Babbit by Sinclair Lewis Page A

strictly moral, as
an example to the community.' In fact you're so earnest about
morality, old Georgie, that I hate to think how essentially immoral
you must be underneath. All right, you can - "
      "Wait, wait now! What's - "
      " - talk about morals all you want to, old thing,
but believe me, if it hadn't been for you and an occasional evening
playing the violin to Terrill O'Farrell's 'cello, and three or four
darling girls that let me forget this beastly joke they call
'respectable life,' I'd 've killed myself years ago.
      "And business! The roofing business! Roofs for
cowsheds! Oh, I don't mean I haven't had a lot of fun out of the
Game; out of putting it over on the labor unions, and seeing a big
check coming in, and the business increasing. But what's the use of
it? You know, my business isn't distributing roofing - it's
principally keeping my competitors from distributing roofing. Same
with you. All we do is cut each other's throats and make the public
pay for it!"
      "Look here now, Paul! You're pretty darn near
talking socialism!"
      "Oh yes, of course I don't really exactly mean that
- I s'pose. Course - competition - brings out the best - survival
of the fittest - but - But I mean: Take all these fellows we know,
the kind right here in the club now, that seem to be perfectly
content with their home-life and their businesses, and that boost
Zenith and the Chamber of Commerce and holler for a million
population. I bet if you could cut into their heads you'd find that
one-third of 'em are sure-enough satisfied with their wives and
kids and friends and their offices; and one-third feel kind of
restless but won't admit it; and one-third are miserable and know
it. They hate the whole peppy, boosting, go-ahead game, and they're
bored by their wives and think their families are fools - at least
when they come to forty or forty-five they're bored - and they hate
business, and they'd go - Why do you suppose there's so many
'mysterious' suicides? Why do you suppose so many Substantial
Citizens jumped right into the war? Think it was all
patriotism?"
      Babbitt snorted, "What do you expect? Think we were
sent into the world to have a soft time and - what is it? - 'float
on flowery beds of ease'? Think Man was just made to be happy?"
      "Why not? Though I've never discovered anybody that
knew what the deuce Man really was made for!"
      "Well we know - not just in the Bible alone, but it
stands to reason - a man who doesn't buckle down and do his duty,
even if it does bore him sometimes, is nothing but a - well, he's
simply a weakling. Mollycoddle, in fact! And what do you advocate?
Come down to cases! If a man is bored by his wife, do you seriously
mean he has a right to chuck her and take a sneak, or even kill
himself?"
      "Good Lord, I don't know what 'rights' a man has!
And I don't know the solution of boredom. If I did, I'd be the one
philosopher that had the cure for living. But I do know that about
ten times as many people find their lives dull, and unnecessarily
dull, as ever admit it; and I do believe that if we busted out and
admitted it sometimes, instead of being nice and patient and loyal
for sixty years, and then nice and patient and dead for the rest of
eternity, why, maybe, possibly, we might make life more fun."
      They drifted into a maze of speculation. Babbitt was
elephantishly uneasy. Paul was bold, but not quite sure about what
he was being bold. Now and then Babbitt suddenly agreed with Paul
in an admission which contradicted all his defense of duty and
Christian patience, and at each admission he had a curious reckless
joy. He said at last:
      "Look here, old Paul, you do a lot of talking about
kicking things in the face, but you never kick. Why don't you?"
      "Nobody does. Habit too strong. But - Georgie, I've
been thinking of one mild bat - oh, don't worry, old pillar of
monogamy; it's highly proper. It seems to be settled now, isn't it
- though of course Zilla keeps rooting for