Main Street

Discuss the novel’s portrayal of “boosterism” as a compulsory and intellectually stifling form of civic pride. In what scenes does promotional rhetoric become a mechanism of social control?

Evaluate Lewis’s blend of realism and satire. How do documentary details (stores, clubs, brand names) sharpen the novel’s satiric edge?

Consider the character of Dr. Will Kennicott as a figure of professional authority. How does his pragmatism illuminate the town’s value system and the boundaries of marital compromise?

Explore the roles of Vida Sherwin and Bea Sorenson as contrasting models of female aspiration. How do their trajectories complicate Carol’s critique of small-town life?

Analyze the impact of World War I on the town’s politics and culture. How do patriotism and suspicion reshape the community?

Evaluate the novel’s treatment of art and culture (library committees, lectures, décor). What does Gopher Prairie’s resistance to ‘improvement’ reveal about fear of the unfamiliar?

Analyze Lewis’s narrative voice and use of free indirect discourse—a third-person perspective that closely tracks the thoughts of the perspective character. How do shifts in tone and perspective manage sympathy for and skepticism toward Carol?

Examine religion and revivalism in the novel. How do sermons, church committees, and piety intersect with status, business, and respectability?