Analyze how Carol Kennicott’s reformist ambitions collide with Gopher Prairie’s social norms. How does Lewis use her evolving expectations to critique the limits of Progressive Era uplift?

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?