reader understand Lewis’s message. From Babbitt, Sinclair explores diction and how it develops his writing. “To George F. Babbitt, as to most prosperous citizens of Zenith. His motor car was poetry and tragedy, love and heroism” (Babbitt 22). In the novel, Babbitt, this idea represents the thought that Babbitt and many others love their material possessions to an intense extent. The words “poetry,” “tragedy,” “love,” and “heroism” present the thought that Babbitt’s automobile is incredibly important to him. He associates these powerful feelings with his car because they evoke feelings that he will otherwise get from nothing else (Spark Note on Babbitt 1). “Babbitt … is a symbol of American capitalism” (McCrum 1). The author uses diction to show the character’s affection for his car. In…show more content… Every item that Carol sees on the main street is horrid, which gives her an unpleasant first impression of her new home (Main Street 40). Lewis uses diction to contrast Carol’s high hopes for the neighborhood that she just moved into with the disgusting reality of how the small town is everything she opposed. By endlessly listing the town’s lack of splendor Sinclair ridicules the idea that Carol had in her mind of Gopher Prairie. This depicts a traditional small town where as Carol was hoping for a little piece of heaven that would be her fairytale. Sinclair portrays the satire of American life because when referring to small towns, most of the population envisions the perfect scenery: tall grassy plains with friendly neighbors and small parks where the kids could play. Instead, Carol found a traditionalist town inhabited by small minded people (Main Street 45). Also, this shows that this is how Carol will see the town throughout the entire novel (Spark Note on Main Street 1). Sinclair Lewis humors the reader by explaining the faults in the American society that resides in small towns similar to Main