Sinclair Lewis (1885 1951) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and playwright. In 1930 he became the first American to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, for his vigorous and graphic art of description and his ability to create, with wit and humor, new types of characters. His first poems appeared in the Yale Courant magazine. His first book was Hike and the Aeroplane. Main Street is his most famous work. Babbitt is a Satire of American middle-class city life. George F. Babbitt is a successful real estate man, a regular fellow, booster, Rotarian, Elk, and a Republican who molds his opinions on those of the local newspaper and believes in a sound business administration in Washington. Vaguely dissatisfied with his position, he tries to alter the pattern of his life by flirting with liberalism and by having an affair with an attractive widow, only to find that his dread of ostracism is greater than his desire for escape. He does, however, encourage the rebellion of his son.