Elmer Gantry

"Elmer Gantry" by Sinclair Lewis is a novel written in the late 1920s. The book delves into the life of the titular character, Elmer Gantry, a young man navigating the complexities of religious zeal, ambition, and personal vices in a morally constrained society. Through Gantry, who is depicted as a charismatic yet flawed individual, the narrative explores themes of hypocrisy within organized religion and the pursuit of power. The opening of the novel introduces us to Elmer Gantry, a boisterous and intoxicated college student at Terwillinger College who is known for his football prowess but struggles with personal direction and normative expectations. As he revels in a drunken singalong with his roommate, Jim Lefferts, the reader is introduced to the contrasting personalities of the two young men—Gantry, large and powerful, yet immature and impulsive, and Jim, more studious and critical of societal norms. We see hints of Gantry's complexity as he grapples with his excessive bravado, his strained relationship with religion, and his longing for adventure amidst the constraints of college life. This opening sets the stage for a nuanced examination of faith, identity, and the often tumultuous journey of self-discovery. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Harry Sinclair Lewis was an American novelist, short-story writer, and playwright. In 1930, he became the first author from the United States to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature, which was awarded "for his vigorous and graphic art of description and his ability to create, with wit and humor, new types of characters." Lewis wrote six popular novels: Main Street (1920), Babbitt (1922), Arrowsmith (1925), Elmer Gantry (1927), Dodsworth (1929), and It Can't Happen Here (1935).