babbit
Babbitt is set in the modern Midwestern city of Zenith. George F. Babbit a 46- year-old real estate broker, enjoys being a prosperous middle-class businessman, yet he is unsatisfied with his life. When the book begins, Babbitt has begun to regularly have fantasies about a fairy girl who makes him feel like a handsome youth. Babbitt's family consists of his three children, Verona, Ted and Tinka, and his happy devoted wife, Myra. Babbitt's closest friend Paul Riesling is even more dissatisfied with his life. He is also more outward about it. Although he dreamed of becoming a professional violinist in his youth, Riesling became stuck in the life of the average middle-class businessman of his generation. His wife, Zilla is equally unsatisfied with the monotonous routine of Zenith, but she vents her frustrations by constantly nagging Paul. Riesling has often spoken of divorcing his wife, but, like Babbitt's frequent thoughts that he is going to quit smoking, he never follows through. Riesling and Babbitt try to get away from their dissatisfaction by taking a vacation in Maine together, but their enjoyment at their newfound freedom is short-lived. They eventually have to return to their lives as middle-aged married men. Both men experience a growing impulse to rebel against social conventions.