Elmer Gantry

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In the end, it must be admitted, the character of Gantry is well formed even if some of the supporting cast isn't. Gantry is one of a handful of literary characters to become at least fairly iconic. Most know that a reference to "Elmer Gantry" is a reference to a dishonest and probably "immoral" debauched, depraved? I had expected that I would know the basics from having seen the movie but the book was completely different!

Elmer Gantry is a hypocrite but he doesn't even seem to realize it or only dimly! So many aspects of Elmer reminded me of Donald Trump that at times it was hard to continue and made me hate the ending view spoiler [ when despite having his hypocrisy reveale I had expected that I would know the basics from having seen the movie but the book was completely different! View all 4 comments. Elmer Gantry is a womanizing troublemaker who manages to become a successful preacher despite his frequent questionable conduct, and often destroying the lives of those around him along the way.

This is really a fantastic book and one that, although it was written 80 years ago, is still quite fresh and thought-provoking. It explores religion and the lives of those who deliver it to us in a way few authors would dare. I will definitely need to explore other books by Sinclair Lewis. I don't know much about Lewis, but he must have had some extensive exposure to the Christianity of his day. I found this very educational regarding the religious landscape of America during the turn of the century. Baptists, Presbyterians, Episcopalians, Methodists, Pentecostals, Catholics, Mormons, New Thoughters are represented here with all their foibles and idiosyncrasies.

A fascinat This was amazing. A fascinating comparative study, to say the least; but, more prominently, a blistering rebuke on religious hypocrisy. Lewis set his cannons ablaze upon insincere Christianity. This story will make one stop dead-in-his-tracks before he tries to go into the ministry for status or prestige. Is ministry simply an opportunity for upward mobility? Does it stroke the ego? Does it place us in an admiring light?

Is it a chance to garner influence? Do we enjoy flattery? Do we yearn for greatness? If the answer is yes to any one of these, then Lewis is gunning for you. Elmer Gantry started out as an unsuspecting, jovial, young seminarian who didn't have a clue what he was getting into. But, he was promised that if he went into the ministry he could really make a difference in the world.

There's more that goes into it than that. Yet he blithely went along as an out-and-out fraud, seeking for worldly acclaim. And as he ascended the corporate ladder, each rung became more and more precarious. I sat enthralled the entire way. A humorous, yet convicting read. Highly recommended for seminarians and young aspiring leaders. Dec 19, Mikey B.

Elmer Gantry

A truly delightful novel. Lewis takes obvious pleasure from poking fun at religion — and he takes on the various church denominations and destroys them with attacks from multiple positions. He exposes hypocrisy through Elmer Gantry — who supposedly is a protector of morality while enhancing his career by vapid publicity, name-calling and disdaining the women who fall in love with him. He also ignores his family while pursuing his goals. This book exposes the lust for power behind the evangelical A truly delightful novel. This book exposes the lust for power behind the evangelical movements and more traditional churches.

It is also about the cult of personality — in this case Elmer Gantry. This is even more abundantly clear with the Sharon Falconer episode. Actually the book looses some of the momentum, I feel, after the sudden death dubious at that of Sharon midway through the story. Elmer switches convictions whenever there is opportunity for his advancement. There are a host of colourful characters. Most of the religious ones are portrayed as extremely flawed.

If you've ever laughed at or been disgusted by the antics of televangelist charlatans like Jim Bakker and Jimmy Swaggart, Sinclair Lewis had their number 80 years ago. The fictional Elmer Gantry rises to prominence before the era of radio and TV evangalism, but his greed, self-serving political ambitions, and sexual indiscretions are just like those of his real-life counterparts. I actually listened to part of this audiobook while mistakenly thinking the author was Upton Sinclair.

How emb If you've ever laughed at or been disgusted by the antics of televangelist charlatans like Jim Bakker and Jimmy Swaggart, Sinclair Lewis had their number 80 years ago. Besides having similar names, the authors were contemporaries who wrote about similar topics in the same time period, and their style is similar as well, though Lewis is a bit more satirical while Sinclair is more pedagogical. But both of them write bitingly about the foibles of early 20th century America.

Elmer Gantry follows the protagonist from his beginnings as an irreverent student at a religious university who's basically browbeaten into being "saved" by another traveling preacher who turns out to be a cynical fraud himself. But Elmer is set out on his path, and goes to seminary to become a Baptist preacher. After getting caught with one of his flock, he's kicked out by the Baptists. He becomes assistant and lover to a crazy woman evangelist named Sharon Falconer, who on the one hand is as phony as he is, and on the other seems to really believe every bit of nonsense she spouts.

Her character was quite interesting; today we'd probably call her bipolar, and she seems to be the one woman Elmer truly loves, as he remembers her for the rest of his life, even when he moves on to bigger and better venues after losing her. He spends a little time doing whacky New Age spirituality and "self-help" seminars yes, this stuff was going around 80 years ago too before he manages to con himself into the Methodist church, and pretty soon he's a minister. From there he keeps moving on to bigger and bigger churches, becoming more and more powerful, and always as hypocritical, self-centered, greedy, and rapacious as ever.

This was a great story for its study of hypocrisy and very cynical and realistic examination of religion in America. Sinclair did his homework, sitting in on a lot of church services to write this. It's not exactly an indictment of Christianity and shouldn't be taken that way -- the novel doesn't take a stand on the rightness or wrongness of any particular religious beliefs, only on the all-too-realistic behavior of the clergy and parishioners. Sinclair writes a straightforward story with lots of minor characters, each of them very human and flawed and interesting.

By the end of the book, you're really, really hoping that Elmer Gantry will finally get his comeuppance, but despite many close calls and setbacks over the course of his career, Gantry is like an eel who always seems to wriggle his way out of the worst of his difficulties. I recommend this highly as American literature set in the same time period as the novels of Upton Sinclair and F.

Nov 28, J. This send up of religious institutions was so devestating that many religious leaders called for Lewis to be stoned to death for writing it. His biting, insightful, and humorous look at religious hypocrisy is as pertinant today as it was when it was first written. The pure strength of Lewis's prose is refreshing after reading more recent authors. His control and understanding of syntax, grammar, and words maintains a strength and clarity of voice throughout the work. However, he does not sacrific This send up of religious institutions was so devestating that many religious leaders called for Lewis to be stoned to death for writing it.

However, he does not sacrifice wit or levity for all his precision. There are occasions when his passion overcomes him and his critiques fall a little heavy-handed, but these moments are rare and short. He never falls to the sort of surrogate lecturing that many 'political' authors do, and so does not risk boring or underestimating his reader. He certainly never partakes in the more grievous sin of lecturing the audience as the narrator.

Indeed, he rarely makes a point towards his own opinions without undermining it with a little hypocrisy or hubris on the character's part. The absurdity of Voltaire's satire has nothing on the ridiculous yet believable world created by Lewis. Hyperbole is the haven of the idealist. Realism is more interested in engaging reason than inciting passion, and while Lewis's understated wit never insults his reader's intelligence, it still presents an unsettling and prescient view of power, ignorance, and the masses.

Jan 22, Mary rated it it was amazing Shelves: This classic is both opportune and evocative of an era. Shyster sociopaths have been around forever and they are often very successful. The most powerful man on our planet. Shoulda stuck with real estate where he belongs. Lewis is a great observer and super witty. I cherish this book. Very happy to find this. No original paper dustjacket, alas. The cover art differs from the picture uploaded see below for the actual cover art of this edition. The '29 Grosset has a church silhouette and a cool embossing on the lower right front.

Elmer Gantry was made into a lively and impressive film in starring Burt Lancaster in a hell-raising performance , and it was one of my dad's all-time favorite movies. As Lewis Grosset and Dunlap hardcover, vintage. As Lewis' Main Street so impressed me, I'm anxious to get back into the author's customarily acerbic take-down of ignorant Americana.

Trump proves that things haven't improved Aug 10, Chad rated it really liked it Shelves: He had a beautiful new morning coat, three excellent lounge suits, patent leather shoes, a noble derby, a flourishing top hat, but he had only two suits of underclothes, both ragged.

His socks were of black silk, out at the toes. For breast-pocket display, he had silk handkerchiefs; but for use, only cotton rags torn at the hem. He owned perfume, hair-oil, talcum powder; his cuff links were of solid gold; but for dressing-gown he used his overcoat; his "His possessions were not very consistent. He owned perfume, hair-oil, talcum powder; his cuff links were of solid gold; but for dressing-gown he used his overcoat; his slippers were a frowsy pulp; and the watch which he carried on a gold and platinum chain was a one-dollar alarm clock.

The contrast of his outer appearance and inward state reflects the glaring hypocrisy of his actions and doctrines. But simply characterizing Elmer Gantry as a hypocrite doesn't capture the infuriating aspect of his personality. Yes, he's a hypocrite, but what's disturbing is his lack of self-awareness. He understands that his womanizing, drinking, and exploitation are wrong, but he justifies these actions by saying things like "no one is perfect" and "I'm just a man, after all.

Although the novel focuses primarily on Elmer and bears his name, it's misguiding to say that the novel is primarily about the his rise to prominence. The story is really about specific events along Elmer's journey--specifically, the characters and that he encounters as he grows older. The novel with the most similar structure would be, ironically, John Bunyun's Pilgrim's Progress, which follows Christian's journey from sin to salvation.

Elmer is the perfect foil for Christian's earnest quest for holiness.

The effect of this episodic organization is intentional: The characters change as a result of their encounters and trials, but the focus of the novel becomes the incidental characters and the ideas that they represent. While Pilgrim's Progress is allegorical, illuminating the trails of life and the Christian's pursuit of holiness in the grimness of the world, Elmer Gantry is strictly satirical. By using the same method of organization, Sinclair expertly creates caricatures that represent different aspects of the protestant clergy and laity in early 20th century America.

He encounters preachers, elders, deacons, bishops, politicians, lawyers, bartenders, sinners, saints, students, professors, and choirgirls that seem uncomfortably familiar. Like the pharisees that Jesus criticized, Elmer and his cronies are "whitewashed tombs" who "look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean" Mt Elmer Gantry remains a prophetic warning concerning the corruptibility of the human heart and misguided ambition.

Jan 21, Mark rated it it was amazing Shelves: I have never despised a literary character as much as Elmer Gantry, and that is exactly what Sinclair Lewis wanted. Elmer Gantry will rise up and give you that old time religion, even if he doesn't have it himself.

Elmer Gantry will be at the head of the pack to find and condemn vice, and when he's not with the pack he'll still be out finding vice. Elmer Gantry will be a Baptist, an evangelical, a New Thoughter, a Methodist, and is wondering about those Episcopalians. Because he's heard their congr I have never despised a literary character as much as Elmer Gantry, and that is exactly what Sinclair Lewis wanted.

Because he's heard their congregations are the wealthiest. And that little 0. It was not her eloquence but her healing of the sick which raised Sharon to such eminence that she promised to become the most renowned evangelist in America. People were tired of eloquence; and the whole evangelist business was limited, since even the most ardent were not likely to be saved more than three or four times. But they could be healed constantly, and of the same disease.

Back to my regular voice. I really think it is the 0. It can be a downer reading how the hypocrites "lay up treasure on earth" while the sincere most assuredly do not. At the same time the sheer boisterous energy of Gantry picked me up by the scruff and dragged me, willing or not, through the book.

You can't help wondering about American culture knowing that in this was both the 1 selling and the 1 banned book in the country. This book, I think, was written to reflect the frustration a person might feel when listening to a sermon of epic proportion or perhaps a person proselytizing: Lewis is condemning not only ministers the people that are the vessels of God , but religion itself.

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He paints Gantry as a man that is uncertain of his belief in God, but confident of his ability as a charismatic speaker and so Gantry becomes an ordained Baptist minister. When that religion doesn't work out for him, he finds a hom This book, I think, was written to reflect the frustration a person might feel when listening to a sermon of epic proportion or perhaps a person proselytizing: When that religion doesn't work out for him, he finds a home elsewhere. And that's the problem. This goes on for pages. Gantry drinks, he smokes, he is a womanizer and when he gets married he philanders.

He lies at every opportunity even to himself to get what he wants. There is never a lesson learned because Gantry gets away with his bombastic behavior throughout the book. And that gets boring. The writing is good, most of the time, but I found that often there were sentences that were fragmented and I wasn't sure if that was intended or bad editing. On a good note, I learned the word jeremiad n: Dec 12, Francis rated it liked it.

The character Elmer Gantry is righteous, strident, repetitive, hypocritical and a lot of other things none of which are complementary, and for me, that was the problem with the book. The flat and one dimensional characters that inhibit Sinclair Lewis novels and especially the constant hammering of his message. I read Babbitt a couple of weeks ago and I enjoyed it. My mistake was returning to Lewis too soon. Rather than a new novel this felt like the sequel.

Like watching Woody Allen films, enter The character Elmer Gantry is righteous, strident, repetitive, hypocritical and a lot of other things none of which are complementary, and for me, that was the problem with the book. Like watching Woody Allen films, entertaining, yes, but always somehow feeling like the same movie being viewed on a different set.

There are many good points about Lewis and his novels, for me though, Lewis's message came through a little too much like his protagonist, righteous, strident and repetitive and ultimately like anything repeated too frequently.. View all 5 comments. Aug 01, Vicki Jacobs rated it it was amazing. One impression I got from this book is how similar the evangelist Gantry and his coherts are to the Taliban. The evangelists in Lewis' book would do exactly what the Taliban has done or are currently doing in the middle east, imposing their interpretation of god's rules upon everyone, believer or not.

They both endorse morality police and have ambitions to rule the world as they see fit. Oct 05, J. A wonderful look at the hypocrisy of a "religious" preacher, Elmer Gantry. This book reminds me of Mark Twain's famous quote: Aug 12, Sher rated it it was amazing. Oh man, I am left a little speechless. Let me pull myself together.

I just finished this classic novel by Sinclair Lewis. I have owned this book for decades but only recently decided now is the time to read it. It is a look at the morals of a church man, Elmer Gantry, who chooses to go into the ministry because he figures it would be easier than to get a degree and become a lawyer. He does go to ministry school and becomes an ordained minister, and he is really good at what he does. Sadly, what Oh man, I am left a little speechless. Sadly, what he does includes twisting his secret immorality so that it work to his advantage.

He is able for the most part to give up the booze and the tobacco so that he appears righteous, but he can't seem to break with the habit of meeting women, even after his marriage, and seducing them into falling for him. He is one of those people who uses religion and his "faith in God" to further his own purposes, however low-class and hurtful they may be, while at the same time furthering his ambitions to become the dictator of morals in America, heck in the whole world.

I think I started to believe he could actually pull it off.

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And the more rotten he is in his private affairs, the more admired, respected and esteemed he is by his congregations. I had a teacher once who told me that if Satan were a man on campus we would elect him student body president. That sums up the life of Elmer Gantry. This book was written in , but is still relevant today. Sinclair Lewis is a masterful writer, at times poignant, but often very clever and downright funny in his ironic juxtapositions. He paints the characters and situations so deftly that the flow between Elmer the righteous man of God and Elmer the morally bankrupt degenerate seem to be rational and acceptable, until in the end it becomes undeniable.

I have to be honest. The middle of the book seemed to drag a little, but all in all, I enjoyed reading it. No wonder it is a classic! I would have given this book a four star rating if I didn't abhor Elmer Gantry as much as I do. He is the master manipulator, the king of scum, the glib tongued devil who sees the world only as it can serve him. A little synopsis of the story: Elmer Gantry is a handsome rogue, a sports hero, son of a religious woman whose dreams for him consist totally of his becoming a man of the cloth.

He delights in whiskey and women even as he attends theology classes. Unfortunately for everyone, especially I would have given this book a four star rating if I didn't abhor Elmer Gantry as much as I do. Unfortunately for everyone, especially women, and especially young women, Elmer could persuade the devil himself to donate time, talent and money.. It isn't really Elmer who impressed me the most, however; it would have to be a little kittenish young lady we meet early on, named Lulu Bains.

At first glance, Lulu doesn't seem to mean much to this novel but at a closer look, we realise Lulu is like the flawed thread that runs through an amateur's tapestry, making its ugliness even more apparent.

Lulu Bains, kittenish, pink and fluffy, is an innocent we meet when Elmer comes as pastor to his first real church. He immediately decides he must 'have' her, and have her he does.

Just as immediately, he loses interest. Lulu weaves in and out, through Elmer's life. She doesn't matter to him. Nothing matters to Elmer except Elmer. But he keeps her, beguiled, on the back burner just in case he wants to toy with her more. Eventually, the obvious happens; he meets someone he likes better and chucks her to the curb, fibbing to her that his wife yes, there is a Mrs. Gantry tells Lulu she needs to not only leave him, she needs to leave his church altogether. This is quite a blow to Lulu; she has loved Gantry through his trek as a young minister all the way to his esteemed position as a nationally reknown religous figure.

Now this is the good part, the telling part. Has her love turned to hatred? She stood waiting for a trolley car, alone under an arc-light, fingering her new beaded purse, which she loved because in his generosity H e notice the use of the capitalized H, as if Lulu thought of Elmer as God, Himself.. From time to time she wiped her eyes and blew her nose and all the time she was quite stupidly muttering, "Oh, my dear, my dear, to think I made trouble for you - oh, my dear, my very dear!

I won't spoil it for you. You will need to read it yourself to discover what happens. All in all, it's worth your time. View all 11 comments. May 11, Marcus Johnson rated it really liked it. Less than ten pages into this novel, I was hooked. I honestly felt as though Sinclair Lewis was capable of time travel, transported himself forward in time so he could sit next to me during worship services at multiple churches, then transported himself back to the s so he could write about it.

Seriously, it feels as though little has changed in the world of American Evangelicalism. This movement still has its rising celebrities with more ambition than humility, and more demonstrated passion Less than ten pages into this novel, I was hooked. This movement still has its rising celebrities with more ambition than humility, and more demonstrated passion than grace. It still claims relevance through its waging of a "culture war," which demonizes secular education and behavior. Elmer Gantry never died; he just reincarnated generation after generation, and cloned himself into thousands of self-absorbed worship leaders.

Still as a social commentary, Lewis's work has its strong and weak points. I loved his writing style; I have a few other books on my reading list for the summer, but I would like to explore Babbitt and Arrowsmith, eventually. He writes with a sense of humor and flamboyance that serves as the perfect paintbrush for this narrative of a flamboyant, arrogant preacher who covers his sinful, degenerate self with only the thinnest layer of faux-holiness.

There were moments during this read in which I laughed out loud best point: That being said, I wish Lewis wasn't so dedicated to Elmer Gantry's success in the final third of the novel the first narrates Gantry's rise and fall at the seminary, the second narrates his rise and fall as a traveling evangelist with Sharon Falconer; the final, his emergence as a Billy Sunday-type evangelist with global acclaim.

By that final third, Gantry seemed to excel at being slime, so well that plot points that Lewis should have used to bring him down did not, not even a little. Granted, I'm not looking for happy endings, but that final story arc feels like it has no arc; it just ascends and ascends, with reminders along the way of the lives he ruins.

It by no means detracts from the greatness of this novel; I just feel that Lewis' goal of demonstrating that, in American Evangelicalism, sometimes bad guys win, trumped the potential for a real character arc. Don't let that stop you from reading this novel, however. I'm talkin' about divine love - not carnal love. The opportunistic Gantry becomes infatuated by touring tent ministry evangelist-healer, the beautiful, pure, and dedicated Sister Sharon Falconer Jean Simmons , and she is charmed by him as well: Exhibiting tremendous showmanship, Brother Gantry, with rolled up shirt-sleeves, preaches hellfire and brimstone, thumps his Bible, performs miracles, and leads repentant sinners to conversion in the Bible Belt tent meetings: You're all doomed to perdition.

You're all goin' to the painful, stinkin', scaldin', everlastin' tortures of a fiery hell, created by God for sinners, unless, unless, unless you repent. Mencken disciple, as having exceptional qualities: I've heard many a powerful Bible-walloper, but you not only put the fear of God into them, you scared the hell out of 'em.

And the way you strung certain words together - "America, home, mother. But as long as I got a foot, I'll kick booze. And, as long as I got a fist, I'll punch it. And, as long as I got a tooth, I'll bite it. And, when I'm old and gray and toothless and bootless, I'll gum it till I go to heaven and booze goes to hell.

His popularity helps to increase her fame and fortune, and she is able to realize her dream of building her own tabernacle of worship. In an act of revenge, one of his old jilted girlfriends, minister's daughter-turned-prostitute Lulu Bains Shirley Jones sets him up and frames him with photographs taken in a compromising situation, ruining his reputation. At one point earlier in the film, she remembers how Gantry had violated her when she was 'saved' as a teenager, when asked if Gantry could save anybody: Ha, ha, ha, ha!

In a tent, standin' up, layin' down, or any other way. And he's got plenty of ways Sister, I was saved by him way back in Schoenheim, Kansas. Not the carnal, but the divine love! He got to howlin' "Repent! The next thing I knew, I was out in the cold, hard snow in my bare little soul. Although Gantry is later vindicated and cleared of morals charges, he jeopardizes their ambitions.

The new tabernacle opens, but Sister Falconer tragically dies in a blazing tent fire.

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