PLOT (Structure)

Babbitt has an unusual plot structure. Rather than relate a series of events in a linear fashion, with increasing tension, Lewis organizes a loosely bound collection of events, some of which do not advance the overall plot of the novel at all. There are more than twenty-five episodes that make up the body of the novel, but they can be arranged and re-arranged without essentially affecting the theme of the novel or the impact of the story. Some critics argue that such a haphazard framing of events weekend the novel structurally, while others defend Lewis' technique as more realistic and original.

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