A more elaborate kind of fantasy arises out of Lewiss belief that formal religion is based on the self-interest of its leaders. 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. As he gains experience, Elmer attempts to broaden his mind. Consider the character of Jim Lefferts, as revealed in the first three chapters. In a notable passage Lewis tells us sympathetically of the problems of the rebel, of the preacher or the writer who suffers from sensitivity and innocence: He was supposed to cure an affliction called vice. In another service a couple comes forward to ask that Falconer cure the husbands deafness. Close Alert. On May 25, 2016, St. Paul School Resource Officer Bill Kraus forcibly arrested then 19-year-old Darion Bell outside of St. Paul Central High School. He was supposed to bring peace to mankind. Gantry threatens to avenge him but takes no action. 99107. He is no Harry Zenz or Bruno Zechlin, who have both thought deeply about theology and have emerged as atheists. They are encouraged by Dr. Zechlin, who tells him that no reasonable person can be a believing Christian; nevertheless, he ought to stay in the church to liberalize it from withinin effect, to destroy it. At the end of the novel, Elmer is on bended knee, praying, We shall yet make these United States moral nation! The irony in Elmers last statement underscores the immorality of the kind of enforced morality Elmer has in mind. With the characterization and strong personalities of these two characters, it is easy to assume a one-sided relationship between Gantry and Falconer and their congregants, but this is not the case. The film is basically how Hollywood, in the late 1950s, viewed tent religion in the early part of the twentieth century. Elmer pulls the burning jacket off her, and beats So scandalous was Lewiss portrayal of religion that the novel was banned in several cities and denounced from pulpits across the nation. Hettie Dowler becomes Elmers secretary at Zenith when Elmer is already famous. Ashley Daugherty is a senior majoring in Anthropology and Spanish. Elmer denounces his old classmate Shallard, who now preaches at a Congregational church in Zenith, calling him practically an atheist. She's a true believer. He is immediately taken with Sister Sharon Falconer, a lay preacher whose hellfire-and-damnation revivalism has attracted quite a following. But a grand jury investigation found that McPherson had spent a pleasant month in Mexico with a married man from her church. Elmer joins the Methodists and is sent to the small town of Banjo Crossing, where he falls in love with Cleo Benham, the daughter of a church trustee. 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. She and Elmer have an affair, which later turns out to be a trick on the part of Hettie and her husband Oscar to blackmail Elmer. Gantrys conversion makes him the talk of the campus, and Jim soon moves out. Their satisfaction comes from functioning healthily, from physical and mental exercise, whether it be playing tennis or tackling an astronomical problem. While this notion of religious rites on the tennis court is rather curious, Lewis seems nevertheless to acknowledge a religious impulse, even if he would eliminate God and organized churches. WebMoward Consultancy Inc. He is soon invited to preach at one of her meetings. Many of my neighbors and friends see the furious posts on Facebook, with all the hysterical warnings about the imminent destruction of public education as we know it, and are honestly confused. 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. Infuriating and erratic, but brilliantly creative, the Canadian-born British artist and writer Wyndham Lewis (1882-1957) was an always, Elman, Ziggy (originally, Finkelman, Harry), Elman, Mischa (actually, Mikhail Saulovich), Elmira Business Institute: Narrative Description, https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/elmer-gantry, Lewis, Sinclair (7 February 1885 - 10 January 1951). At the end he is still eyeing the women in the congregation even as he calls for a crusade to make America a moral nation. During his final year he is restless and bored, but he is given a Sunday appointment at a country church in Schoenheim, eleven miles away, with Frank Shallard as his assistant. Elmer Gantry, like all of Lewiss big novels, is part of one program. Eddie spreads the word that Elmer, who has never shown any zeal for religion, has been converted. He had learned to assemble Jewish texts, Greek philosophy, and Middle-Western evangelistic anecdotes into a sermon. Franks mentor has been Father Pengilly, a fanciful figure whom we have already discussed. Although most entertaining when Gantry is actually preaching (mainly in the opening half of the film), the intelligent script moves on from it's basic premise (that Gantry is a charlatan) to explore wider questions of the nature of humanity and society. Web1. Aubrey holds a Ph.D. in English and has published many articles on twentieth century literature. The film leaves the realities of these mystical happenings up to interpretation, and so gives the congregants active, if small, roles in the narrative. At times he is almost satanic, a compendium of all the vices; they are too many and too flagrant for him to be real. Lewiss famed businessman character, George Babbitt, and pastors in the community discuss the merits of holding a revival in Zenith. In fact, the film could be seen as prescient, as both religious revivalism, and celebrity-scandal driven journalism (another of its subjects), have arguably become more prevalent since it was made. Charles W. Ferguson, in the Bookman, described Elmer Gantry as a glorious lampoon, although he also commented that the novel was a social commentary and not a work of fictional art. The legal profession does not suit the unethical Gantry. Elmer is subjected to a kind of collective emotional manipulation. Wests point is a telling one. Some characters from Lewis even read Sinclair Lewis himself; the Reverend Philip McGarry asks his friend Frank Shallard to forget that you have to make a new world, bettern the Creators, right away tonightyou and Bernard Shaw and H. G. Wells and H. L. Mencken and Sinclair Lewis (Lord, how that book of Lewis, Main Street, did bore me ).. He long ago lost his faith in the literal truth of the Bible and has become an atheist. He wears fine clothes, yet he rides the railways like a vagabond. The wife is full of complaints about the life she has had to lead, married to a preacher, criticized by the church women if they thought her clothes werent suitable, sick of having to pretend to be so good when we were just common folks all the time! Her tirade at her husband, who only wants to be allowed to go to sleep, includes the following passage: Oh, dear. Part of a tipper lorry became wedged underneath a gantry in a crash on the M5 on Thursday, 2 March. eNotes.com, Inc. When he finally got the green light, it was United Artists that agreed to distribute the film. Movie Forums . By what name was Elmer Gantry (1960) officially released in India in English? On publication, Elmer Gantry had a sensational reception. Sharon is a woman of many selves: she is imperious and efficient, but also vulnerable. He speaks in many big cities and acquires a new secretary, Hettie Bowler, with whom he has an affair. The fundamentalists also have to deal with outright skeptics, like Jim Lefferts, and covert atheists like Dr. Zechlin. She dresses in exotic outfits such as Grecian robes, and uses a gold and white pyramidal altar. 5 Mar. Elmer Gantry the novel came out in 1925 and it took 35 years to get it to the screen. James Benedict Moore, "The Sources of Elmer Gantry". Later, he is kidnapped and beaten nearly to death, an episode that leaves him blinded. Since religions are often sold with a spin to attract the most people or a certain group of people, it is important that potential followers examine the reasoning and intentions of religious leaders. After his wedding to Cleo, he gasps to himself, Oh, good God, Ive gone and tied myself up, and I never can have any fun again! His treatment of her on the wedding night is reminiscent of Eddie Schwirtzs treatment of Una Golden. publication in traditional print. We didn't want to make just any bourbon--we wanted to make the best bourbon. Cite this article Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. Or maybe as something more. Nevertheless, it is possible to recognize the working of quixotic elements throughout the novel, especially in the fancifully conceived Sharon Falconer and in the character who is a foil for Elmer, Frank Shallard. As the film progresses, we learned of Elmer Gantry's past especially his own previous desire to be a minister/preacher. He befriends Frank Shallard. Those who believe in the doctrines of the church are presented as fools or morons, and are easy targets for malicious fun. As a preacher, he shamelessly plays on peoples emotions and their fear of Hell. Edward A. Martin, "The Mimic as Artist: Sinclair Lewis". Shirley Jones small part made the movie. Elmer gets converted to Christianity only because he cannot resist the pressures put on him to do so. One device after another is employed to introduce him to new denominations and round out the picture. (205) 348-6010 Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window). 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. And fortunately for us, it gives BURT LANCASTER the kind of role that would rightly win him an Academy Award as Best Actor in 1960. 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. 2023 eNotes.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved. With a long line of charismatic cinematic rogues to his credit, Burt Lancaster pulls off a barnstorming performance as Elmer Gantry, the salesman turned opportunistic evangelist whose fast-talking pitch scarcely slackens, off-stage or on. , Sinclair Lewis: An American Life, McGraw Hill, 1961, pp. Source: James Lundquist, Moralities for a New Time, in Sinclair Lewis, Frederick Ungar Publishing, 1973, pp. After collecting money from the patrons, Gantry takes a drunken barfly back to his hotel room. Not now! They also decried the growth within the church of the higher criticism, that sought to understand the Bible based on modern methods of scholarship. In this scene at the end of the It is the Morning and the Evening Star. Elmers mind is shallow; he simply does not have the capacity for serious thought about such issues. The attendants give her their money, she leaves after a short period of time, and then the attendants are no better off and short on money. WebIn the 1920s, Elmer Gantry entertains a group of fellow salesmen in a speakeasy with his ribald jokes and easy charm. WebIf he is not completely redeemed at the film's end, he indicates that his love for the ill-fated Sharon Falconer is real and not mere lust.The character of Sister Falconer, as played by The one completely positive character in the book, Frank Shallard, wants to make Christianity an active force for social good; as it is, it is a negative force, a threat to freedom. Still, Falconer dies for her beliefs and is shown to fervently believe in God; she clearly wants to save people. He has a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago who espouses a very liberal theology. Novels for Students. 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, Diamond stretches out his hand toward a young woman who places in MAJOR WORKS: 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. He survived for a while by interpreting some of the Biblical stories as symbols that revealed the glory of God and the leadership of Christ. The summer of 1927 began with Charles Lindbergh crossing the Atlantic. Lundquist, James, Sinclair Lewis, Frederick Ungar Publishing, 1973, pp. Reverend Dr. Willoughby Quarles is president of Terwillinger College. Lewiss version of what passed for religion in the United States of the 1920s brought him threats against his life and gave his name the same rhetorical function in Protestant fundamentalist sermons as that of Clarence Darrow, Darwin, and the devil himself. I am not going to explain the Scriptures. Sinclair Lewiss Elmer Gantry (New York, 1927) is a ferocious satire against Protestant fundamentalist religion in the American Midwest. Like ordinary mortals, she is often weary. He is a well-educated Englishman in his early thirties with a colorful past. Think about how Jim would view Elmer, and how he might react to what Elmer says. The psychological factor that works against Elmer is the mechanics of the conversion experience. I give this movie a 10 only because there is nothing above that. She appears to Elmer as a saint, arms outstretched, stately, slender and tall, passionate. When a Salvation Army worker enters, Gantry shocks and moves the crowd with an impromptu, impassioned sermon equating God with love. During the service one man begins speaking in tongues. International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, "Elmer Gantry, a Flawed Preacher for the Ages", "The Censorship Crusade: A Story For Banned Books Week | Americans United", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Elmer_Gantry&oldid=1142298283, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, A 1970 Broadway musical adaptation, titled. The movie was not just a group of scenes depicting sex and violence. British actress Jean Simmons as Sister Sharon, the evangelist Elmer falls for is similarly too airy. 3945; originally published in New York Herald Tribune Books, March 13, 1927. WebElmer 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. His portrait of a golden-tongued evangelist who rises to power within his church-a saver of souls who lives a life In this essay, Aubrey discusses how Lewiss characterization in Elmer Gantry serves his satiric purpose. Weave will make its debut on Jan. 12 at the Ordway Center for Performing Arts, a co-commissioner in [], It was kind of a whimsical artistic impulse, recalled Antonio Duke, as he reminisced on this past spring when Ashawnti Sakina Ford drove him home each night after their rehearsals for a production of Imaginary Invalid, a play by 17th-century French actor and playwright, Molire. Lewis finished the book while mending a broken leg on Jackfish Island in Rainy Lake, Minnesota. Lewis divorced his wife in 1928, and married Dorothy Thompson. An example is the bizarre marriage ceremony which takes place between Elmer and evangelist Sharon Falconer before her grotesque shrine. 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. It shines upon the cradle of the babe, and sheds its radiance upon the quiet tomb As Elmers career begins its ascent, we learn something more of the images which fill his mind: For all his slang, his cursing, his mauled plurals and singulars, Elmer had been compelled in college to read certain books, to hear certain lectures, all filled with flushed, florid polysyllables, with juicy sentiments about God, sunsets, the moral improvement inherent in a daily view of mountain scenery, angels, fishing for souls, fishing for fish, ideals, patriotism, democracy . They were intended to feed the American dream, but instead fashioned the nightmareout of books! But for my money it is Jean Simmonds, surely robbed of her own Oscar here, who has the most impressive part. Finally, the Elmer Gantry script is here for all you quotes spouting fans of the Burt Lancaster movie. 12631. McPherson preached in southern California from 1918 to the 1940s. What has educated Elmer (a few books, oratory, sermons, tracts, hymns, and a smattering of a college education) must be ridiculed in order to purge it from the land. This site built with Project Largo from INN and proudly powered by WordPress. "You're all sinners! Terwillinger College and Mizpah Theological Seminary are both fundamentalist institutions. eNotes.com will help you with any book or any question. The inspiration for Falconer, Aimee Semple McPherson, on the other hand, was thought of as a celebrity, and many felt her intentions were dubious. 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. Gantrys mother is a strict fundamentalist, so Gantry spent much of his childhood in church, where he learned the dour lifestyle of a Christian. Elizabeth S. Prioleau, "The Minister and the Seductress in American Fiction: The Adamic Myth Reduz". George Killough, "Elmer Gantry, Chaucer's Pardoner, and the Limits of Serious Words". The impact of religion on Elmer Gantry symbolizes what it has done to the American spirit. During the opening service, with a crowd of more than four thousand, fire breaks out. 2023
Who Is Gemini Most Compatible With Sexually,
Are Severide And Stella Together In Real Life,
Recent Simi Valley Deaths,
Articles E