Lundquist, James, Sinclair Lewis, Frederick Ungar Publishing, 1973, pp. Paperback June 3, 2014. The bell-boy is scarcely out of the room when Elmer grabs Cleo. Still the supporting cast is brilliant as well. If a satirist depicts the object of his satire as based on humbug, advocated by humbug, and defended by humbug, he must employ a great deal of wit and fantasy to prevent his attack from seeming cross-grained and peevish. Frank suffers from self-consciousness about his occupation; it is the same sense of doubt which Lewis has expressed about the writing career: Frank still resented it that, as a parson, he was considered not quite virile; that even clever people felt they must treat him with a special manner; that he was barred from knowing the real thoughts and sharing the real desires of normal humanity.. We didn't want to make just any bourbon--we wanted to make the best bourbon. In Zenith, Elmer meets Bishop Toomis, a prominent figure in the Methodist Church. She was reported missing after swimming off Venice Beach, California, turning up five weeks later in Mexico, claiming she had been kidnapped. It is Elmers Napoleonic ambition to combine all such organizations to the greater glory of himself: He would combine in one association all the moral organizations in Americaperhaps, later, in the entire world. One cleric suggested that Lewis should be imprisoned for five years, and there were also threats of physical violence against the author. They have better chemistry between them than Simmons and Lancaster did, but Elmer Gantry is the grandaddy of them all. So scandalous was Lewiss portrayal of religion that the novel was banned in several cities and denounced from Judson Roberts, the enthusiastic, apparently confident evangelist who converts Elmer, admits to himself that his preaching is dishonest. He also notes that the more bizarre and irrational the experience, the more the evangelists value it, but he leaves the reader in no doubt about the contempt with which he views such phenomena: once occurred what connoisseurs regard as the highest example of religious inspiration. He confesses his love for her and they begin an affair, peppering their lovemaking with religious imagery. He befriends Shallard and tries to answer Shallards doubts about the truth of the Christian faith. He thereby makes a defiant gesture, nonetheless, somewhat apart from his customary preoccupation with quixotic heroes whom he could admire for their protests, rebellion, and search for freedom. Nevertheless, Lewis supplies sufficient background to account for Elmers going into the ministry. In 1926, Lewis refused the Pulitzer Prize for Arrowsmith, because he believed it would compromise his artistic independence. Taken from the classic Sinclair Lewis novel of the same name, director Richard Brooks garnered an Oscar for Best Screenplay for his adaptation, and Burt Lancaster won his sole Best Actor Oscar for his performance as Elmer Gantry. The attack on the hypocrisy of Protestant ministers continues throughout the novel. Reverend Jacob Trosper is the dean and chief executive of Mizpah Theological Seminary. For that matter, one year after Elmer Gantry, Burt Lancaster appeared in the same movie as William Shatner, Judgment at Nuremberg (1961). The famous evangelist Billy Sunday called Lewis Satans cohort.. Co-stars Jean Simmons and Shirley Jones. Elmer Gantry is a satirical novel written by Sinclair Lewis in 1926 that presents aspects of the religious activity of America in fundamentalist and evangelistic circles and the attitudes of the 1920s public toward it. Sharon believes she is above sin and that she can do anything she wants to because she is Gods messenger. He wonders whether he might have become a great chemist, which would surely have been better (and more profitable) than year after year again of standing in the pulpit and knowing your congregation dont remember what youve said seven minutes after youve said it. From discontented dean, who never appears again, the narrative moves immediately to the aged parents of the deans wife. Thus Rebecca West could write incisively about the religious and historical perspectives of Elmer Gantry: The passages in the book which present to one what Mr. Lewis regards as the proper attitude to religion are disconcertingly jejune. Miss West goes on to say that like Mark Twain, who in Connecticut Yankee looked at medieval Europe and said, My, werent they dumb? Lewis has no sense of the struggle of the human mind to evolve from chaos to the achievements of his age. Elmer is forced to agree, but promises himself he will find a way out of the engagement. , Sinclair Lewis: An American Life, McGraw Hill, 1961, pp. Still, her character of a betrayed woman who continues to care for Elmer illuminates the paradox of his power: he doesnt mean to hurt anyone, but he does. This site built with Project Largo from INN and proudly powered by WordPress. Elmer borrows a hundred dollars from Shallard, who is now a minister and is married with three children. A lady runs by Elmer in a blue jacket, and her jacket is on fire. Lancaster is absolutely mesmerizing as "Elmer Gantry." He welcomes Elmer into the Methodist church. During his Yale career Lewis also traveled widely, including a trip to England working on a cattle boat, and he also lived in the Utopian colony at Englewood, New Jersey, which was founded by the novelist Upton Sinclair. She engages in worthy activities at the church in Banjo Crossing, and falls in love with Elmer. Jim Lefferts is Elmers roommate and his only friend at Terwillinger College. Opposition to the movement was vicious; Fosdick was ousted from his New York pulpit, and in the Bible Belt and the deep south, fundamentalism cranked itself up into a powerful machine that found expression through anti-evolution measures volumes of blue laws, and the Ku Klux Klan. He just didn't do subtle very well, as his acting tends to magnify the focus on himself--which, once again can be either good or bad. Drama. The church provided all the music he ever heard, his only oratory except for campaign speeches by politicians, all his painting and sculpture, and all his philosophic ideas. "Religion and Sports: Three Muscular Christians in American Literature". As a boy, the Baptist church was all he knew. Sharon Falconer is an equally striking example of his satiric power. It seemed that perhaps the world had taken a step away from irrational belief. Elmer Gantry was drunk, the novel opens, and Lancaster is terrific as the boozing, womanizing traveling salesman.Gantry is a believer, of a sort. In a very Elmer Gantry moment, starting at 2:54, after singing the Lord gave us two good hands, brothers and sisters, one for the givin and one for the takin, Which man seems to have the more vitality? Undoubtedly many of the excesses Lewis describes, especially those connected with revivalism, deserve the treatment they get. In his preparation for the ministry, it is ironic that Elmer plagiarizes his first (and most frequently useful) sermon from the social reformer Robert G. Ingersoll: Love is the only bow on lifes dark cloud. The couple abandons their campaign against Elmer and leave On the train he meets a traveling salesman who invites him for a drink, which results in Elmer failing to keep his appointment at the church. Bains promises Elmer that he will make Lulu marry Floyd. Although it's difficult to know if Gantry's spiritual motivation is genuine or merely a ploy, throughout the film, one is kept guessing. More information about the Trylons Lancastic! It must have been for acting against type, coming off wholesome musical Oklahoma! Elmer Gantry was first published in the United States by Harcourt Trade Publishers in March 1927, dedicated by Lewis to the American journalist and satirist H. L. Mencken. Addeddate 2017-01-24 22:02:04 Identifier in.ernet.dli.2015.184871 Identifier-ark ark:/13960/t87h71c67 Ocr ABBYY FineReader 11.0 Ppi 600 Scanner Internet Archive Python library 1.2.0.dev4. Juanita Klauzel is Elmers girlfriend in Cato, Missouri, when he is a student at Terwillinger College. Now in college, Gantry and his roommate, Jim Lefferts, spend much of their time drinking and chasing women, but their primary amusement comes from ridiculing their classmates incessant religious proselytizing. They were outside of respectable societylike Kingsand I am not sure but that this was better for their art and their happiness than to be classed as lecturers, tax-payers, tennis-players, suburban householders, and lovers of dogs.' He is immediately taken Especially ironic is the way he champions love, an emotion he seems incapable of, in his sermons, preaches against ambition, when he himself is so patently ambitious, and organizes crusades against (mainly sexual) immorality, when he has difficulty resisting sexual temptation himself. The dean sends Gantry and classmate Frank Shallard to pastor a nearby church. WebThis count will explain the meaning of Macrons declaration that peace, security, and stability in Europe, and in the Ukraine, are for Europeans to agree with Russia. One of the first scenes with Sister Sharon Falconer involves her asking for donations from these people. One Sunday, he is surprised to see Lulu in church, and the next day he begins an affair with her. I had boycotted it for years, thinking it was too anti-Christian to support with my money, either renting or buying it. Known as the enfant terrible of the Methodist church, he is ruthlessly critical of others. Therefore, its best to use Encyclopedia.com citations as a starting point before checking the style against your school or publications requirements and the most-recent information available at these sites: http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html. Grebstein, Sheldon Norman, Sinclair Lewis, Twayne United States Authors Series, No. But both the show and their relationship are threatened when one of Gantry's ex-lovers decides that she must settle a score with the charismatic performer. Elmer is the great man steadily making his way upward in the worldthe man of immoderate personal ambitionand the great man hasnt time for scruples. Shortly after the publication of Elmer Gantry, H. G. Wells published a widely syndicated newspaper article called "The New American People", in which he largely based his observations of American culture on Lewis' novels. The boy sees the preacher as a man who can possibly heal his crippled leg. Elmer's presence is against the wishes of Sister Sharon's manager, William Morgan, who sees through Elmer's smooth-talking veneer, although he can't argue with the bottom line that Elmer brings to the meetings. Yet at the fire, it is Sharon who is heroic. He is taken with Sister Sharon Falconer (Jean Simmons) who runs revival meetings. 2007 eNotes.com McPherson preached in southern California from 1918 to the 1940s. Did he approve earthly monarchies or rebel against them? These help her to put on a dramatic show that wins many converts. Log in here. For some reason Richard Brooks seemed to think of himself as the man best suited to turning great novels and plays into films, but if the results were at best entertaining ("The Brothers Karamazov", "Cat on a hot tin roof") they tended to fall far short of the originals. Equity is one part of a broader vision for the Hiawatha network of schools. But throughout his career he wonders whether there is any value in his work. Rewrite it from Jims point of view. The growth of fundamentalist Christianity in contemporary America is a source of bafflement to those who just don't get it; including, by and large, the movie industry, which may like to end its films with sanctimonious moralising, but which usually reserves the right to serve us substantial portions of sex and violence beforehand. Amoral and relentlessly ambitious, Elmer builds a statewide and national reputation as a fiery preacher who never tires of denouncing vice, while at the same time feeling no need to curb his own vices, particularly adultery. The fundamentalists also have to deal with outright skeptics, like Jim Lefferts, and covert atheists like Dr. Zechlin. Harry Zenz does not believe a word of what he is taught at the seminary. Lloyd Naylor, who is in love with Lulu, complains to Lulus father about Elmers amorous conduct towards her. WebElmer Gantry, novel by Sinclair Lewis, a satiric indictment of fundamentalist religion that caused an uproar upon its publication in 1927. ", Jesus was a simple virtuous teacher, . Shallard attempts to stand against Gantrys attempts to destroy him, but eventually he resigns from his pulpit. He speaks in many big cities and acquires a new secretary, Hettie Bowler, with whom he has an affair. But soon the church tightens its grip on him; and for Elmer, there is no possibility of lighting out for the territory. If "Elmer Gantry" worked better than most was largely due to Brooks ability to tell a rattling good yarn at a cracking pace and to the performances of a superb cast. Thus, Schorer concludes, there is no pressure upon Elmer to be forced into a position of new self-awareness. Elmer seems a demonic figure. Jim tries to persuade Elmer not to go along with it, but when Elmer attends the Annual Prayer Week he cannot resist the emotionalism of the service. Pengilly sees through him with the spiritual eye of an eagle, and asks, Mr. The portrayal of revivals as a necessary service with a precarious balance between helping and hurting both the revivals leaders and attendants is masterful. Aubrey holds a Ph.D. in English and has published many articles on twentieth century literature. Happiness is the key to success. Dr. Otto Hickenlooper is a prominent Methodist minister in Zenith, and one of Elmers rivals. According to such people: A proper school should teach nothing but bookkeeping, agriculture, geometry, dead languages made deader by leaving out all the amusing literature, and the Hebrew Bible as interpreted by men superbly trained to ignore contradictions, men technically called Fundamentalists., Christian beliefs about the proper observance of Sundays also comes under heavy satirical fire in this passage: [T]he Maker of a universe with stars a hundred thousand light-years apart was interested, furious, and very personal about it if a small boy played baseball on Sunday afternoon.. Elmer Gantry has been called the purest Lewis by Schorer. Bains initially forces Elmer to agree to marry Lulu, but later, after Elmer shows him Lulu kissing Floyd Naylor, he orders Lulu to marry Floyd. Elmer, after all, is not an idealist; though he ventures forth, he does not do so in the name of chivalry; and, finally, he does not practice the transmuting powers of fancy. Gantry's noisy methods seem to work, even if they draw derision from the religious establishment and attacks from the cynical press. At Terwillinger College, Elmer captains the football team. Like a priestess she takes him to the chapel, a shrine with hangings, a crucifix, statues of the Virgin, and heathen idols, including a naked Venus. WebMoward Consultancy Inc. For the most part, he does not create complex human portraits but caricatures. Duke mentioned that he would love to play Puck, []. The English novelist and playwright Matthew Gregory Lewis (1775-1818), known as Monk Lewis, a popular wri, Lewis, Wyndham Light examines what he sees as quixotic elements in the novel, especially in the characters Sharon Falconer and Frank Shallard. Finally, the Elmer Gantry script is here for all you quotes spouting fans of the Burt Lancaster movie. Bains and Naylor confront Elmer at the Seminary and tell him he must marry Lulu. According to Mark Schorer, in his introduction to Sinclair Lewis: A Collection of Critical Essays, No novel in the history of American literature outraged its audience so completely, and very few novels in American literature had a larger immediate audience. The book was banned in Boston and other cities and denounced from hundreds of pulpits. Lulu Bains is the daughter of Barney Bains. When Elmer is converted, Jim moves out of his room in disgust. When Gantry is framed as a philanderer, both Falconer and Gantry endure the wrath of an angry public in Zenith, but are quickly restored to their pedestals upon a retraction. Schorer, Mark, Afterword, in Elmer Gantry, Signet Classics edition, New American Library, 1967, pp. However, Lewis does not seem to have had such an intention at first; once again, half the novel is concerned with one theme and half with a related but different one. If there was a soul to be saved - Gantry would save it. Elmer Gantry is a fast talking, hard drinking traveling salesman who always has a risqu story and a hip flask to entertain cronies and customers alike. He sees her as a conquest. You have every right to an explanation. Philip McGarry is the minister of the Arbor Methodist Church in Zenith. You're all sinners! Fascinating - 1960's "Elmer Gantry," based on the Sinclair Lewis novel, could be made today with nothing changed and be as powerful - maybe more powerful - than it was in 1960. Garrison Frank finds some shame in being a preacher and longs to prove that he is nevertheless a real man. Not only had he been swathed in theology, but all his experience had been in books instead of the speech of toiling men. The citation above will include either 2 or 3 dates. During the service one man begins speaking in tongues. online is the same, and will be the first date in the citation. WebHappy Birthday # 75..Barbara Lynn Herzstein, better known as Barbara Hershey, An Actress. . Elmer is, obviously enough, an example of the latter. This is a film that has outlasted its time. However as the pressure builds to tear him down, can Gantry prevent his past from returning to haunt him? When hedonistic but charming con man Elmer Gantry meets the beautiful Sister Sharon Falconer, a roadside revivalist, he feigns piousness to join her act as a passionate preacher. ( Elmer Gantry stirs soul, provokes thought was the headline in that mornings Tennessean.) Nothing reveals Lewiss isolation from an overview of life more clearly than the way he dismisses religion. Bishop Toomis possesses a complete Dickens, a complete Walter Scott, Tennyson, Macaulay, Ruskin, Mrs. Humphrey Ward, Winston Churchill, Elizabeth of the German Garden, and books on travel and nature study: How to Study the Birds, My Summer in the Rockies, and Pansies for Thoughts. WebIn 1960, Elmer Gantry, based on the best-selling 1927 novel by Sinclair Lewis, was brought to the screen by writer/director Richard Brooks. This film is not only good; it misses being great by a narrow margin. Don Pickens is Frank Shallards roommate at Mizpah Theological Seminary. Why does Lewis include him in the book? The novel is absorbing, and I should like to say a few words about it. Philip McGarry, Ph.D. in economics and philosophy, is made to show that no educated person can believe in Christianity except in a very vague way: the only dogma he was known to give out positively was the leadership of Jesusas to whose divinity he was indefinite. The good pastor, the Reverend Andrew Pengilly, finds God in nature, feels religion rather than reasons about it, and doesnt give a hang for doctrinal differences. 911 fanfiction buck ignored,
2021 Mustang Ecoboost 1/4 Mile, Articles E