot of caste and as the most significant social control in any caste situ ation: While some individual Ne roes may achieve a high economic position, receive recognition of their high intellectual abilities, or may even occasionally transgress th rules of deference, no Negro may ever marry a white person.10 The taboo on sexual in ercourse between egro men and white women is the major control factor which acts to maintain the endogamous system, but it is important to stress that no such taboo exits in the case of white men and Negro women. White male and Negro fe male relations are of a temporary nature, but occasionally there does exist a relationship of a more permanent type. In this type of relationship the male takes a egTo mistress, usually lives with her, raises a family, and assumes the respon 1b111t1es 10Allison Davis, Deep South (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1941), p.24. 38 of a father and husband. Within this family the caste lines are broken, but outside the family this is not so: the man is considered white and the wife and children are Negroes. Outside each must behave as presented by the caste regulations. This prevents them from appearing publicly as a family group or prevents them from participating as such within each caste.11 The children of the Caucasian male and Negro female relationship play a very significant role in the caste structure. Although the children are placed 1n an inferior caste their biological heredity affects their physical appearance to such an extent that soine are not d1st1ngu1sha- ble from the white s in appearance. any of the Negroes in the Deep South study believe that this miscegenation has affected the relations between the groups: "They insist that the caste rules are not so ri gidly applied and that the Negroes are not so strongly subordinated as they are else where in the s ta.te. 11 12 In spite of this there is a tendency on the part of the whites to be generally antagonistic to the Negroes of mixed blood, since these Negroes demonstrate that the in formal processes of interm1xture are lessening the physical differences between the two groups, and are thus elimi nating the differences which the white makes the basis of 11 Ib1d., p. 39. 12 Ib1d. 39 the subordinate posi t1on of the· Negro group. The whi tea further fear that the white blood in a Negro makes him rebellious against the r estrict i ons of the caste system. Typical attitudes of the whites are expressed in the follow ing statements : They 'want to get out of their place.• Whites state that they 'never have any trouble with the black ones but most of the trouble is with the mulattoes ..• the whi e blood makes them bad; or that, as soon as they get enough white blood t o D e more ambitious, they are liable to 1ve trouble. ' Such 'bad ni gers face the antagonism and ev n hate of hites.•13 Davis and Drake '"1 ve conclus 1 ve evidence that endoga my r einforces the social sub r 1nation of the Ne gro in both the Sot th and or h . Sexual rela 1onsh1 s that doe 1st do not alter the end a ous atter . Th offsprin of the hite- 1 e ro relatio mu t be lace d in the subordinate C te . Passing e no he ol tion to the offs ring of m d m rri es. or e f e han no t th dis every of his assing is mor dan erous th if e remained a mem er in his· caste . Sinclair Lewis, hr u the plight of Neil in a lo and the reacti ons of th 1 e community to his di covery, agree with the i dings of these sociolo 1sts. III . COIT O LS FF CTI G V TIC L .OBILI TY Th second area of con rol ind tr inin · the caste system 1s the r triction o mobility ram the inferior 13 Ibi ., p . 41 . 40 caste to the open class. Vertical mobility is to be dis tinguished from horizontal mobility in that the former refers to social advancement based on length of formal edu cation, church and associational ties, i ncome and economic possessions, while the latter refers to physical movement in space. Vertical mobility is the ma jor interest of this thesis. Within the caste there exists a certain amount of vertical mobility, but no one of the inferior caste can aspire to leave his caste for membership in the open class system. By the very definition of caste, t he possibility of vertical mobility is m ade practicall y i mpossible. Since membership in a caste is determine d by birt h one cannot rise or fall from it, although accor ding t o Sorokin there is no society in which soci a l raM s are absolutely closed.14 Barriers and obility in Kingsblood Royal On the basis of the criteria tha t one associat es with determining the strata of an individual such a a length of formal education, church and as sociational ties, income and economic possessions, the J egro charact ers in K1ngsblood Roya~ have the social symbolic po t ential t o be placed on the following levels: 14 P1t1r1m Sorokin, Social ~obility (N ew York: Harper and Brothers, 192?), p. 139. A. Upper class . Ash Davis - Ph.D . - chemist. Dr. Emerson Woolcape - D.D.S. Dr . Even Brewster - Ph.D. B. 11ddle class ary Woolcape - A. B. Sophie Concord - nurse. Prexel Greenshaw - head waiter Neil Ki ngsblood. C. Lower class 1ss Belfreda Gary George Gray - shoe-shine boy. Borus Bu doll- gambler. The a bov cl ss1f1cat1on is urely a pr 41 ctive one, based on the o erating fore of an open class system, where prof sional and highly trained men ould attain the highest soci al status . In the caste syst m, as presented by Lewie, in s pite of tra nin, sills , nd abilities, there 1s very little class dis 1nct1on amon th members. A typical example of this is revealed by the role of Evan Brewster, a a arac e in lngablood Royal: v n Brewster - and he really as a Ph .D. of Columbia - ad also attended Harvard College and the Union The lo ical Seminary ..• had been born 1n a Massa chusetts village of elms and white steeples , his father a ta1lo wit w i e patron . He as something over forty now, w th a quiet wife, a daughter named Thankful an as n nam d Winthrop, w~n now in hi h schoo was sho~in · talen for physics . 15 11 ••• ud ·e Cass Timberlane had once said that Dr. Evan Brew ter was t hem t intelli ent man in Grand Rep b i c . 11 16 15 s ncl ir Le is, Q£. c~t., p. 95 . 16 Ibi . , p . 96 . 42 n • • • So Eve.n - Dr. Brewster has to work ni ht e in the post office to make both ends meet, as his children are still young. But he Just laughs about it. He says we're lucky to have a civil service em loyee and not a pan handler. 11 1? "He ~eil Kingsbloo§7 studied the parsonage [Dr. Brewster 1 ff, shabby white, one story, three or more small rooms, the whole thing not much larger than his own modest living room. '· •• rather small hous for a man as big as he. And I suppose he's married?'" "'Yes and two children. Dr. Brewster says they manage by sleeping on top of the cook-etove. 111 18 Obviously Dr. Brewster possesses the traits and abilities that would place him in the upper stratum of an ooen class system, but bein a victim of the caste system, he is unable to use his potential to raise himself on the social ladder. He 1s unable to earn a sufficient living in his professional capacity and must work in ~he post office to support his family. Lewis indicates through his characters that the position the Negro has in hie community will determine the prestige he has been accorded by his fellow Negroes. Thia prestige, however, does not increase his class status. Members in all education and economic levels of the com munity will live in the same area, attend the same churches, and belong to the same associations. The boot-black, George Gray, and Dr. Emerson Woolcape, D.D.S. were members of the 17 Ibid., p. 105. 18 Ibid. same r e 43 ongregat1one. This lack of vertical mobility strengthens the concept of caste as applied to the Negro. Vertical Mobility 1n Black Metropv.1s Drake and Cayton discovered that in Black Metropolis the existence of social classes is demonstratively recog nizabl • Ola a-thinking is essentially a way of sizing up individuals in terms whether they are social equals, fit for acceptance as friends, ae intimate associates, and as marriage partners for one's self or one's ch1l ren. It differs from caste thinking (which dom1na es egro- hite relations) in that people in the upper stra a expect some of the people below t em to enter t~S upper levels of society once they have qual i fied . The two main points in he abov 0 excerpt are: (1) 1 in th caste, there exists fl dity in changing from one social level to ano her; that is, vertical mobility oes ex a for classes with n the cae e, wher as (2) ere is no mob1 y from the e r o case to th White gToup. The sociologists have dev 1 pe use cr1ter1a for the hree strata and as a result hav fond that five per oen of the egro population are rof a onal and business en . To this , Drak agrees: An at culat worl o f doctors, 1 yers, chool t ach rs, e ecu 1ves , s cc ssfu business eople, an the frugal and art na of o r occu· at 0nal roup who ha e ell 1th difficu nd now 11n re- ari ou ly to a so lal posit o co sonan with what 19 nr e an Ca to, QQ. cit., p . 521 . 44 money, education, and power the city and the caste-like controls allow them.20 Thirty per cent of the Negro population in Black Metropolis are middle class. Som e of the members of this group are in white collar and regular employment. However, most of this class are f ound en a ed i n manual labor. This group is striving to reach the next hi gher rung of the ladder, but at the sam e time is in fear of falling down to a lower rung, which might resul t fro m loss of employment. The lower class gr oup comprises sixty-five per cent of the population in Black etropolis. The empl oyment of this class membership is us ual ly manual labor in stockyard and steel mill, i n factory and in kitchen, where eesential tasks like di g ing , seepin g, and servin · are carr ed on. Thus the educationa l training and occupation serve as the main criteria for determining the social level. Economic eta tus is of minimum importance, and al th.ough a member of one class can advance to a hi gher group, no member can leave t he e r o cas t e to join the white group. Vertical ability in DeeR South Davis and v arner f ound that t he following traits of individuals are the m ost important bas e s for class assoc1- at1ons in colored societies: 2 0ib1d., p. 522. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. ?. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. Status of the parental family. Economic traits. a. Real and personal property. b. Occupation. c. Income of family head. Age. Education. Kinship. Color and hair form. Fr1endsh1n as schoolmates. 4 Friendship of children. Type of recreation. Church Rnd associational membership. Talent. anners and dress . Hou in a fur it re. 45 T a t~ors etc d a et eal of hos t lity ex s - 1n betwee th cl s b s 1 : One upper i e-cl ss colored o an, a den al inspector, was av ae t o handling the colored school children ad constan ly ashed her hands durin in spections, t o such an ext n that a white public health officl~l regarde d this woman as more squeamish over physical cont ct with colored-lower-class persons than he himself was.21 any memb rs of the upper-class express am zement at the ability of white people to have sexual relations with the egro of the lower-class . Generally speak1n the upper cl ss egro in Old South re ards t he lower-class e ro as unclean and revoltin hysic lly. As Davis shows, this a t titude may , revail, 11 ••• 1n site of the fact that they ma be n differ nt 1~ color, odor, hair-form or other physical characteristics from these lower-class persons."22 21 Davis, Q.Q• cit., p . 233. 22 Ibid., p . 239 . 46 In spite of the hostility shown by the upper-class Negro to,,ards members of the lower-class Negro, tl1ere has been very little behavior differentiation between the classes. The upper-class was particularly disturbed by some of the standards of its class. An interviewee com plained to a member of Davis's staff: "At present upper class standards are so 'low' that tne 'best families are associating with bellhops and taxi-dr1vers. 111 23 The main cause of the 1 ck of clea lines of de marcation within the cl ss structure of the colored caste is the relativ ly limited economic stratification 1thin the colored c ate. This lack f econoQiC differential results ins ci 1 ~ aladjustments within the colored society, such as the severe conflicts over leadership. Th 1 ck of economic op ortunity also res lte in limited assoc1 tional development. Davis po i t out : Psychologically, there seems no dou t, moreover, that many of the frustrations and compensatory mechanisms of upper-class colore d people result from the fact that, while the white class system (their goal) 1s accom anied by economic and occupational stratificat i on, their e is not. They feel tha t it is lamentable, if one ls a teacher or physician, t o be rubbing shoulder~ at dances, at church, or even in colle e fraternities, of all places, 1th porters, waitresses, and jazzband mus1c1ans.24 In Kingsblood Royal, Lewis suggests the lack of 23 Ibid., p. 240. 24 Ib1d., p. 241. 47 clearly defined lines of stratification within the caste. The boot-black and doctor attend the same church and social gatherings. This., as Davie points out in Deep South., 1e due to the limited economic differentiation. D r ake and Cayton found a m uch more distinct class s~ructure in the Black Be 1 t of Chicago., owing t ,, the much larger e gro popu lation and greater variety of occupations available to the Negro. Briefly., the three works examined sho the following: (1) that a class system oper~tes within the inferior caste; (2) that certain amount s of vertical mobility exist within the caste system; and (3) that no vertical mobility exists fro m the caste to the open class. IV. CO TROL BY ~,r A 0 SOCI. L SY1 BOLS The t1i d area of social control which ch racterizes the case system 1s the une u 1 utilization or application of desirable as well as undesirable social symbols. The obvious social sym ol with hich this thesis is concerned are : education., occupation, housi g, asaoci tions., and cliques. Kingsblood Royal clearly illustrat~e an unequal distribution of social symbols. Social Symbols !n Kingsblood Royal Following the Negro church service which Neil attend ed, 0 met a former Negro classmate of his, Eme son Woolca -9 48 who after graduat1n fro m hi h school attended and graduated from a school of dentistry. The two young men discuss their high school days: "Do you remember that funny old hen we had in algebra, Capta.1n? 11 Emerson chuckled, "She was a crank, all rio-ht." "But she had a good heart. One time after class she said to me, 'Neil, if you would do your algebra better, you might become governor of the state.• "Did she. • • ;vhat she said to me one ti e after class was that she was considering only my welfare, and f or a boy of my r ace to learn algebra instead of short-order cooking was such a waste of time. 11 25 When Neil 1 s Nero ancestry as ma e known, and he ~as no longer cons1 ered as Caucasian, he was fired from his job in the ank and, in spite of his traini _ and ex erience was unable to find anything until a kind-hearted florist off ered h·m a job. The Negroes in Kin,sblood Royal \ere e ployed as aids, wait rs, and boot-blacks, and a few were c1v1 service w ork rs. One of Ne11 1 a major fears was that his bea tiful blonde and fair daughter, Biddy, would end up as a maid in the hous e of one of h1A fo~ne friends: "y dau hter, my shining, 11 ht-foot~ Biddy, in a 'nice clean job ' maybe in Rod Aldrich's k1tchen!" 26 ressure w s pl ced on eil to sell his h e in Sylvan Park. He refused t do so. The house was his, all na i for. He dint ant to move. His former close friend, 25 Lew1s, Q.Q• cit., p. 111. 26 Ibid ~, p 8. 49 Rod Aldrich, advised him: Nell, personally I think this whole thing is picayune nonsense, but unfortunately under the restrictive covenant, both your neighbors and poor old Bill Stopple's firm could sue you for having purchased your home on fraudulent pretenses, know1n all the while that you were colored, shall we say? 2? But, 1vin up his home woul have meant living in the crowded, dingy, unhealthy section of .ayo Street in which an entire house would have been smaller than the living room of his present home . Lewis does not stress associa.tion nd clique differ- enti tion . 1 ost likely the intellectuals such s Davis, Dr. Bre rste , and Kin sblood would be in each other'a company more than 1th the domestics, bellho s , and laborers, but Davis sho~ s that so much fluidity exists in these associ tions and c iques that they los their value as a social symbol. Comparison of Social Symbols in Blac~ etroool1s and Deep South The uses made of social symbols as regulators of caste may be visualized oy comparing their uses in Black .etropol1s and Deep South. Table I reveals the different 1 plementation of the same general symbols in the two studies. 27 Ib1d., p. 335. 50 TABLE I UTILIZATIO OF SOCIAL SYI BOLS IN BLACK ETR POLIS AS CO PARED TO DEEP SO UTH Social ~mbo_l Black Metropolis Deep South A. Education School segregation Pay of teachers Length of time Negro stays in school B. Economic factors Occupation in skilled jobs Chances for ad vancement when competing with whites Ownership of large production enterprises Retail owner ship, merch ts, etc. C. Housi Segre tion of dwe 11n ar as Segregation not legal but usually results from residential segre gation; home mixing. Same as whites. Period in school compares with whites of same socio-economic level. Slowly increasing for Negroes. First fired and l a.st hired. No O\vnera of la,rge industri al enterprises. few Negro medium-si zed enter pri ses . Very r ,,at . Legal. Children always separate. Much less than whites. Very short. Many Negroes almost il literate. Decreasing for Negroes: largely laborers today. Very different. A few large plantation owners. Small but not im ortant. t han Black polis. Social Symbol D. Associations professional Lodges and secret so cieties. Social Ref m E. Cliques Social Occup tional TABLE I (continued) Black ·etropol1s Negro membership very limited ex cept in liberal groups . Negroes very rarely included. egroes excluded except in liberal grou s. Almost always included. Negroes excluded except in a fe\v liberal groups. Negroes so etimee included but not usually. 51 Deep South Negro always excluded. egroee always excluded. Always excluded. Al nost always included. i egroes always excluded. egr oes completely excluded. 52 The opportunities given the Caucasian to possess the social symbols that afford status are not available to the Negro. The Negroes in the Deep South have less advantages than they do in the Black Belt of Chicago, but both groups are held rigidly within the confines of their groups. Sinclair Lewie, through his characters, illustrates the unequal distribution of social symbols which 1s borne out by studies of Davis and Drake. CHAPT RIV ~ ETHODS OF I DEXING STATUS CHARACT R ISTICS IN SELECTED OVELS OF' SI CLAIR LEWIS One of the leadi g social scientists in the area of social str t1f1cation 1s the anthropologiet, W. Lloyd Warner. In the 1930 1 s Warner was en ·aged in empiri al studies to investigate and analyze the social class system of America. Other social scientists ha e uAed a ner'e methods in their own studies. Warner's methodology has been adopted for t hi s st dy, and everal chars.ct rs in the novels of Sinclair Lewis will be laced on strat determined by arner's index of status characteri tics. I. A EXP LA ,. TI ON OF Aru ER ' s ET ·onOLO GY A discussion of arn r's et _odology sho ld indicate the techniques, criteria, and th ir application in class placement. One method used by T arner is designated as "evaluated part1c1 ation," 1 in which informants are de pended upon to est ablish a stratification system re pre sent tlve of he community. Another method used by Warner in determining social class osltion in America is known as "the index of st ts characteristics." 1 John F. Cu er and W illiam F. Kenkel, Social Stratification in the United States ( ew York: Appleton Century-Crofta,1955), p. 108. 54 Evaluated Participation In the "evaluated participation" method, members of the community are placed in one of the social classes de termined by the findings of the interv1ewers. 2 Several techniques are used in the l acement of community members in the proper class. These techniques include matched agreements, status reputation, institutional membership, comparison, and symbolic placement. In "matched agreemen s," the interviewers abstract from the several informants the areas of a ree ent in the placin of a person in a particular class. "Status reputation," according to Warner: ... covers the whole range of American behavior ..• anything which is evaluated as sup rior or inferior is utilized. oral, aesthetic, intellectual, educational, religious , ethnic, and personal behavior is used. Such characteristics are definitely part of a person's status reputation. They he l p place the man.3 In "institutional membership," a member 1s rated by his church, social and civic grou membership position in group, and frequency of attendance. 4 Whereas "comparison" 2 w. Lloyd Warner , Social Class in America: of Procedure for the easure ent of Social Status Science Research Aseociatee, 1949), p. 4?. 3 Ibid., p. 111. 4 Ibid., pp. 73- 74 . A Manual {Chicago: 55 1s a technique of placing someone above or below the po sition of others whose social positions are definitely established. In "symboli placement" the inf ormante are uid_ ed by tcree princ1 al criteria: (1) symbol1s y structure; (2) symbolis by region, and (3) symbol m by social traits. 5 Sy bo ism by structure refers to the gr oups , fa ,1 y, kins i p , soc i a l and 1nfor al groups . Symbolism by re 1 n r fers the i cturesq e amee attached to various sect i ons of a co 1 m nity, and trait symbolism refers to descr1pt 1v titles used in ref r nee top rson ' social havior, such s "hi h hat , 11 "low brow ." 6 The second metbod hich r ner e loys to measure social status is calle ., the Hinde of social character istics . 11 T is 1nde consist of a wei ·hted tota.l of scores obtaine d on few socio-economic status indices: occup tion, house type , dwellin area nd source of income. The total scar will then dete r mine the placement of the indi v1 ua l in a art1cul r social cla.ss . Warner uses a seven-point or level sc le fore ch i ndex. Occup tion . The a ce pat 1on 1 scale as designed to ea sure t e difference in prest1 e attache t o various Jobs 5 Ibid. , p . 72 . 6cuber, QQ• cit., p. 115. 56 and the amount of skill required t o perform them. In order to weight factory jobs, however, Warner found 1t necessary to base the distinction on the hourly wages paid for the job.? The occupation 1s then checked wit Warner's occupation scale and pl aced 1n the level into which it falls. If the occupation does not happen t o be listed in his scale, other occupation liste are consulted and the researcher assigns it to its pro er rating. House types. The second characteristic used by arner in his index of social ch r acteristics is the house type , since the ki of house i n w 1ch a person lives is usually thou ht of as be i n · related t o is status . In any case, the hous in which one 11v s i s re gard d as a art of his w ealth which, of course, is factor 1n social status. easuring the differenc s be tVi e n the houses in a co - munity indic ates in a ·eneral y th social st .n 1 gs of tleir occupants. Accordin to ·arner: Houses ere r t ed only on the basis of external appearance. The r ating on conaiti ons ·ncluded such factors as size and condition of the garden and lawn, extent t o which the lace was landscaped, placement of the house on the lot, and nearness t o adjacent build ings. In add1 tion consid.er t1on s 1 ven to the degree of aesthetic a peal and architectural desi gn.8 On the basis of size an condition of the house ? Warner, 212.• cit., p . 133. 8 Ib1d., p . 143. 5? Warner set up a twofold scale with five questions. The five categories of size were represented by the numbers 1 to 5, while tt1e five c .tegories of condition were repre ~ented by the letters A to E: very large (1) very good condition (A) large (2) good condition (B) medium (3) medium condition (C) small (4) bad condition (D) very small (5) very bad condition (E) Thus a classification of 1 A would in~1c .tea house type which was very lar · e and in very good cond1 tion, 1 B would mean very 1 r ·e and in cod condition, and 2 A would mean lar e and in very od con di ion, etc . The sev n-r ting sc le would be the following: Rating 1. 2. L rge houses in o c ndit1on. Large house in medium co n ition. ea.1 -sized house in good condition. 3. Large hou e in bad condition. 4. edium-sized houses in medium condition. 5 . Sall houses in good condition . D/1 el lings ov r stores . 6 . ediwn-sized houses in bad condition. Small houses in ba condition. 7. All houses in very bad condition. Dwelling b8 in st1uctures no intended originally for homes.9 Warner has modified the seven rating scale used in his study of Jonesville, and the improved version of his scale will be used in assigning ratings 1n this thee1s. This modified scale includes: 1. Excellent houses, including only those which are very large, s1ngle-fe~1ily dwellin sin good repair and surrounded by large lawns and yards which are well land scaped and cared for. Such houses have an el ment of ostenta.t1on with respect to size, architectural style, and general condition of ya.rds and lawns. 2. Very g-ood houses, those which are all htly smaller than those in group one, but still la.r :er than the utility demands of the average family. 3. Good houses, those which are more co ventional and less ostentatious than the two hi her categories, but are a bit larger than the utility demands of a family. 4. Average houses, including one-and-a-half and two story houses, frame or brick construction, single-family dwellings. A characteristic of this class is a conservative style, with lawns well cared for but not landscaped. 5. Fair houses, those houses whose condition is not quite as good as those g ven a "4" rating. In a.ddi tion, 59 smaller houses 1 excellent conditi on are included in this class. 6. Poor houses, those which are badly run-do11in, but have not deteriorated beyond repair . Such houses suffer from l a ck of care but do not suffer the profusion of debris that surrounds houses in the lowest category. ?. Very poor houses, 1nclud1n · those houses which have deteriorated to such a degree that they cannot be repaired and are considered unhealthy and uns afe. Also included in this cate ory are buildin ·e not ori ginally intended for use as dwellings--shacks and other over crowded buildings. The halls and yards of houses in this category are littered with Junk, and many have . an extremely bad odor.10 In categories 6 and ? , si ze is less i mporta.nt than condition in determining t evaluation. Dwellin The third characteristic considered by V arrer is the dwellin · area, and the significance of this characteristic is based on the a.ssumpt1on that most t wns are divided into a s eries of ecolo ical areas which are considered unequal in pr esti ~ and of unequal value . 11 The degree of desirability or 1 ck of desirability de termi es their ranking order. The criteria for determ1n1n lOibid., pp. 149-150. 11 Ibid . , p. 181. 60 desirability are: (1) general appearance of the area; ' (2) the general appearance of the houses in a neighborhood, and (3) class members hip of residents in the area. On the basis of these criteria, Warner w a s able to distinguish sixteen separate dwellin _ areas in the study he made of Jonesville. Although each could be distingu;shed from adjacent areas on the basis of the above criteria, it was soon discovered that some areas w ere socially equal. Thus a town may have tJo or mor simila r areas in different sections of the town. The following rating scale emerged: 1. Very hi gh . In m ost towns t his includes one residential area. The residents are aware that this e.rea has a hi gh ata.tus re pr esentation. The best houses in t own are located in this area. 2. High. Dwelling areas 1n tis cate gory are considered to be superior and well above the average, but a little below the top. 3. Above average. This rating is a little above average with reference to social reputation. Such an area of nice but not pretentious homes has a re putation of being a 11 nice place to live," but "society doesn't live here." 4. Avera e. The reference is to areas in which workingmen's homes ar small and unpretentious, but neat in appeare"nce. The •'respecta.ble" people of the town live 1n such areas. 61 5. Below average. Areas referred to as "below average" generally are undesirable, located near factories, or close to the railroad, or located in the business section of the town. 6. Low. These areas are run-down and semi-slums; houses are set close together, and the streets may not be paved. ?. Very low. Slum districts, areas with the poorest reputation. The houses are not ruuch better than shacks. A social stigma is attached to those who live here.1 2 Source of income. The fourth and final criterion - for the Index of Social Characteristics is the uereon's .. source of income, which takes into account the fa.ct that a person's status is affected not only by how much money he has, but also by "how he ets it. 11 The seven-level scale is based on the following: 1. 'Nealth, or having a 11 fortune" lar e enough to live on that was inherited from an earlier generation. 2. Earned wealth. People in this category have considerable wea th and live on interest fro m ca ital. These people have amassed sufficient money so that they need not work. 3. rofits and fees. The reference is to the fees of profess1 nal men an the profits of bus1neAsmen . 12 Ib1d., pp . 153-159. 62 Royalties of musicians and writers are included in this group. 4. Salary. This cate gory includes fixed incomes that are paid on a monthly or yearly basis. Salesmen's commissions are also included here. 5. ~ageA. Thie category includes fixed incomes that are aid on an hourly basis, or for short sta.ted inter vals, usually on a daily or weekly basis. 6. Private relief. his ratin covers d io s of money by friends, relatives, or by agencies that do not reveal the names of those rece1v ng the funds. ?. Public relief and non-respectable income ranks the lowest. Public relief 1s received from a government a ency or from a charity or anization that will reveal the names of the recipients. on-res ectable income includes money received from engaging in ille al activities.13 Scoring the Index of Status Qllaracteristics Th purpose of these four scales--Occupation, House type, Dwelling, and Source of Income--is to furnish an estimate of the social class placement of individuals, since time and other factors may prevent one from makin the detailed intervieVis necess .ry for social class placement by 13 Ibid., pp . 139-142. 63 the thod of Evaluated Participation.14 The scores are secured by weighting each character istic in the following manner: Occupation, i; House type, Q; Dwelling area, g; Source of income,~- The ratings 1 to? of each characteristic are multipled by the weight of each characteristic. For example, Mr. Smith, a plumber, receives his inco e in the form of hourly wages and lives in an average nouse in an avera e dwellin area. His total score would be computed in the followin g manner: Social Characteristics --- Occupation House type Dwellin area Source of income Score 5 b 4 5 2 3 Total score Mr. Smith's total score wo d be 58. For the ur Total 20 15 8 15 58 se of this study, the fo lowi stratification cale, b· sed by '~ rner, on the foregoi:i four character sties will be sed: Score Rang~ Predicted Social Class 12 - 22 u er Class 23 - 3? u per !J idd e 38 - 51 Lov,er 1 le 5 - 66 Upper Lo er 14 Cuber, 212.• cit., p. 122. 64 Score Range Predicted Soc1~1 Class 67 - 84 Lower Lowel'' On the basis of this scale , Mr . Smith with a score of 58 would be in the Upper Lower social class. The remainder of this chaotPr will deal with the J. computation of scores for several characters in the selected novels of Sinclair Lewis , and the placing of the in social clas s com nensurat e with their sc re level on Warner's scale . II. SOCIAL CLASS OF CHAf ACT ~ SI O F SI CLAI LEWI OV~LS In Dodsworth (1929) Sinclai Lewis dep cts the plight of a successful er1can business n whose _ampered wife, Fran, has a thirst for ttculture" which can on y be quenched by tourin Eurone . ... Fran fi d a great deal of social sat1s - faction in associating with the high society of Europe which includes many ~n rican expatriates ho, to the distress of Samuel Dodswort~, continu lly make highly critical comments on American life, it bi 6 business ethics , it s art , and its bad 1nanners. Le is, thr ugh Dods 1Vorth, defends the American way of life and the ma j r role big-business ha pl. yed , stressi the fact that the American economy has been relied upon by the hole orld f or its security . It is the ene t r ating, relentl~ss critici m of A merican life that makes 65 Dodsworth see for the first time the values of bein an American. He loves his wife, but in order to keep her he ust yield to her "European manner of living." He prefers to los e her, and returns to America t o a woman he will soon marry , a woman who shares 1th him , a an ideal, the value of livin in America . ~amuel Dodsworth's Class Placement His class pl criteria.: ent is b~sed on the following Occupation . Samuel Dods~orth is the president of Revelat on 1oto r Com any . T 1s osition entitles him to a rating of 11 1. 11 House tyoe. The house in which the Dodsworthe live 1s very lar e and well cared for. "He had sometimes caught himself wondering if it wasn't too elaborate, but usually it floridness pleased hi .• ~ 15 His house the, entitles him t o te h1 0 hest ratin on the seven-point scale, that is, a ratin of 11 1. 11 DNelling area. a one would expect, r. Dodsworth lives in the area befitting a bu~iness tycoon: "His lar e house was on Ridge Cr st, the ost fashionable street in Zenith. ul6 Thus in this category he receives a r ating of "l." 15s1ncla1r Lewie( Dodsworth ( ew York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1929J, p. 8. 16Ib1 ., p . 11. (d) Source of Income : --.;;.. _________ - --- 66 lthou h Dodsworth inherited some money from his father, he does not live off this i nheri t ance . He would then be rated 11 2," as people in this cate ory have considerable wealth, based on earnings and i nterest from capital. Characteristic Score Wei 0 h! Total Occupation 1 4 4 House type 1 3 Dwelling area 1 2 2 Source of incor ..,e 2 3 6 Total 15 Samuel Dodsworth with a total score of 15 would fall under the range (12- 0 2) and therefore te among the upper class . In Cass Timberlane (1945) Lewis tells the story of a resnected middle - a~ed jud e who marries a girl out of his social class and the difficultv she has i n bein accep t ed i n her husband ' s society . The Jude, livin alone in his l arge home, flnds happiness in courting and then marrying a young, vi vacious girl, Jinny M arshland, who rebels a ainst the emptiness 1n the lives of the social set . Jinny, se ns i t i ve to the attitude of her husband ' s friends to arde her , finds solace in the attentions of another man , Brad Criley, wi th whom she runs away after losing her baby . Due t o a diabetic condition she becomes gravely 111 and is 67 near death when C ss comes to her, for gives her, and returns with her to Grand Republic her e Jinny be comes awar e that she is accepted by Cass' friends. In this novel Lewis sho s the cleavage that exists between tYo social clas ses--those who make over $7000 and those who make less. Each social group has its own stand rds of liv1n, mode of behavior, values and ideals, but it is possible t o m ove from one roup to the other, rovided certain modifications and a j stmente can be m de in one 's attitudes and behavior. Three characters in Cass Timberlane will be rated on /arner's Social Scale . The are Cas s Timberlane, Jinny arshland, and Lucius Flie end. Cass Timberlane's Cla§.§. Rating Occupation. Since Ti~berlane's training wa s 1n l aw , his occup.tional r ating would be n2. 11 House type. Cass' house 1s described ae immense in size, thou no t in the best c ondition. It was drafty with the windows o e n and sickeningly hot with them closed. Jinny did not enjoy 11v1n in it and che Judge kept it only f or sentimental r aeons. The ratin t o be 1ven is "2." Dwelling area. The Judge's home loca ted in the old ayfair area, one of the bettP.r areas of the community, receives a ratin of 11 1." 68 On h1s judge's salary, without the inheritance from his father, Cass could never have lived in this quarter: it was Mayfair where only Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Congregationalists and the more Gothic ethod1sts, all Republicans and all golf players lived on a golden isle amid the leaden surges of democracy.l? Source of income. Cass Timberlane is on a salary, though it provides nothing for investments. He had in herited some money and property, but not enough to live on without working. As Lewis states the situation: "Owen , (Casa' father) had died there, less than a year later, leaving it jointly to nis wife, arah, and to Cass, along with the local fortu e of forty or fi f ty thousand." 18 The inheritance and salary factors would ive Cass a rating of "3. 11 The scoring and weight ng may be computed as follo ,s : Characteristics Score \Veight Total Occupation 2 4 8 House type 2 6 Dwelling area 1 2 2 Source of income 3 3 9 Total 25 On the basis of this scale C ss Timberlane would be placed in the Upper .iddle Class, lower than that of Samuel Dodsworth. 17 Sincla1r Lewis, Cass Ti berlane ( ev York: Random House, 1945), p. 18. 18 Ibid., p. 14. 69 Since the main theme of the novel Cass Timberlane is the problems resulting when a member of a high status group marries someone in another social set, it would be of interest t show Jinny arshland 1 s rating before she became M rs. Cass Timberlane. Jinny Marshland's Clnss Placement Occupat.lQ.n. Before her marriage, Jinny was a drafts man and designer for th Flie gend Fancy Box and Pasteboard Toy anufacturers. Shews then on a salary and Viould be 1 ven a rating of 11 4 . 11 .tlouse type. Jinny lived in a boardin house w hich was close to a restaurant. According t o arner 'e edified Scale, this type of dwelling w snot even rated, but ac- cordin t o his origin 1 scale the ratin ould be 11 5. 11 Dwelling area . The boardin house of 1ss Tilda Hilta was the hobohemia of Grand Re public. It occupied t e two upper floors of an old brick buildin~ near Paul Bunyan Avenue, in a land of railroad siding and small f ctories . The rating for this dv,e llin area ould be 11 6. 11 S urce Q[ income . As a draftsman-desi gner for the Flie end Fancy Box, Jinny received a salary which would give her a ratin o- of 11 4." The computation for class rating would be as follo s: ?O Characteristics Score Weight Total Occupation 4 12 House type 5 15 Dwelling area 6 2 12 Source of income 4 3 12 Total 51 Jinny arshland on the basis of a 51 score would be classified in the Lower iddle Class. She married Cass Timberlane , ho had a class score of 25 , and by the ma.rria e climbed into the Upper 1 iddle Class set . Lucius Fliegend 1 s Class Place nt Occupation . .r. Fliegend is the manufacturer of Fancy Box and Pasteooard Toy Company for which Jinny worked . As e. wealthy manufacturer he woul be given a r ating of "1 . 11 House !Ype . The house is very 1 rge and osten- tatious but does not have eno gh s pA.ce for a. garden, and, as described by Lewis : Bulky old brown house , alls ere of white paneled wood dotted wit~ maps of innesota and portr aits of its early heroes : RA.msey , Sibley, Steel, Poole , Pike and Talesferro . 19 For such a house Ir . Flie ~ end would be rated as 11 2 . 11 Dwelling area . Citing Lewis ' description of it, Forty years a o it had been the citadel of the select residential district. This was the area of mansions with solidly built immense towers , with twenty 19Ib1d . , p . 38 . ?l r ooms each .•• many of these shrines had been torn down to save tax, and others turned into a home for nuns, a home for p1oue 2 Lutherans, old ladies , a business colle e and a Y. M .C.A. 0 The rating for a dwelling ar a of this kind would be 11 2 . 11 Source of income. Like amuel Dodsworth, Ir . Fliegend is en -a din business, fo which he would be given a rating of 11 2 . 11 The comput a.tion · for Fliegend 1 s class placement is : Characteristico Score Weight Total - Occupat on 1 4 4 House type 2 6 Dwellin g area 4 2 8 Sourc.e of inco e 2 3 6 Total 24 Since the upper class scores range from 12- 22 , Lucius Flie end, with score of ~4, barely fai l ed to male the Upper class but is in th top r at1n s of the Upper - ~1ddle Class . Hi dwellin area is in an old residential area hich is bein · converted i to a comme1·cial area , and this is the main fact or determining hi low 1 socio- economic status . Although Fl1e gend 1s in the same socio- economi ·roup a s Timberlan , he ls not accept d in the s e socia.l et . This might e attributed to the fact that he is Jewish. 2 0ibid. . , p . 26 . 72 In ·. Iain Stie t (1926), Sinclair Lewis's autobio ra phical ovel, the author tells of the illnesses and diseases of Goph r ra1rie, a small torn sy□bolic of the thousands of small towns in the United States. Carol ~ ·11rord, an i ealist and dreamer , who after · a.duatin from college, marries Dr. John Kennicott _nd returns to his home in Gonher riaire .vhere she is appalled by the town I s lack of beauty nd culture. She v· ts to make over this town; clea it up; e utify it; encour· e cu~tural activity, and civic or1de. Buts e is prevented from doing so by the sel -satisfied citizenry w o resent her interference. l ' in Street is an indict. ent of the small town, the drab, dull, dingy existence of hwnan beings in a ?orld that could be full of beau y, music , and color. Lewis, throu ·h the c aracterization of arol, shovs the unhap iness of a hwan s ul th tis l ways s e e in b t never finding a goal or ur pose in life. Lie a ira ge, the goal seer s to be within her grasp , but when she atte ;4 pts to reach it a.nd hold it in her arras, it fades away and she has only to seek it a gain. The three char, cters to be considered for social class eval tion re : Doctor Kennicott , Sam l ark and ,Tiles Bjornstarn . r. Kennicott 1 s Q_la s lace ent Qccupation . Dr . Kennicott is an 1 HD. and as such he is i ve r ting of 11 1. 11 73 House type. As Lewis describes it: A concrete sidewalk with a parking of grass and mud. A square, smug brown house, rather damp. A narrow concrete walk up to 1t. Sickly yellow leaves in a window with dried wing of box-elder seeds and snags of wool from the cottonwoods. A screen porch with pillars of painted white pine surmounted with scrolls, and brackets and bumps of jigsawed wood. o shrubbery to shut off the public gaze, a lugubrious bay window to the right of the porch. Window curtains of starched cheap lace revealing a pink marble table with a conch shell and a family Bible .•. in hallway a.nd parlor she was conscious of dinginess and airleseness .21 The rating in terms of Doctor Kennicott'a home would be "4. 11 Although its size is very large, i doesn't seem to have been kept up. Dwelli _g area . For Gopher Prairie the rating wou d be 11 4." There is no "beat" residential area. to consider. There is, however, one addition 1 rated area in which the people live in shacks, but thi · area is outside the town proper . Source of income. As an . D., Kennicott collects fees and his rating would be 11 3. 11 The computation of class placement is: Characteristics Occupation House type Dwellin rea Seer 1 4 4 Weighl 4 3 2 Total - - 4 12 8 21 s1ncla1r Lewis 1 ain Street ( e 'l York: Harcourt , Brace and Com any , 1926~, pp. 29-30. 74 Characteristics Score Weight Total Source of income 3 3 9 Total 33 A total score of 33 places Dr. Kennicott in the Upper !iddle Class. His profession rai se s his status above that of most members of his corrununity. Sam Clark's Class Placement Occupation. S Clark is the proprietor of a hard- war store on in Street. 11 ell, I 1 rt Sam Clark, dealer in hard are, s ortin oods, ere~~ separators and almost any kind of heavy Junk you can think or." 22 On the basis of this ownership of a small business, Clark ets a rating House type. Clark's house was one of the newest and lar est in Gopher Prairie, but not too ostentatious ; it would mer1 t a r ating of 11 3. 11 The r ecently built home of am Clark, in which was given the p rty to welcome Carol , was one of the largest in Go her Prairie. It had a clean sweep of clap bo r ds , solid squareness, a small tower and a large screened porch. Inside it was as shiW, as hard and as cheerful as a new oak upri ght piano.23 Dwelling area . Like the area in hivh Dr. Kennicott 11 ved, this was no bett r than a.vera · e a d ,arould warra.nt a 22 Ib1d., p. 28. 23 Ib1d. ?5 rating of 11 4 . 11 Source of income . As an owner in a small business securing profits, Clark would have a rating of "3." The computation of class placement is : Characteristics Score Weight Tota.l Occupation 3 4 12 House type 3 3 9 Dv1ell1ng area 4 2 8 Source of income 3 3 9 Tote..l 38 This puts Sam Clark in the Lo ~er 1ddle Class just belov, Dr . Kennicott, whose 33 rating places him in the Upper 1ddle . _J.~~~ BJornstam 1 e Cla.1!.§. Placement Occupation . ilea Bjornstam recently started a dairy far after working in a mill. His mill work will be used for his rating of 11 5 . 11 House !Ype . His home was a shanty converted into a cotta e, and Lewis urovides the followin description : He had but one ro om, a ba.re pine flo or , small wor k bench, wall bunk with an amazin ·ly neat bed, fryin pan and coffee pot on the shelf behind the pot- bellied cannon ball stove, backwoods che.irs--one constructed from half a oarrel, one from a battered plank . 24 Thus he would be iven a r .ting of 11 6 . " 24 Ib1d. , p . 11? . D.a,ellin.g area . ?6 1 i les 1 home was locatea on the out- skirts of the toVin in which the hous e s ere shacks . He would et a rat1n of 11 7 . 11 Source of income . The hourly a e he received f or vror king in the mill wo ld result in a rat in of "4 ." The comput tion of ;ilea ' soc i al class placement is : Char cteristics Sc re , eight Total Occup tion 5 4 20 House t e 6 3 18 DV1 e lli n area ? 2 14 Source of 1 c e 4 12 Total 64 A score of 64 o d put 7 ,· "11 s i t e Uppe r Lower Class . Thus each of the thre car cters analyzed in •ain Street 1s pl .ced in diff rent s ocio - economic clas~ . Dr . Kennicott is p l ce d i n the U e r . ~ id<ile; Sam Cl rk in the Lo er 1 1d le a nd /iles B or nstam in the Upper Lower . Al t hough Sam Clar nd Dr . Kennicott represent different classes, the y belong to the same social set in Go phe r Pr airie n · re very clos f r iends . , • i les is not accepted by either Dr . Kennicott or Sam Clark s anything but com 10n l aborer w o 1 ht do odd Jobs for them if he 1s not workin else here . In Bab bitt , Sinclair Lewis directs his shar pest and o t direct attac o aterialis . Tis is the story of 7? George F. Babbitt, real estate broker, husband and father, living in Zenith, popul tion 361,000 and growing every day. His main concern is making money for himself and purchasing all that it will buy, especially social prestige. Babbitt is not entirely successful, for although he belongs to the 11 proper 11 church , political party, clubs a.nd lodges, he 1s never accepted in the social milieu of the highest social level. Heh s a code of et ics which could be accepted by the mo t ri gid and moral rel1 ious observer, but often he departs from this code with ma 'nif1cent rationalizations of his actions . Geer e Babbitt 1s an unhappy man as all men are who cannot ach1ev their most cherished goal . He worries and frets about not being acce pted by the ~cKelveys . He envys illiarn Eathorne , a member of an old respected Zenith family. At the same time, Babbitt is the envy of many eo le who consider him the epitome of the highest social class. Ed Overbrook, a former cla.ssmate, and an unsuccess ful insurance a gent, is in this gr oup. Life is disappointing to Geor ge. He makes an attempt to revolt against his way of life by assoc1at1n with a loose crowd. This doesn't resolve his problem and he finally returns to the fold, never to be really ha . py, but ready t o acce this fate as a victim of his era. The index of characteristics will be considered for f our characters : 78 illiam Eathorne , Charles cKelvey, Geor e Babbitt , and Ed Overbrook . W i l liam Eathorne ' s Class Placement Occup~~i)n . He is direct r of se veral l arge cor po rat i ons and as such is given a r ating of 11 1 . 11 House tyoe . Living i n a very l ar e , excell ent condition mans i n gi ves him the r ating of 11 1 . " Dwelling area . Floral Heights , the area i which the ~athorne ' a live i s ell above avera e , but it is not the best . Thus, a ratin of n2 . 1 Source of income . Sin e his p 1ncipal source of i.com co. es fro m sever 1 genera ions of inheritance, he will get r ating of 11 1 . 11 Computation of at rne ' a social class placement is : Char'"cteri Score Total Occup tion 1 4 4 House type 1 3 3 Th'1 e 111 area 2 2 4 Source of income 1 3 Total 14 Th total score of 14 places E thorne in the Up per s ocial cla • 79 Charles _cKelvey Occupation . cKelvey , as an oner and manager of a large corporation, ets the rat1n of 11 1. 11 B..ouse type . Like the home of illiam Eathorne , Nc Ke l vey ' s home is of the manRion type . Simil~rly, he will et a r ating of 11 1. 11 Dwell i ng area . Unlike thorne vn10 l i ves in a better than avera e, although no the best, area and received a rating of 11 2 , 11 cKelvey lives in Royal Ridge , the ost exclusive area i n Zenith. Thus he receives a rating of "l . u Source of income . cKelvey ' s income comes from tNo mai n sources, profits 1th a r t·ng of 11 3 1 and i nvested money, 11 2 , " thus ivin him a rating of "2 . 5 . 11 Com utation of cKelvey ' s class placement is : Characteristics Score Weight Total Occupation 1 4 4 House type 1 3 3 Dwellin area 1 2 2 Soul''ce of income 2 . 5 3 7 . 5 Total 16 . 5 Like ◄ thorne, ho received a score of 14, ~cKelvey is in the up er-cl ss stratwn . GO _Qeorge E· Babbitt's Social Class Placement Occupation. As a real estate broker and co-nartner in the agency, Geor e Babbitt will ge t a rating of 11 1. 11 House type. George's home is above average but does not rate a "2. tt This gives hi a ratl.ng of 11 3." Dwelling area.. Babbitt, like Eathorne , lives in Floral Heights and is given a 11 2 11 for his rating. Source of inco e . Babbitt's source of income ema nate s fron the commiss i ons he earns. This ives him a rat 1 ng of 11 3 • n Co~putation of Babbitt's class placement is: Characteristics Occupation Hous type Dwell1n area Source of income §core 1 3 2 3 eight 4 3 2 3 Tota.l 4 9 4 9 Total 26 Vi th a score of 26, George Be.bbl tt falls f ar below cKelvey and Eat.orne , and is placed in the Upper 1 dle Cl· as . Ed Overbrook 1 s Social Cl ss Place ent Occupation. As an insurances lesman, Ed Overbr ook e t s a r t 1 ng of t1 2 • " House type. The O erbrook house s just avera e. 81 The Overbrook nous . wa s depressing ; it 7 ~ s the seco d story of a ooden t o-fa rily d rellin ·, a pl ace of baby carri !es, old qt un · i~ t e hall , c a bage S1ell, and a f 1ily Bible.25 This gets Di..velling rating of 11 4. 11 Overbrook live d in Dorchester, an are~ in bier ork ~en lived . It va s Just aver ~ e or even below average. This receives a rating of "5. 11 Source of income. As an insurance salesman, he wor ked on a com isaion basis , and is entitled to a rating of 11 3. 11 rt ·•np·,t ~+ · Lon o VU l I.A. c: .. . Ov 0 rbr ok 1 s class placeme tis: Characteristics ccupation House type D; elling area ource of i con 1e Score 2 4 5 3 1th a total of 39 , Ed Overbroo~ 4 2 Total 8 12 10 9 Total 39 ould be olaced in .... t e Lover ~ id le Class . Thus, in Babbitt , binclair Lewis d oict s a t l eas t thr ee defin t e classes : ... 1 . p er Cl ass : · i 111 . n .,a th rne, i th A s co e of 14 . pn e r CL:tss : Ch rle s ,rc Yelv y , i t h a score of 1 . 5 . 25 i cl ir Le ~is , ____ i_t,.1 ( e ~ Yor : Harc ourt, Brace nd li a y , 1 2 ) , . 2 . 82 2. Upper lviiddle Class: George F. Babbitt wi tl1 a score of 26. 3. Lo~er \ iddle Class: Ed Overbrook, with a score of 39. Free Air (1919), tells the story or + ltwoods, father and daughter, of a socially prominent Brooklyn Hei hte family who, while makin a trip by automobile to their equally socially prominent r elations in Seattle, ashington, become i m pressed 1th the d 11, drab, and often tragic existe!l.ce of the 11 co 1 n" man. ilt D g ett, young auto mechanic fro.n a sm 11 .innesota t own, introduces Claire Boltwood to the social class from which she has always been sheltered. In soite of the drabness in the lives of those beneath her, Cl ire detects a certain amount of honesty, ar1th, and realness that is l acking in her social set. Se falls in love with the mecha ic, and after much 1ndecisio and opposition, she decides t o leave her set and m arry 'ilt, obviously realizing that she would be engaged in downward mobility. The two characters to be evaluated are Henry B. Boltwood a nd l ilt D a g ett. Henry B. Boltwood Occupation. railway sup _lies. House type. Vice-president of a firm dealing 1n This wo lld ~ ive him a rating of 11 1. 11 Here, in a big brisk h me of dignity, 83 yet ugliness, lived Claire Boltwood, with her wid wed father. 2 6 In s pite of the ugliness, the f ct that it is a mansion would give it the ratin g of 11 1. 11 Dwellin.g area . Brooklyn Heights is recogni zed as a very aristocratic section. Thus, a rating of 11 1." Source of income. An income from prof 1 ts ( 11 3 1 ) and investments ( "2 11 ) would ·1 ve Bolt ood a combined rating of 11 2.5. 11 The computation of Boltwood's s cial class lacement is: Characteristics Score eight Total Occupation 1 4 4 House type 1 3 3 Dwelling area 1 2 2 Source of income 2.5 3 7.5 Total 16.5 A rating of 16.5 would place Henry Boltwood in the Upper Class. ~ilton Daggett~ Social Class Placement Occupation. Although 1lton 1s only an automobile mechanic, he owns his own garage and has an employee. He thus will be given a r ating of 11 3." 26s1nclalr Lewis( Free Air ( ew York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1919J, p. 10. House type. He lives in a single ro om in a small cottage, and is iven a r at in of 11 6. 11 84 ~elling are. By inference, the dwellin area of the whole town ,ould be average or just belo, average. A rating of 11 5 11 1s o-iven Dag ·ett. Source of income. Dag ett's source of incom e is profits, warrantin 0 a r atin of 11 3." ·11t~n Daggett•s soci 1 class place ent would be : Characteristics Occup tion House type elling area Source of inco e Score 3 6 5 3 •✓eight Total 4 12 3 18 2 10 3 9 Tot- 1 49 tal score o 49 pl ces D Claire will then escen t' ett in t e Lower idul e l ass. social l adder y her narriage to .. ,-11t, conve r sely to Jinny ':arshland 1 s upw rd ov~m nt .. s the resu t of 1 ... e r . a r ia ·e to Cas s Timberlane . O n t . he b sis of the t o t 1 scores t he t hirte n charac t ers evalua t ed i. this chap t e r oul d fall in the follovin so cial classes: t/ill am athorne n .uel Dodsworth harles ~ cKelvey Henry B ltwoo d 14 15 16.5 16.5 UPPER IDDLE CLASS: Lucius Fliegend Cass Timberla.ne George Babbitt Dr. Kennicott LO~ER ·IDDLE CLASS : Sam Cl rk Ed Overbrook \ilt Daggett Jinny arshland UPP ER LO~ER CLASS: ;11es Bjor tam 24 25 26 33 38 49 49 51 64 85 It shoulo be noted that i n placin these characters in a pa.rticu ar class stratum, only four al ost arbitrary characteristics were usea. . Educ ~'wtion, associations , personal character were ne r ected. It should also be pointed out that s ome of the ratings were given on the basis of inference in reaa1 g the novel . Another writer might find different place nt f or many of these people. This chapter atte pted to apply ~arner 1 5 techniques of class placement to char ~ cters of the novel. In doing so it w s found that in thi elected r oup of novels most of tte m ain characters were in th fi ddle Class, thus bearing out Lev11s I s reputation of a writer interested in thie class. The student of soci lo -y can find a great deal of v lue in a.pplyi a.rner 'e index of status characteristics t characte1s of the novel , e en if this is done only as an exercise in methodolo y, i.e., applyin techniques abo t which he ha s stuaie d but never ract1ced. 86 Another significant finding in the applic -t1on of t ~ ~s technique to Lewie's chara.cters is the awareness of the author's insight and astuteness in the development of hie characters, providing them with appropriate social symbols to meet the demand of their roles. CHAPTER V SOCIAL OBILITY I SELECT D O V ELS OF SI TCLAIR L Vi IS In Chapter III 1t was shown that the caste system, a.s one extreme in the American class system, is charac terized by restrictive factors 1n the areas of marriage, mobility and distribution of social symbols. The opposite extreme is the upper upper stratum of the o en class system wr11cr1 is char :-1.cterized by c oc1 lete and unhan1pered freedom in all areas of social livin g . This chapter will be concerned primarily witl the area. of soc1a.l rr.ob111ty in the open class system, an, s ecifically, vertical mobility. As poi ted out earlier, horizontal mobility refers to movement from one rea to no her i n time and space, vertical mobility r ef rs to move ent from one social class level to ano ~her. I. SOCI~L 1 0BILITY AFFECTI N G SOCIAL STRATIFICATION "Social Lvertical.7 mobility," according to Cuber, "refers to the changir.g status of a person in the str _ t1f1- cation system of a society. 111 As one ascends the Qocial scale, soc1 1 mobility t ends t o be more r apid. Thus a person in the lower middle cl .ss can move to the next higher 1 John F. Cuber, Social Stratification ( ew York: Appleton-Century-Crofte, 1955), p. 15. 8 run of the social ladder mor rapidly than a p rson of the upper lower strata. This suggests the value of considering how, theoretically, social mobility should operate in a democratic societ) and, on the other hand, how it operates, a.nd why. ~ernocr,&3:.. as~ Climate for .Yer'ijcal r.obilit:Y In an ideal form o democratic society there w ould pr b bly be a reater de gree of vertic 1 o i l ity than in a non-democratic soci ty, since the soci 1 position of the i. dividual in a dem crA.cy ould not be d ter ined by birth, nor would judici 1 or reli i us obst cles by likely to affect his mobilit on the social scale. Allo ranee sh uld be m a de objectiv ly for ctual cl ss iAtinctions prevalent in cont mporary so-called demo ratic societies or st ates, so tha t the assumed "ideal dernocr .cy" and tt.e obility functioning withi . it will not be inter re t d objectively as a. universal. Theoretically, ho ever, it may be lo ical to saume that in a truly democratic societJ in which social mobility operates freely, there would be lees social str tification, that is, less class•division in the social structure. Conversely, in non-democratic or totalitarian societies or states, the c ~nditions incident to a lack of mobility would be 11 ely o result in a greater de ·ree of class strat1f1c tion. P1tir1rn Sorok1 has this to say about the matter: 89 Such a belief is a kind of mental aberration, due to many causes, and among them to tr1e fact that the strata 1n democratic groups a.re more open here, more holes and 'elevators' to go up and down. This pro duces the 1llu~1on that there are no str ta, even though they exist.2 No state or nation is purely democratic in its organization, and a democracy actually functions in the United States, class stra 1f1cat 1 n 1s a real factor in the social structure. Narner's studies of Jonesville, and Yankee City, Drake's study of the De~ South, and Hollin ·s head1s El town Youth, are but a few examples of the class stratification that exists in spi e of freedom of mobility in the open class system. It 1s therefor·e in or er to say th t 1 though ideally, freedom in social movement should elimin tea stratified society, in practice it may not. It should also be said that as one climbs higher in the class system, it becomes easier for him to climb still hi her in tl1e class structure. This var1.a.tion of move ent 1n the different classes may be due t o : (1) barriers to mobility; (2) social values of each class, and (3) differential aspirations of each class. ' Barriers to Social .ovement With the possible exemption of the upper class, 2 Pit1r1m Sorokin, Social ability (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1927), p. 138. 90 vertical mobility may be impeded by barriers which may be rz designated as functional or arbitrary.v Functional barrier refer to physical handicaps and ment 1 lacks, such as low I.Q., which would prevent a person from going into a vocation which would raise hie status. It certa.inly would not be advisable to encourage a youn ·ster with an I.Q. of 90 to become an engineer or ryhysicia.n. Anot .er type of functional barrier uld be lack of incentive t1mul1. A you ·ster 1th an I .. of 130, brought up in an environment in which education and high le\ el voe · .tional attain t were not only not encour ed, bu t oss1bly disc ur ,ged woul cause his pot ntial ability t be wasted and oppor unity of a vertical movement cur ed. Still another functional barrier would be lack of financial reso rces t o provide trainin for youn people to advance themselves in the professional vocat i onal areas. The other type of b rrier 1mpedin vertical mobility is designated by Cuber a s arbitrary: "Such factors as color, r 11 ·ion, or fat er I s social position h ve fre quently been intro~uced to prevent persons of ability from enterin certai n occu ti ons of high status. 114 The vertical mobility barriers of the American Negro 3 Cuber, Q.Q• cit., p. 16. 4 Ibi • 91 have been dealt with in a previous chapter. It should be pointed out additionally that many colleges have a quota system 1n accepting students of various ethnic groups. Thus if a student has the mental ab111ty, financial backing, and proper incentives , but happens to be a member of a particular ethnic gr up , he will not be acceuted into a school if his gr o p's quota is filled, and will thus find his vertical ovem nt impeded. The same holds true for the father's social position . His soci 1 position is a factor c nsidere by many universities in acceptin a student. Of the two ty es of barriers, t e arbitrary ty e is less fre ently t111zed in the o en class system. How j.Qb111ty I s Affec ed .QX_ Value~ and Beliefs ttention ha.s been iven to method o reco gnizing the existence of s ocial classes. Ith s also be en pointed out that although vertical mobility m ay apply to all classes in a society, the amount and bree.dth of th.is mobility increases with each ascending class. It ls important to recognize the factors tha t ca.use the different rates of vertical speed in each class. Herbert H. Hyman in his article, The Value Systems of Different Cl sses, h s this to say about the slow r&t - of m obility int e lo ·er cl sa: Op ortunity in the society is differential; hi her educati o~ ~P cialize trai i : which mi t rovide 92 access to a high position, must be bought with money- tne very co rrnodity which the lower classes 1 ck . 5 Hyman believes that mo ney is the most 1 port~nt factor ln social advan eme1t in the class struct re, but he is aware that other cons1derat1Jns must be taken into account : But there a e other factors of a more subtle psycholo ·1cal nature which h ve not be n illurninated and which may also work to perpetuate the exis 1n order. It la our assumption that an intervening variable mediat1 the relationship between low position and lack of upward mobility is a system of beliefs and values within the lo e~ classes which 1n turn reduces the very volunt~ry act ans whi h wold ameliorate their low pos1t1 n.6 Perha s th pri ci a belief wit4 re rd t social dvance .ent 'hich p r me t ~s the lo 'e r classes and causes the t o curb any vert1 c , l mobility is their 11 a reness' of l 4ck of op ortunity . 7 11th re ard t o v lue of eduction, Hy an points out that as one goes up in th soc~al scale , his v lue of educat1 0~ becomes higher . 8 The occupational oal as anther area of 1nte est 5 Herbert Hym n , " e ~ lue Sy t ms of Different Cla ses, 11 in Rei h rd Re nsix an ey. r • Li et, edit rs, ..,lass, Status n :e ~ ( l encor : Th Fre ., r ess, 1953) , p. 4?1 . 6 Ibid., p . 4 ?. ? Ibid., p . 408. 8 Ibi i., p . 432 . 93 studied by Hyman; he foun that a professional occupation is less apt to be the ual of the lo wer class youth than for those in the mid -le and upper class es, while looking tov,ard skille d nanual work a s an objective incre ases among the lo ~i'er class youngsters an de crea.s s as one oes "'1igher up the class hierarchy.9 It was lso found that persons in the lower classes f elt t ha t they coula l ive on less, and expected a smaller salary than those in the iddle or upper cl s ses.10 Th refore, it is cle r th t t he cau e of the di fferent r tes of vertic .1 obilit within th class structure result from the kinds of values and beliefs, an t h~ir rela tive i moort ance as a fac tor a f f ecting nobili t y . Differential Aspirations In discussin r the f actors of value s and beliefs in controlling vertical ability in t he various classe s, eacr strat w~s tre ed collectively. owever, within each T up i ndividuals ave ifferent a s ir tions, and such differences in aspir ations are si gnifica 1t actors affecting v r t·ca l ability. Socio l ogi s t s a1e co cerned with the motivation u nderlying differenti 1 as pir t i o s, s related t o stratific tion. Cuber says: - --------- 9 Ibid., p . 435. lOibid. 94 ve do not know how much 1s due to an un~r1111ngness or inability to postpone i mmedia te gratific ations in order to fulfill the require ments of trainin or education essential for the higher status occupation. Furthermore, we do not know how much importance should be assi gned to the conventional r ationalizations, somewhat current anon 5 lo wer-class families, th ~ t it 1s 1 no use I to as 1r to highe::i occuna t1ons because the cards are stacked a ·ainst oor kids; the 'snobs will keep you out anyhow,' and 1 it isn't rhat yo~ K now but who you Know ' tha t dete r 1nes your success. 1 Cuber's view leads to the conclusion that not only are there different r .tes of ve1tica l mobility, fr o1 class to class, but the different i al aspiration of incividuals a re not equally effective 1n the classes co cer ed . Differentia,l as Dir _ t1ons a ccount for tl:1e "r gs t o riches" stories of the Hor .tio l ger t ype. The e f f ects of mobility, as one 1 ould e ect, · re either positive or ne ; tive. ff ect s re pr esent tlve of bot h types are 11 ted belo 1: (1) Positive effects of mobility: 11 1. · ran 's behavior become s ore pl stic and versatile. 2 . Increa.se of mobility tends to reduce narrow minded ess and occupat i onal and other idiosyncras i es . 3. ·:ability facilit a t e s inve ntions a nd dis coveries . Cuber, Q.Q . cit., p . 17. 4. LObility facilitates intellectual life. 12 increase in 95 (2) The ne ~tive effects of rnocility seem to out- number the above ositive 11st: 1. · ,, ability ten s t o increase ental strain. 2. · ~abi lity facilita t s an incre ase of mental diseas es. 3. ~ ~obility tends to i ncreas e superficiality, to decrease sen itiveness oft e nervous sys em. 4. ·ability fa v rs skepticis nd c niciem. 5. r obility ai nisles i nt i macy and incre ases psycho-social 1sol tion and loneliness of 1nd1 vidue.ls. 6. 1 obility f cilitate disinte r ation of m orals. 13 The rem inder of t his chapt r '.~ 111 be concerned 1th the factors i n social obility of char ct ers in selected nov ls of Sinclair Lewis. 12 sorokin, fill• cit., pp . 508-515. 13 Ib1d., pp . 510-528. II. S CI AL ij O BILITY OF SEL~CT D CH I SI 'CLAIR LEHIS 1 S l V E LS Jinny - arshland 96 CT8RS n the basis of t he In ~ ex of Status Char cteristics score evaluated in Chapter IV, Jinny - ~ ~ arshland wa s ·1 ven a total score of 51 , vhic Dl ced her in the lo , r mid le cl .ss . She v.ra s seemin ·ly cont nt vi t t is cl ss and al l its symools anc r s not consciously strivin for any h i her st tus level, al t hough no me c _anical barriers ould impede such vertical m ove ent . R spo din to auestioning as a wi tness in a court case inny says : .•• I 1 1n a dr fts m, n and desi gn r for t h e Flie gend Fancy Box and Pasteboard To ./anufact ring Co 1J. pany , and a kind of 1 e sen - · ·er a of all orK ••• I live in Pioneer Falls, iostly . I s orn t ere , and I tau ht school ther e for a ~ ile .14 he v tr -- i:ie for, _ le r in·tial occupat i on , . s , t eaching school. She c a nged her l · ce of resi ence nd occupatio o t for social vanceuent, but because of perso · .1al dislike for t e life of a te cher . As ex res sed by Le vvi s : Yes, s e 11. {ed wor k i ... · for the F legend Co apany . She ~ sn I t, she bee.rned, much of a drafter an , but L_r . and -·rs . Flie ·end were so kind . She liked it bett .... r t an scho o l te ~c in; you d to be s sole1 i~ schoo1 .15 14 s · 1 Le 1 J. _ C a S , House , 1 ), p . 5 . 15 Ibid., p . 7. 97 When asked about the poRsibility of oing to Paris to study art, she says: 11 No, I have no re 1 ideas. I'm Just a fair workman, at best. I'll never ha.ve wh t they c 11 a career. 11 16 Jinny fits in the cate ry of those people wh, in spite of oossessing abilities and talents, have no desire for vocational advancement. She conceiv bly w ould have remained in her social class, since her ass oci tions were with peo le of her own stra um, but for the interest and attentions s h wn her by Judge Cass Timberlane . ass Ti berlane as iven an I . S.C. rating of 25, pl acing hi 1 i n the upper mi dle class, three points below t e u per clas s . He was , however, a part of the u per class social set, and is arri age to Jinny c .uRed her to catapult up 1 to his level . She loved Cass, but ecause of her 1~ck f prep r .dness nd l~ck of , sire for membershi p i n this clas , she found it e treme y ifficult to adju t to the new str tum . The it much easier o pirin ~ soci 1 cli mber woul have found just, and much nore satisfyin · than it w s for Ji ny . In this period of adj ustment a ty ical conversat i on between Cass and inny was: 'Let me be di d ctiC , Jin, 1 1 0k y. I 'Don't s y I 0)-- y. II I ' Why not?' •rt sounds like c· hev-:- r. I 16 Ibid . , p. 51 . 98 1 But I a. a gurr1 c we r • 1 'You are not, and you're not going to be.•1 7 Because in he di parity of ba c grounds, a series of traumati~ explosions occurred during thee rly onths of their marriage. Both Cass and J inny were intelli gent and had a deep love for each other. Once t he explosions sub sided, a pro per and effective adjustment was made to Jinny's social mo vement , unper middle strat Claire Boltwood d she became a member of er husband's • s the re sult of er arr1a ·e to Cass Ti1 ber lane, Jinny l·arshlana~ moved fr on the lo er mi d "'le to the upper middle class. Social mobility does no t necessarily nean ascend nee, as i n t he c se of Jinny, but mobility ay in volve descendin 0 fro one cl ss t o a 10 1 er one. Claire Boltnood offers an exru pl e of t h s type of mobility . Claire on t h basis of her f ather's I.S.C. ratin _ of 16. 5 , w s a rne rnber of the up_er clas s al n ~1th Samue l D odsworth , il1lliarn Eat or ne , and Charles c elvey . She wa s born i nto this cl ss and aa no desire to _ove out of it, 0r, as Lewis expressed it: Claire had one to a ood s chool out of Philadelphia , on the 'ain Line. She was us e to gr cious leisure, ·- "f ' J ~'Ibid., p . 166 . attractive uselessness, nut center chocolates, and a certain wonder as to why she was al1ve.18 99 Obviously Claire had no barriers of either functional or arbitrary types t o impede any kind of mobility to which she might aspire, but she w a s seemingly satisfied to remain immobile in her exclusive upper class stratum, althou h boredom accompanied this satisfaction. This also 1a stated clearly by Lewie: Claire's ambition had once been babies and a solid husband, but as various young m ales of the species appeared before her, sang their mating sons and preened their newly ry-cleaned plumage, she found that the trouble with solid young men as that they were solid. Though she liked to dance, the 'dancing men• bore her, and she id not understand the district's quota of intellectuals very we11.19 On her trip from Brooklyn Hei hts to Seattle she meets a yo ng id-western echanic hows also traveling est. 'ilton Da ·ett, a mechanic, has an I.S.C. of 49, placing him in the lower middle class. Claire and ilton fall in love withe ch other . Claire becomes exnosed to ... the life and problems of the people beneath her. She develops genuine empathy for them, but hen back with her social set in Seattle, she feels safe and comfortable: Yes, she as glad th , t she had m de t he experim nts- but lad er tha shew s sf ly in f r om the long 18 cla1r L w s Brace and Com any, 1919 19 Ibid., p. 20. Free ir (Ne . 11. York: Harcourt, 100 dust whitened way back in her own orl of beauty; and she couldn't ima i e ever tryin · 1 t a ·ain. To think of clwnping out into the orld of deliber te and brawling crudeness.20 She continually comp red the v lues of her class with those of the other class with which she recently be came acquainted. The sy bols of her clas beco e increasingly insi gnificant, and she returns to her mechanic friend, ilt, wrio, having acquired vertico.l mobile aspi- r tions, enr lled at the Unive sity to stuay en ·1neer1n ·. There 1s a bi-directional mobility involve d 1th Cl ire an r11 t on . Claire by her marriage to T ilt descends into his class, while 1lt 1th his vocational as ir t i on is lowly ascen 1ng to a higher social level. ~orge L. B bbitt George Babbitt s f ound t o h ve n I.S.C. rating of 26, placing him in the u per id .le cl ss. His 1fe has been one of constant aspiring . In Arro smith, e .is intro duces Geor e F. Babbitt a ~ a character who, t the ge of t 1rty-four, a~ ises 1 rtin Arrowsmith and his friends as follo s: You fellas are a lot younger ~han I am; ei ht - ten years, and you haven't learned yet like I have, that where the big pleasure is, is in Ideals and Service and a Public Career. Now Just oetween you and me and the gatepost, my vogue doesn't lie in real estate, out in oratory. Fact one time, I planned to study law and go 20 Ibid., p. 247. 101 right in for politics. Just bet ween ourselves, and I don't want this t o go any farther, I've been makin .) so n1e pretty good affiliations lately--been meeting som e of the r1s1ne young Republican olit1c1ans. Of course a fellow has got to start in n oaestly, but I nay say , sotto voce, that I ex· ect t o r un for lde ~ nan next fall. It's pr actically only a ste p fro i t hat to layor and then to Governor of the state, and if I find the career suits me , there's no reason why in ten or twelve ye ars, s ay in 1918 or 1920 I shouldn't have the r1onor of re pre sen tin the great state of \Vinnemae in ~~ ashington, D.C.21 Babbitt never achieved this oal, but his e ntire life was spent i n pushin. for ~a rd, tryin t o ris in the vertica l hierarchy of' the social class system . Re llzin that hi s sir· tions ill not be r eali ze, e rejects his mobility desires upon h i s son Ted. H e t ells his friend, "Ted's goin to l aw-school, eve n if I l dn't . " 22 Babbitt trie t hobnob ith m embers of the u per cla ss in Zeni th, particul rly Ch r le s \ 1 c elvey and illiam ~athorne . They wouldn't a cce p t hi m in t heir class. s t he result of is co_ st ant stri i ::r and us n ith its ac- companying re bu es, Ba bbi tt , followin ~ Sorokin's ne gative effect of mobility, 23 be comes pe rson lly dis or ganized nd soci tes with a loos e cro~ , but is finally s ved by his f niends fr om co~pl e t e dlsor ·aniz tion and returns to his social niche. 21s1nclair Le ls, Arro . s. 1th ( e, York: Crossett and Dunlap, 194?), pp. 93-94. 22 Le w1s, Babbitt, p. 151. 2 3sorokin, Q.Q• cit., pp . 510-528 . 102 Thus, George Babbitt demonstr~tes that aspirations in themselves are not sufficient for unlir ited soci~l ability. His lack in pe1 sonality and character traits, inconsistency in value s and beliefs are impediLents to complete robi lity . Babbitt al 0 o demonstrates the eff ct of over-aspiration, nd it is a are of his 11nita.t1ons. tea that a n should be Fran Dods orth An int eres ing st .dy in v)rtical mobility c n be made of Frcln Dodsw rtr-, o bee Le of ~n I. ~ . C. r tin ~ of 15 i s placed in th upper cla s. Fran, like Claire Boltwood, was born int : tis i ~es t stratum . She enjoyed all the comforts and lu uries hich are associated with this class . ·evertt1eless, 7 r an as dissatisfied. he aspired for sonethi bi r ·er an ·reate r than that which she already posses ea . U on bei prop sed to by amuel odsworth, she says: Oh, Sam, my dear, whole worl - not just wife and mother nd Horizons! 1 24 but I 1 so ?r~s ping! I want the Ze .1th . I don't want to be a good lay cribbage prettily! ' Gr at ,fuere does a pe rAon who has a chieved t e highest social level in or society fi d a chann 1 throu h which to continue his vertic a l pro ess? Fran thouaht the answer Brace 24 s1nclair Lewis( Dodsworth ( New York: nd Comoany, 1929), p. 6. Harcourt, 103 would be found in Europe; where one might mingle nd associate with the aristocracy a.broad. V/hen her children -re grown, and Sam's business is sold, Fran leaves the United St ate s 11th Sam to continue he r u ward social move ment. In other words, Fran considers the European to be on a hi ·her socia.l level than the Americ,. n. Ironically, the individuals she associ tes 1 Nith 1 En l a nd are not t he genu ine English aristocracy , but rat er a sort of counte r fei t frin ··e of ps udo - pa tr1c1ans. It is the s e wit the intelligentsia--they are the ari itic langers-on, the intellectual four-flushers .25 11'llile Fran 1s enjoying or a t least convincin , herself tats e is enjoyi er soci 1 ability , Sam is having a h rd t1 1e a djustin · hinself to his wife's ne\~ com _anions, apparently bee use of his realization of the pretense that oerme tee the social set to w hich he is exnosed • .... It is clear t o ev ryo .. 1 ri th the ossible exception of Fran, th ~ t the Dods :orthe are not en .ged in social ascendancy, bu t on the contrary are falling down socially because of the ty e of cont ct t ey had m .de in uro e. This does not necessarily conflict with Fr an's original motivation, th · t of raising one's s t atus b pro e r European 25 Jack D. Hess , ttEurope and uropeans in the ovels of Sincl ir Lewis. 11 report resented to the Dep rt1nent of Comoar tive Lit rature. The University of Southern California, January, 1953 , p. 20. 104 aeaoc1at1ons. Lewis, however, does not allow his characters to meet up with the prope~ associations in s pite of Fran's acceptin · her n w-found friends a s m e bers of t e aristocracy. 7 art1n Arrows 1th Since the plot or st ry of Arrowsmith has not been stated, introduct ry rem~rks of that nature would give meaning to furt_er con iderati~n of Arrowsmith as its leadi n char cter . Arr s mith is the story of a doctor 's searc. for ethl s and honesty in the medical rofession . · la.rt· n Arrowsmith, the idealist, wants to ievote hi life to man kin , t o· llevi te lf eri~g, and t prolon life . o area f he illedi al profes in 1s or sui e to provi de him~ 1th tis o oortunity than scie tific r search . Like so many ther i dealists, Dr . rrowsmith i s soon to be di illusioned . Upon bein appoint ed to est f of tr c Gurk Inst tute in ew Yor, rr smith finds out tat he 1 workin n t 1 belal o t.~ ic but ratle for s ec i al interest -r oups , in this c set , Inst tu e whi c 1 ls wllli to ut on the ma ket discoveries tha till h veto be scie tlfi cally p o e effec ive . Corum .rciallsm even perr 0 ates the sc1 °nti i b ary, ver 'h ch n s tl1e i opocr atic Oath . r ou h th charact r of "art in rro i tl1, Sinclair Le 1s pres nts stin i t1r e inst memb re of a noble 105 profession who are so pr estige-hun ry th t the curin of th ills of ankind is er ly inci ~ental to the cquiring of status, popularity, and patronage . artin Arrowsmith aff or ds a good illustration of vertica l m obility. He was the son of J.J. Arr ws mith, a New York merchant. While living in the mid-west, artin became" ..• the unofficial, also deci dedly unpaid, ssistant for the Doc. 112 6 llhile working for Doc Vickerson, he b crune intensely interested in studyin · medicine. His 11 boss, 11 seeing 1im studyin ·, ,ould tell him : eadin old Gray? That's right. Physician's library just three book s : Gray's Anatomy nd Bible and Shakespe are. Study. Y ou . ay becom e a great doctor . Loca te in Zenith and make fiv e thousand oll rs a year . uch as a nitPd States en,tor. Set a high oal. Don't le t thi gs s 11 e . Get traini g . Go to colle ~e ef re y u o t o e dical school . Study chemistry , Latin, knowle d e.2? r owa th I s a 1 t o r al1 ze i been left a suffic i e ta ount of m oney o ,b1t1on . Havin tend colle re a nd medical chool ~ h 1 a abl e to climb vert· c lly to a i g e~ rung f th e soci al l a~de r through hi pr ofe ssion . arti n coul hav c 1 bed e en further in he o nial scale ash serve any of hi coll aw es oing, bu his sense f i g e r v lue , 1 t gri ~ , nd i dealis or evente im f r o, acq1i ing a certain nount of es t eem and opul rity 26 Lew1s , Arrow~nith, p . 2 . 27 Ibid., p . 4 . 106 which might l1ave been ained at the expense of his ideals. Two factors affecte Arro s11th 1 s mobility : aspiration and his sense of high value. The characters in the above- i entioned novels represent a society 1n which an open class system operates and in which vertical mobility in some degree is permitted . It 1s in this respect that thes e several charact9rs differ frorn those of the Negro commun1 ty in Kingsblood Royal, who live in a caste syste in which no ~ert1cal movement 1s all wed. By de on tratin the social obi ity of his ch rac ters and the reasons behin their ovement, Lewis r veals his a reness oft. ~ rican ' s class consciousness as well as the psycholo ical nd ociological factors th t affect his mobility . Te theo etical analysis of the roblem of vertic 1 bility 1th all of its ramificati ons takes on reRlity th.rou th skill and artistry of Lewis. CHAPTER VI Sill .. ARY A D CO CLUSIO. S The purpose of this study has been t o demonstrate that the novelist has within his art the means to com municate the intrinsic meanings of sociolo ~ical conce pts, values, and principles . Emphasis h s been pl aced upon social stratifice.tion to asc rtain how s lected novelists have de alt 1th this p ocess 1n ir r itin gs, an to apply a select d methodology 1 order to est blish the cla ss 1 ce nt of characters in novels . Of several available methods of s ocial placement, one devised by W . Lloyd Warner was ado pted and used without altering his techniques of analysis. The relations between caste-like societies , ope n class systems, and social mo bility were then amlyzed as pertinent to selected novels of Sinclair Lewis. A: 11ong the findin gs, the f ollo\ving may be listed: 1. The conce pt of social stratification is definitely of interest to the novelist. 2. For the novelist, s for the sociolo gist, social str tif1cat1on involves problems of caste-like societies , open cl as systems , clas s distinctions and social mobility . 3. Caste r estrictio s char, cteristically are obstacles t o pward oc i al m b1lity . 108 4. Inte rmarriage between members of caste and open class groups is not socially accent able in the com unity life re resented. 5. Symbols used for caste do en class re l ation oper .ted ~itt different content fo~ the sy bols co ... red. Attitudes to r;=..r d C 8. t e affect t e utili z tion of symbols, n the . 1e is true for open cl .ss rou s. 6. dembers of a C c ste 0 -roup re ct ifferently to the c ntrol symbols; they m .y be qssiv, in if erent , re bellious, h stile , or sho other re ctions. ? • Le .ris O'JS t e i r ortance of f ctors in s ocial moo111 t y hicb iffer for social classes Viith reference to the caste-like society. For t ~e open class system, desire to i ~orove one 's status ao ears t be inherent in the cultural environment. In the caste-like society, a feeli 0 of futility is rrore char cteristic, ~is placi g the desire t 1 rov 0 st_tus. 8. V arner 1 s interest was in w rkin out a ractical met1od lo y fr aet ermi in~ th cla s struct re of a con unity. Lewis, t l novelist, describes as pects of caste and th__, o en cl· ss sy t .. 1 and the · oroble i. s of social mo bility as inciae1t to them. They are utilized s techniques for deli e ti his ch: racter creations i order th .the 1 ,~ ht describe the co flicts or s · cr·u le hicn concern the char ct ers in the novels . This etho probably induced a 109 wide public interest in the novels of Sinclair Lewis. Qonclusions The novelist h s within his art an instr~ ent to co~1unicate to his r aders the si nlfic nee involved in the meaning of sociolo 1cal concepts , principles , nd v lu s. Lewis, in his novels, demonstrates a capacity to think sociologically. In King~Qlood Royal , for ex ple, he creates a c ate-like society which contains many of the social char cterist1cs which social scientists have stressed in their empirical stu lee. Lewis is sociolo gical in his awareness of American class consciousness, and the desire to improve one 's status. He 1s alert to the psycholo ical and sociological factors that aff ect mobility , including func~ional and arbitrary barriers, soci a l v l ues and beliefs, and differential aspirations. In novels, social proble ms may be pr sented more dynamically to challenge and arouse public interest, whereas empirical monographs may fail to do this. Empirical studies oul ordinarily h e ve comparatively few re ders, wheres the novel may have t emen ous uolic . O in t o the f ct that succ ssful novels re red so idely, it woul oe r , dvi . ble to ive more attention 4 A to them as coll ter 1 rea ing in sociology c ursee . The problems . resent din a sociolo y core may becom ore vivid and more clearly e ined by con id r1n · the 110 presentation of s i milar problems in the novel. The novelist, insofar as he is objective in his data and the treat ment given, is able to offer the layman soc1olog1cal information even though the latter has no formal training in the subject. The novelist thus influences the social values and attitudes of his readers. BIBLIOGRA HY' A. BOO S Bernard, essie. American Co unity Behavior. ew York: Dryden Press, 1949 . Cooley, Charles Horton. £OCial rocesses. ew York: Charles f,cribner•s Sons, 1918. Cox, 011 ver C. Caste, Class a q Race. irew York: Doubleday and Co any, Inc., 1948. Cuber, John F. Social Strat1fic~ tion . ew York : p leton Century-Crofts, 1955. ____ , Sociologx. 1951. e York: pleton-Centw y-Crof ts, Davis, Allison. Deep South. Chica ·o : T1 Uni ersity of Chica o Press , 1941. Drake, St. Clair, nd Horace R. Cayton . Black ~etroooli~. ew York: Harcourt, Bancroft Company , 1948. Dreiser, Theodore. rican ragedy. e York: on i and Liverri t, 19 5 . . The Financier. --- ew York: Boni and Liverright, 192?. ---· Tne 1 r1tan. e York : John Lane Co a ny, 1914 . Duncan, Hugh Dalziel. Languc ge and Literature 1-n Society. Chica oo: University of Chicago ress, 1953 . Haines, Helen • 4 hat's In_ ovel . ew Yor : Colu nbia University Press , 1942. Hart , runes D. The opul r Book . ew York : O f ord University Pr ss , 1950 . Henderson, hillip. Te ovel To y. Lo.do : Jon L . n Company, 1936. Hoffman, Fre erick J. The ~ odern rlenry Re ery Co. pany , 1940. ovel In - m erlca . Chicago:~ 112 Hollingshead, A.B. El mtown's Youth. nd Sons, 1949 . ew York : Jon iley Husband, Richard fallington . _sycho ogz Through Literature. Caroline Shrodes and Justin Van Gundy, joint edit rs. T ew York: Oxfo ·d University Press, 1940. Hyman, Herbert. Class, t tus and nd Seymour 1 . Li )Set , editors. o,er . ~ei 1ard Be ix Glencor: The Free Press, 1953. Lewis, Sinclair. Arrowsmith. ew York: Grossett and Dunlap, 1925. Babbitt. 1922. ew York · H arc ourt, Brace and Com any, ---· Cass Timberlctne . er Y or k : Random House , 1945 . • Dodswort • --- Y or: rcourt , r ace and co ·pany , 1929 . rcour, r ac and • Free ir. --- ,e 1 or< : Harcourt , Br ce and Conpany, 1919. ---· . air: Street . _ __,__ Co1pany , 1926. 0 r • lAf e . u 1 r. ,,r .. nn . --- 1914. ew York : Random ou·e , 1947 . ew Yor : H rcourt , Brace and e v York: arpe r and Brothers, Lynd , Robert S . a nd e en M. ynd . ~ i c.dletown. Harcourt, Brace an Co r. pan , 1928 . e York : ~ r ouand, J ohn P. The Late G€oige pley. Boston : Little, Bro~n n Comp ny, 1937 . . Point of o --- w __ __;._,.;_. Bostv ~ Litle, Brovn .nd Com any , 1949. • t ick f ord --- 1.939 . iaugh , r. Somer and Dunl p , 1 ton: Lit le, Brown nd Com ny, ew York: Grosset 113 !aule, Harry ., and t·elville . Cane , editors . The · ian From .. ain Street~ ew y·ork : Random House , 1953. 'yrdal , Gunn .r. An erican Dil - _ _ _ ;__;._.__.;_...... ---- e York: Har er nd BrotherA, 1944. than, Geor ·e Jean and H.L. \ 'encl en . 1ew Yor: . A. Kno f , 1920 . P rrington, Le1is Vernon . 1nclalr Yashin ~ton : The Unive ~s1 y ,ewis : Our Own Di £?B res, . shingt o n Pre ss, 1930 . M-rthur Hobson . )l etc - entury scoe , Burt n . ~ Th ~e~ o.;;_;..~ a ., Com J .ny, 1925. Fiction . ew York : -- Inc ., 1~36. r. ew or : Ray und, Bernard . •r it r~ of Today. Deny~ Val Baker, editor. ' i ag ick and Jackson, L ndon , 1946. P-.oss , dward A. So i al Contr 1. _e·. York : The , ,r c 1illan Company, 1910. Salin er, Jero me D. Catcr1er ill _ t_ Br ~ n nd Co 1 an , 1951. Rye . Bos t on : Little, Sherman , St rt ew Yor : H • 11 1 e ignif i Cc ce of Si nclair L Viti e. ourt, Br~ce and Com any , 1922. Sorokin, itirim. ility . Pe, York : H .rper and Brothers, 1927 . Steinbe ck , John A. Cannery ~ow~ res s , 1945. er York : The Vikin ___ . Gra.2es of 1 V rath . 1939 . e York : The 1odern Lib1ary, __ , __ . In Dubious Battle . ew York: Covic1-Fr1ede, 1936. ___ • To r tilla 1935 . e York : Grossett nd Dunlap, Tolst i, Lo. J ha! is rt. e Yor k : Funk and a nalds Com an , 1 04 . Veblen, horste1n . ~ ...;... · heori Qf the Leisure York: The Jo ~ ern Library , 1934 . lass. ew --- 114 Vincent, 1elvln J . Sylla us for ocial A_ spects Q[ Fiction and Drama. Los Angeles : University of Southern California, 1953. Yarner L Lloyd . D emocracy in Harper and Brotters, 1949 . ew York : ____ . o s In rica : _ 1 Ianual of ocedure for the t Q[ Soc1 ~1 tu~. C ·cago : cl n e sear s oci ates, 1 • ___ • !he Social Lif of g ~odern Community. Y le Uri · r sity P e s, 1945 . B. ..I ODI A erso , S e r wood . 11 S1 cl .ir ev Oct er 11 , 1922, pp . 172- 1?3 . s II ew Haven : B cheller, I ving . 11 ·a1n S re t Up-To - Date ," T e Fort , 41:185-8, . rch 1934 . Bo ,ardus, Emery S . 11 Soc1 .1 Dista. ce In Fi t i on : An Analvsis of n ree , 11 _ __,;;;,;.....;.._ ......... -. ~~Social Re earch, 14 :1?4 0 , ove , • a t re l , ob e rt . 1 Sin cl i r Le 1 s , 11 88 : 298- 301 , October 21 , 1936 . e V to , Bern rd . 1 Sincl a.ir Lewis, 11 Saturdaz Review of Li t ratur, 9 : 3 7- 39, J nua y 28 , 1932 . Ge 1 s ar, ax . • 1e 1 . 11 Dia.ri st of t e 1 dle-Cla.s s M ind," S t rday B§view Qf Literl"\t .re, 30: 9ff , Novem er 1, 1947. Hatt , aul K. "Stratification in a. ass Soc ety , 11 American Sociologi9al evi.§1! , 15 : 16- 0 2, April , 1950 . Holling he d , . . C Std , 11 11 r nds i n Soc i a tre..ti icat1on : A er1 n _Q_ciolo ical Revi_:.!!, 17:679-86, ece ber, 195 . Horton, T . D. "Sincl ·· ir Le vis : The Sy evi~, 48 : 374- 93 , o of n Era, 1 1 ter, 1 39 . 115 Lenski, G. E. rica ocial Class e s : St is ical trat or Social Groups," The American !lournal of ociology , 58:139-44, Septe ber, 1952 . 'a n on, Alex n er . 11 T e L s t y · o Si cla1r L wis, 11 The Saturda~ venirg Post, 223 :27ff, arch 31 , 1951 . 1 umfor , Lewis . 11 n rica of S nclair Le is," Current Historl, 33 :529-532, Jan ar, 1 1 . Overton , Gr n t . 11 Tl e Bo okman , A ril 25, lv tio of Si clair Lewis,u p . 179- 185 . f autz, H. W . an O.A . Dun .n . Critique of { rner's Work , " American Soc1 ,logic 1 Review , 15: 205- 15, April , 1950 . Reis an, Leonard . "Lev ls of s pira i on d ocial 01 ss," American Sociological Revie, 16 : 766-74, Dece ber, 1951 . Rascoe , B rt on . "Sincl 1 Le , s," 23 : 86- 87 , ay , 19 5 . S e e an , Vincent . " Si nc 1 r L v. 1 , 11 46 :191- 192, June 6, 194 . T o pson , D orat y. "Sin l r. ir Lewis : Atlan ic, 1 7 : 73- 74, J ne, 1951 . rte Deco1atione, ost c 1 t" , Tu J i , elv1n . " o r1nc1ple of Soc a l St1 at1f1cet1on, 11 eric an So i ological ev1ew , 18:387- 94 , Aug st, 1953. yl1e , Phillip . 61:629- 32 , 11 S 1 c lair Lev11 s, 11 ovember, 19 5 . American C. U LISHED ATE RI LS lercury, Hes , Jack D. u uro e and European in the ovels of Sincl .ir Lewis . n A r e ort pr sent ed to the epartm e t of o pa. tie iter .t re, The Un vers1ty of Sout hern C lif rni , Loa n eles , Janu ry, 1953. 116 Stump, Dan. 11 An Analysis of Interpretations of the Concept of Social Stratifi cation a s Reflected in the ~1tings of Selected ~ociolo gists. 11 Unpublished ·aster's theois, The University of Southern California, Los Angeles, August, 1953. Sweda, Alexander Jose ph. "The Attitude of Sinclair Lev,is To~ rd Sm all-Town Life in America." Un ublished r. aster's thesis, The U niversity of Southern California, Los Angeles, August, 1953.
Linked assets
University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses
Conceptually similar
PDF
Clothing as a factor in the social status rating of men
PDF
Social functions of the churches in a changing community with special reference to social processes
PDF
A survey of theatre organization as practiced by a selected group of community theatres in the Los Angeles area
PDF
Claus Spreckels of California
PDF
Roles student nurses desire or expect to perform and roles achieved by graduate nurses from the same selected school of nursing
PDF
An experimental study in fluctuations among successive play performances
PDF
The Filipino community in Los Angeles
PDF
The implications of the point four program in Brazil
PDF
The selection of textbooks and other instructional materials in the high schools of California
PDF
The relationship of the pretreatment strength of social responses of schizophrenic patients to improvement with electric shock treatment
PDF
Radical disenfranchisement and the constitutional conventions of 1867
PDF
The effects of anxiety on the alpha rhythm of the electroencephalogram
PDF
The effects of partial reinforcement on a whole human response
PDF
Sociological aspects of training programs in selected industrial organizations in the Los Angeles metropolitan area
PDF
A study of the organic basis for behavorial deviations in school children
PDF
An analysis of the integration of arithmetic and algebra in eighth grade mathematics textbooks
PDF
Recruitment procedures in the teaching profession.
PDF
The effectiveness of criminal justice sanction strategies in the deterrence of drug offenders
PDF
Harry Emerson Fosdick and his impact on liberalism in religion in the United States
PDF
Phineas Banning with special reference to the development of transportation in Southern California
Asset Metadata
Creator
Stein, Irving
(author)
Core Title
Social stratification as reflected in selected novels of Sinclair Lewis
School
College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
Degree
Master of Arts
Degree Program
Sociology
Degree Conferral Date
1955-06
Publication Date
06/01/1955
Defense Date
06/01/1955
Publisher
University of Southern California
(original),
University of Southern California. Libraries
(digital)
Tag
Lewis, Sinclair, 1885-1951,OAI-PMH Harvest,Social classes
Format
theses
(aat)
Language
English
Contributor
Electronically uploaded by the author
(provenance)
Advisor
Vincent, Melvin J. (
committee chair
), Davenport, William H. (
committee member
), Nordksog, John C. (
committee member
)
Permanent Link (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-oUC112724860
Unique identifier
UC112724860
Identifier
PS no.7 (Film) (call number),etd-SteinIrving-1955.pdf (filename)
Legacy Identifier
etd-SteinIrving-1955
Document Type
Thesis
Format
theses (aat)
Rights
Stein, Irving
Internet Media Type
application/pdf
Type
texts
Source
20230207-usctheses-microfilm-box7
(batch),
University of Southern California
(contributing entity),
University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses
(collection)
Access Conditions
The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the author, as the original true and official version of the work, but does not grant the reader permission to use the work if the desired use is covered by copyright. It is the author, as rights holder, who must provide use permission if such use is covered by copyright. The original signature page accompanying the original submission of the work to the USC Libraries is retained by the USC Libraries and a copy of it may be obtained by authorized requesters contacting the repository e-mail address given.
Repository Name
University of Southern California Digital Library
Repository Location
USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA
Repository Email
cisadmin@lib.usc.edu
Tags
Social classes