Study Help
Essay Questions
1. In what ways may Main Street be considered a satire? Explain fully.
2. Would you have the book end differently? If so, why and how?
3. Explain how local color is used as background for the novel. Give several concrete examples.
4. What to you are the points of highest interest in Main Street? Mention several, giving reasons for your choice.
5. List five current styles or fads mentioned in Main Street that are now long outdated or forgotten. Comment on each one, whenever possible introducing a modern parallel.
6. Was Sinclair Lewis justified in refusing the Pulitzer Prize for Arrowsmith? Give reasons for your answer.
7. In your opinion, did Lewis really deserve the Nobel Prize for his interpretation of American life in his own time? Give specific reasons for your answer.
8. If you have read one or more Lewis novels in addition to Main Street, give points of comparison and contrast, including setting, style, characters, and purpose.
9. Make a list of early twentieth-century novelists and playwrights mentioned by Lewis in Main Street. Choose one for special reading and report.