SparkNotes: Babbitt: Review Quiz

Which of the following does Lewis consider a serious flaw of the American middle class?

(A) Its hypocrisy

(B) Its conformity

(C) Its ignorance

(D) All of the above

Why is Howard Littlefield popular with the Zenith business community?

(A) He has a reputation as a moral, upright man.

(B) He is a brilliant intellectual.

(C) He reinforces the community's political opinions.

(D) None of the above

What is Ted's main interest?

(A) Making good grades

(B) Girls, cars, money, and mechanics

(C) Going to law school

(D) Taking over Babbitt's real estate business

How would Seneca Doane's political philosophy best be described?

(A) He supports the interests of the business community.

(B) He is socially liberal but fiscally conservative.

(C) He supports the labor rights movement.

(D) None of the above

How would Prout's political philosophy best be described?

(A) He supports the labor rights movement.

(B) He is socially liberal but fiscally conservative.

(C) He is both socially and fiscally conservative.

(D) None of the above

How would Verona's beliefs best be characterized?

(A) She is as conservative as Babbit.

(B) She professes liberal beliefs, but she is really just in love with the idea of being liberal.

(C) She is as devoted to radical political beliefs as Seneca Doane.

(D) None of the above

How does Babbitt feel about his father-in-law?

(A) He thinks that Thompson is old-fashioned and provincial because he didn't graduate from college.

(B) He thinks that Thompson is too unethical in his business practices.

(C) He admires and respects Thompson as an intelligent, honest businessman.

(D) He feels inferior and insecure around Thompson.

How would Babbitt's relationship with Myra best be characterized?

(A) It is monotonous.

(B) It is conventional.

(C) It lacks real passion and love.

(D) All of the above

Why does Zilla nag Riesling so much?

(A) She is trying to make him divorce her.

(B) She is jealous of his relationship with Babbitt.

(C) She is bored with the monotonous, conventional middle-class lifestyle.

(D) None of the above

How would religion in Zenith best be described?

(A) Religion isn't very important in Zenith, so few people go to church.

(B) Religion is heavily influenced by materialism and competition for social status.

(C) Religion is the one truly moral institution in Zenith.

(D) None of the above

Why does Babbitt join his church's committee to improve Sunday School attendance?

(A) He cares about the moral and spiritual development of Zenith's youth.

(B) He hopes to further his moral and spiritual development by helping the church.

(C) He wants to associate with Eathorne, who is also a member of the committee.

(D) All of the above

What does Seneca Doane dislike about Zenith?

(A) Its social and political conformity

(B) Its "bigness"

(C) Its love of mass-produced, standardized material objects

(D) None of the above

Why does Babbitt value a college education?

(A) It helps a person earn more money and raises his or her social status.

(B) It increases a person's appreciation of great art and literature.

(C) He doesn't value a college degree.

(D) None of the above

What do Babbitt and his friends think about Prohibition?

(A) They support it because they think alcohol is immoral.

(B) They support it because they think people waste too much money on alcohol.

(C) They support it for the working classes, but they oppose it for the middle and upper classes.

(D) They oppose it completely.

What did Riesling want to do when he was young?

(A) He wanted to travel to Europe and study the violin.

(B) He wanted to be a painter.

(C) He wanted to be a poet.

(D) He wanted to be a writer.

What did Babbitt want to do when he was young?

(A) He wanted to be a painter.

(B) He wanted to be a writer.

(C) He wanted to be a poet.

(D) He wanted to be a lawyer and help the poor.

Why did Babbitt marry Myra?

(A) He was deeply in love with her.

(B) He became engaged to her almost by accident, and he didn't have the courage to break it off

(C) He married her for her money.

(D) He married her because she belonged to a genteel, high-status family.

What is the purpose of the Good Citizen's League?

(A) To improve the business community's ethics

(B) To coerce people into conforming to middle-class social and political values

(C) To promote good social values like religion, education, and community service

(D) To improve the relationship between different socio-economic classes

How would Sir Gerald Doak best be described?

(A) He is an educated, cultured British aristocrat, but he is less pretentious than Americans.

(B) He is an educated, cultured British aristocrat who disdains the vulgar materialism of Americans.

(C) He is an educated, cultured British aristocrat, but he is as materialistic as the Americans

(D) He is just as uneducated and materialistic as Americans, but he is less pretentious and status-conscious

What happens after Riesling shoots Zilla during an argument?

(A) Paul is sentenced to three years in jail, and Zilla hates him all the more.

(B) Zilla dies and Riesling is sentenced to life in prison.

(C) Paul is sentenced to three years in jail, but after Zilla begs the governor for clemency, he is released.

(D) Babbitt turns his back on Riesling because he disapproves of his violent reaction to Zilla's nagging.

How would Tanis' bohemian friends best be described?

(A) They are as shallow as Babbitt's friends.

(B) They have a rigid standard of conformity just like Babbitt's friends.

(C) They think they are rebels, but they are simply playing at rebellion.

(D) All of the above

Why does Babbitt end his affair with Tanis?

(A) He realizes that her rebellion against social convention is just as silly and ridiculous as his.

(B) He realizes that he really loves Myra.

(C) Tanis has been seeing another man.

(D) After Gunch threatened to organize a "social boycott" through the Good Citizen's League to punish Babbitt for his rebellion against social convention, Babbitt was too afraid to continue seeing her.

What crisis prompts Babbitt to return to his conventional middle-class lifestyle after a brief rebellion?

(A) Ted elopes with Eunice Littlefield.

(B) After Myra finds out about his affair with Tanis, she threatens to divorce him and take all his money.

(C) Myra becomes seriously ill.

(D) His business begins to fail after the community begins to ostracize him for his rebellion against its values.

How does Babbitt react to Ted's decision to elope and drop out of college?

(A) Babbitt doesn't approve of early marriages and he wishes Ted would finish college, but he supports Ted's right to live his life on his own terms.

(B) Babbitt threatens to disown Ted if he doesn't get his marriage annulled and return to college.

(C) Babbitt disapproves of Ted's actions, but he is too afraid to criticize him for fear that he will lose his son.

(D) Babbitt supports Ted wholeheartedly because he thinks Ted made a wise decision.

How is Babbitt changed after he returns to his conventional, middle-class life?

(A) Babbitt isn't changed at all.

(B) Babbitt has a renewed commitment and faith in conventional middle-class values.

(C) Babbitt feels defeated by the social pressure to conform, but he recognizes the ignorance, hypocrisy, and shallowness of the middle-class lifestyle.

(D) Babbitt decides to return to his conventional lifestyle, but he resolves to actually practice the morals he preaches, unlike his friends and associates.

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