Arrowsmith

Context

Sinclair Lewis was born on February 7th, 1885 in the small town of Sauk Centre Minnesota asthe youngest member in a family of three boys. His father, like the protagonist of theArrowsmith, was a doctor who had amassed a reasonable fortune and believed in the ethics ofrules and hard work, which later displayed itself in Lewis' writing habits. Lewis, when writing anovel, always maintained a rigid writing schedule that consisted of long hours and muchdetermination.

As a boy, growing up in Sauk Centre, Lewis was bookish and somewhat awkward, though notall-together unpopular in high school. His town of Sauk Centre appears over and over again inLewis' satire of provincial small-town American life, as seen for instance, in Main Street,Lewis' first major success. Sauk Centre also shows itself in the form of Wheatsylvania inArrowsmith. And, although Martin Arrowsmith, the protagonist of the novel, is more of alaboratory scientist than a physician, Lewis has Martin become the small-town doctor his fatherhad been, if only for a while.

Lewis graduated from high school in 1902 and went to Oberlin for a year in preparation forYale. During the fall of his senior year, Lewis left Yale and joined Upton Sinclair'swriter/painter colony at Helicon Hall in Englewood, New Jersey, only to return to Yale andgraduate in 1908. Between 19081915, Lewis traveled and held a number of freelance andeditorial positions and published his first novel in 1912, entitled: Hike and the Aeroplane,under the pseudonym of Tom Graham. It is not until 1920, however, when Main Street waspublished, that Lewis becomes an established writer. After which, Lewis went on to write well-known and well-received novels like Babbitt and Arrowsmith. Arrowsmith is often said to beLewis's best novel and is the novel for which he won the Pulitzer Prizea prize which hedeclined because of the terms of the award. The Pulitzer was said to be given for the"wholesome atmosphere of American life," and Lewis, the Satirist of Modern America, was notabout to accept such an ironic award. Nevertheless, Lewis was to go on and receive otherhonors and, in 1930, became the first American to win the Nobel Prize in literature.

After 1930, his novels declined, and, in 1951, Lewis died of heart disease in Rome. His asheswere buried in his small, American town of Sauk Centre, which he immortalized in love andhate.

It is interesting to note that Arrowsmith was published in the same year as F. Scott Fitzgerald'sThe Great Gatsby. However, Fitzgerald and Lewis could not be more different, although theywrote in and portrayed the same era. Both men lived in a world between wars and in between apost-war economic boom and The Great Depression, yet their portraits of America could not bemore different. Lewis's world was not the "Jazz Age" of Fitzgerald's "roaring twenties" full offlappers and parties, it was that of the businessman, the doctor, the provincial man. Lewis was aromantic in many ways as well as a gifted satirist and realist. And, in many ways, Arrowsmith,when juxtaposed against Fitzgerald's world, is an optimistic novel, imbued with romance and asignificant amount of faith in its protagonist, Martin Arrowsmith.

Plot Overview

Martin Arrowsmith, the novel's protagonist, is born and raised in the small Midwestern town ofElk Mills where he develops an interest in science and spends his free hours reading throughGray's Anatomy and other books in the office of the town's doctor, Doc Vickerson. This earlyeducation is supplemented when he goes off to college and eventually becomes a medicalstudent at the University of Winnemac, where he meets his life-time mentor, Max Gottlieb, aGerman professor committed to laboratory science and research.

While in medical school, Martin dates a girl named Madeleine Fox, a snobbish, educateddoctoral student of literature and becomes engaged to her, only to leave her later for LeoraTozer, a down-to-earth nurse in training, whom he will love and live with until the end of herlife. Also, while at Winnemac, under the wing of Gottlieb, Martin develops a deep-rooted lovefor the laboratory and lashes out against "commercialism" and the faults of the practicingphysician versus the ideals of true science and research. Nevertheless, Martin, after graduatingfrom Winnemac, must abandon his "true science" because he has married Leora and now has awife to support.

Martin and Leora move to Leora's hometown of Wheatsylvania where Martin becomes acountry doctor about whom the townspeople gossip. Although he is at times successful, henever gains the trust of the community as a whole and loses a patient, in his early days. Leoraalso has a miscarriage during their time in Wheatsylvania. Feeling as though he has failed inWheatsylvania, Martina and Leora move to Nautilus, a city in the Midwest.

In Nautilus, Martin becomes a public health physician, working under Dr. Pickerbaugh, who ismore of a salesman than a doctor and who writes verses about hygiene and cleanliness. Afterbeing unhappy in Nautilus, Martin is called to the Rouncefield Clinic in Chicago to work withhis medical school colleague, with whom he had always been in competition, Angus Duer. Hiswork as a pathologist in the Rouncefield Clinic, however, also proves disheartening given thatthe Clinic is a playground for doctors who care more for money than anything else.

It is at this point that Martin comes to the attention of Max Gottlieb once again. Gottlieb, whois working at the prestigious McGurk Research Institute in New York (modeled after theRockefeller Institute in New York), invites Martin to join the research team. He is glad tofinally have his chance at laboratory science, the "true science" he had had to abandon. Martinis happy there until he begins to be rushed in his study and work. The heads of the Institutebegin to pry into his research in order to apply pressure on Martin to publish and "sell" hiswork. While at the institute, however, Martin comes across a huge triumph in his research, theisolation of a bacteriophage that seems to kill pneumonia and plague.

Although there is some initial disappointment at finding out that much of his research hadalready been done and published by another scientist, Martin decides to further his research andis successful in his continuations. Martin is later sent to test his discovery in the Caribbeanisland of St. Hubert, which is infested with plague. Martin agrees to conduct his experimentalresearch on the quarantined island of St. Hubert. Leora accompanies him.

On the island of St. Hubert, Martin is meant to conduct further research on the phage in order tounderstand it better, and he does, in fact, seem to cure the people of the plague. However, theresearch conducted on the island is not altogether precise because Martin had given up on hiswork for a time, after the tragedy of his wife's (Leora) death due to the plague. Martin goesthrough a period of mourning in which he abandons his research, a period which he will later beupset by and consider a failure on his behalf.

It is also on the island that Martin meets Joyce Lanyon, an immensely wealthy woman whomhe marries when he returns to New York, after Leora's death. Martin, however, cannot growfully accustomed to his new wife's rich ways and finds himself, once again, unhappy. He,therefore, abandons her and his child with her in order to retreat into the woods with TerryWickett, his friend and colleague from the McGurk Institute. The book ends with Martin andTerry's plan to build a laboratory in Terry's home in the woods so that they may be left to dothe important research they so love and need without the commercial pressure imposed bydepartment heads and the presidents of institutes.

Character List

Martin Arrowsmith - The novel's title character and protagonist, Martin is a curious youngman whose life in the medical profession makes up the plot of the book. He is stubborn andinclined toward laboratory science, rather than the practice of being a physician. He hasopposing characteristics and can be both cold and compassionate, both driven and easilyswayed. Furthermore, he is a romantic at heart.

Read an in-depth analysis of Martin Arrowsmith.

Doctor Vickerson - A country doctor in Elk Mills, Doc Vickerson was Martin's firstintroduction to the world of medicine. The doctor is not an all-together educated man althoughhe is supportive of Martin. And, although Doc Vickerson is an alcoholic, he is not altogetherunlikable.Max Gottlieb - A German Jew, Max Gottlieb is Martin's mentor. He is a scientist rather thana physician. He is often seen as eccentric and as cold or lacking in compassion although he doeshave a deep belief in Martin. A patient man, he is utterly driven by a search for "truth" and isfully committed to the study of science.

Read an in-depth analysis of Max Gottlieb.

Madeleine Fox - A graduate student at Winnemac University, Madeleine Fox attends thesame college as Martin. She eventually becomes his fianc, but is what Martin calls an"improver." She is a snobbish student of literature who tries to change people, includingMartin, to fit her beliefs and her society.Fatty Pfaff - One of Martin's fellow medics, Fatty Pfaff tries his hardest to learn and yet hedoes not have the brightest mind at Winnemac. In fact, Fatty is the archetypal nice, yet dumb,guy at the University. He eventually becomes an obstetrician.Ira Hinkley - A classmate of Martin's, Ira Hinkley is a preacher who tries to impose hisreligious beliefs on others. His path crosses Martin's more than once and he eventually betraysMartin. He believes he is doing "good" but is arrogant in his beliefsmost of which arenarrow-minded, superior-minded, and colonial.Angus Duer - A good student and successful surgeon, Angus Duer was Martin's rival atmedical school. He is a hard worker and always achieves that for which he strives. He believesin success and is the opposite of Martin in many ways.Clif Clawson - The class jester, Clif Clawson, resigns from medical school and becomes a carsalesman. He is unorthodox in his business and, in the end, too different from Martin to remainhis friend.Leora Tozer - Martin's loyal wife, Leora is opinionated and yet completely supportive andunderstanding of Martin and his career. She is caring and although ambitionless herself, she isloving and a perfect fit for Martin.

Read an in-depth analysis of Leora Tozer.

Dean Silva - The compassionate physician, Dean Silva is supportive of Martin and epitomizesthe "good doctor." He is caring and believes more in the practice of medicine than in research.

Dr. A Dewitt Tubbs - The director of the McGurk Institute and later a leading member of theLeague of Cultural Agencies, Tubbs stands for everything that Martin opposes. He believeswholeheartedly in competition and, not in the individual, but in "cooperation." He is one of themany "salesmen" in the medical industry that exist in the novel. He is criticized by Martin fornot being as intelligent as someone in his position should be.Gustaf Sondelius - Neither a laboratory man nor a physician exactly, Sondelius is a one-manarmy against disease. A captivating speaker, he is compulsive and adventuresome, and yet,often compassionate.Dr. Almus Pickerbaugh - The subject of a great deal of Lewis's satire, Pickerbaugh is theDirector of the Department of Public Health in the small city of Nautilus. He campaigns forcleanliness and writes bad poetry about Health and sanitation for his daughters (whom he hasnamed the "Healthette Octette") to sing. He is a great salesman and commercialist.Orchid Pickerbaugh - The oldest daughter of Almus Pickerbaugh, Orchid is a young,flirtatious, and beautiful girl who Martin becomes enamored of Martin and admires hiseccentricities and intelligence.Dr. Rippleton Holabird - A department head at McGurk, Holabird has very much the samebusiness mind-set as Tubbs. He believes in competition and success and eventually joins theLeague of Cultural Agencies with Tubbs. He constantly brags about an old war wound andbecomes another foil for Martin's personality.Pearl Robbins - The secretary to Dr. A DeWitt Tubbs at the institute, Miss Pearl Robbins is abeautiful woman who joins the men in competition. From being Tubbs's assistant, she haslearned the "business" and even attempts to attain the directorship when Tubbs resigns. WhenGottlieb is head of the institute, she basically runs it because of Gottlieb's lack of attention incommercial matters.Terry Wickett - A laboratory scientist much like Gottlieb, Terry Wickett is completelycommitted to his work. He does not have a family or much of a social life because of thiscommitment. He is the extreme of what Martin could be, and by the end of the novel hebecomes the symbol of freedom and independence. He is very much an individual in a world of"collaborators" and he strives always for what he believes. He is stubborn and thought of ascold, though he and Martin have an "understanding" of each other and are, in fact comrades bythe end.Joyce Lanyon - The second wife of Martin Arrowsmith, Joyce Lanyon is a rich woman withwhom Martin does not have very much in common. She is a high class "arranger" and a widowwho spends her time frivolously and goes to Africa to "save primitive art."

Analysis of Major Characters

Martin Arrowsmith

The title character of the Arrowsmith is Martin Arrowsmith, a young man whose curiosity andstubbornness make him perfect for the realm of scientific research. And yet, Martin becomesdistracted and often sways from his path. He is constantly criticizing the commercialism of themedical profession as well as the "machines" that are made in the medical school "mills."

And yet, Martin is, himself, tempted by the very things he criticizes: money, success, fame,notoriety, respect. When, for example, Martin is forced to make a speech in Nautilus, Martinthrives on the respect of the audiences and gets quite a thrill from the applause. It is Leora thathas to bring him down to Earth. Later, Martin, seems to ease in to the lap of luxury, takinglimousine rides to work, for example, while he is married to Joyce Lanyon. And yet, thoughMartin sways and attempts to fit into high class society, into Joyce's lifestyle, and into theworld of institutions and social gatherings, Martin is nonetheless always an outsider and onlytruly happy when he is able to work in the lab.

Martin's curiosity for science and "truth" begins at an early age, and it is what Gottlieb sopraises in him. This curiosity is what saves him and keeps him going, even if he occasionallyventures off his track. Martin holds within him a plethora of contradictions that are difficult tofuse, and this is epitomized by his love for both Dean Silva ("the good doctor") and MaxGottlieb (the stern and unrelenting scientist). These contradictions are also exhibited inMartin's love for Leora in spite of the temptation of girls like Orchid and Joyce. His nameencompasses all of these contradictions. The name Arrowsmith, upon first reading, may seemto recall only the "arrow." The reader believes that the name is meant to symbolize a straightand stubborn path. Yet, Martin's name is not Arrow, it is Arrowsmith, representing the person(craftsman) who makes the arrowsthe person who melds it out of difficult steel or iron.Further, because this is a novel of a single man's education and personal development, thisname suits Martin because it illustrates that Martin is "learning" how to make his arrows andhow to create that straight path out of the contradictions and the tough iron that life gives him.

Max Gottlieb

The symbol of pure science throughout the novel, Max Gottlieb stands out as Martin's greatestmentor in the novel, and yet, Gottlieb remains one of the saddest as well. Gottlieb is a GermanJew, dedicated to the practice of research, a practice that he illustrates with the utmost patience,diligence, and belief. He is seen as an eccentric and is talked about in gossip rings everywherehe turns. He is, of course, German, and in the early twentieth century Americans believed thatmost "true scientific" research, at least that which was of great importance, came fromGermany. Lewis makes Gottlieb German for this reason and also for the reason that it placeshim as an "outsider" of the utmost extreme, completely lacking a place in society. Gottlieb doesnot fit into the medical world because he believes in perfection and is angered by mediocrityand commercialism. Lewis adds to this the fact that he is not only European, but German in themiddle of a wave of American anti-German sentiment from World War I. And, not only is heGerman but he is a Jew, always an "outsider," expelled from this place and that.

And thus, Gottlieb is the eccentric scientist with the cold heart except that he is not altogethercold, for he does love Martin in his own way, just as he loves his daughter, Miriam, and hadcome to depend on his wife. And yet, it is important to realize that there is a certain coldness inGottlieb's aloneness. He is a lonely man who is destined to be unhappy. Life hands himmiseries and though he has made important discoveries, he remains somewhat unappreciated.And, finally, he ends a senile old man. His genius is eradicated from him through a sad senility,and he is left with nothing except his daughter's undying care.

We may ask what it is that Lewis is trying to say by painting such a dim portrait. Perhaps he issaying that the scientist is doomed to failure, perhaps he is saying that extremes do not workand that Martin needs to find a balance. Perhaps he is simply romanticizing the self-sacrifice ofthe "truth seeker." Or, perhaps Lewis had to simply remove Gottlieb from the narrative so thatMartin could be truly free. It seems that all these things are true.

Leora Tozer

When the reader first meets Leora, she is a sharp-tongued and witty nurse in training, ready torebuff Martin's arrogance. She is a working, down-to-earth woman with a mind of her own. Andyet as the novel progresses she seems to become less forceful. She gives up nursing althoughshe does take up stenography, and she seems, at times, ambitious and self-effacing, giving herlife over to her love for Martin.

There is no doubt of Leora's love, faithfulness, and support for Martin. She is always willing tomove for his work and she understands his need to be a "laboratory man." In fact she oftenaccompanies his sleepless nights at work. It is true that Leora gives up her career for Martin,but, then again, from the beginning she had claimed that she did not have much ambition anddid not really have a passion for nursing. However, it would be unfair to say that Leora losesher strength as the novel progresses because she never loses a moment's chance to tell herhusband exactly how she feels. She also is constantly reminding him of who he is, and theirmarriage is one of true companionship and love, despite Martin's temptations elsewhere(Orchid and Joyce).

As the novel progresses it becomes apparent that Martin cannot live without Leora. He isconstantly thinking of his need for her and his gratitude towards her. And yet, it was because ofLeora that Martin had to give up the lab initially and move to Wheatsylvania. And, further, it isnot until Leora dies that Martin is able to raise himself up in courage against the institutes hehas worked for and join Terry Wickett in his independence.

Themes, Motifs, and Symbols

Themes

The Corruption Within American Medicine

In the early 1920's, around 1922 or so, Sinclair Lewis met a man named Paul De Kruif who hadworked for the Rockefeller Institute and who had published a series of articles in Centurymagazine attacking the practices of modern American medicine. Lewis, in his novelArrowsmith takes the torch carried by De Kruif who had to leave the Rockefeller Institutebecause of his critique.

It was the early twenties, and America was living through an economic boom from the war,where everything was becoming more commercialAmerican businesses were booming. And,further, even practices like medicine were becoming "businesses." The consequences ofmedicine becoming a business is what Lewis criticizes, specifically the commercialism andcompetition that exist within the profession and which seem to contradict its nature. Instead ofbeing a practice of altruism, discovery, and healing, medicine had become somethinginstitutions needed to sell. Lewis uses the Rouncefield Institute, the Public Health Departmentof Nautilus, and the McGurk institute as vehicles of satire in order to criticize the realinstitutions that existed in America at this time. In many ways the novel was educating theAmerican public about the maladies of medicine in the early twentieth century.

The Plight of the Scientist

Martin Arrowsmith is a laboratory man, not a physician. The juxtaposition of the laboratoryman and the physician are present throughout and are epitomized in the characters of Gottlieband Dean Silva, respectively. The physician is a public figure and, depending on where hepractices, is often trusted and a minor celebrity. The doctor because he heals is thereforegenerally admired (when he is a good doctor). The scientist, however, is a solitary person, alonely person. The scientist must work alone in the laboratory, and when he makes discoveriesusually only a small sector of the world is aware of it. Sometimes the scientist goesunrecognized for years, as Gottlieb had gone. Further still, if we are to surmise that Gottlieb isto represent "the scientist," then we come to the conclusion that the scientist has a solitary,exhausted, and unhappy end. The plight of the scientist is therefore a difficult one.

And yet, Martin seems, to be able to accept the "failures" that exist in his profession, where hewill always be an outsider and never a "success." In fact, he seems almost able to embrace thelikelihood of "failure," and it is in the acceptance of the romanticized "plight of the scientist"that the book ends in an ironically optimistic fashion.

The Salvation Found in Retreat

Throughout the novel Martin finds his peace, his happiness, and his adventurous thrills whilehe is alone in the laboratory. Solitude and retreat become his true companions, aside fromLeora whom Martin knows so well that he can be alone even while with her. As soon as Martinbecomes a social being, as soon as he accepts luxury and the idea of "success," he begins to

stray from his path and eventually becomes unhappy without the solitude of his laboratorywork.

Many of the characters we come to like, moreover, are lonely figures: Martin, Terry, andGottlieb, for instance. Many of the characters we are meant to dislike are very social beings:Tubbs and Holabird, for instance. Moreover, this solitude and retreat is romanticized and evenelevated in a Thoreau-like fashion by the time we reach the end. In the end, Martin moves tothe woods with Terry Wickett, where they will create a laboratory all their own. There is a"salvation" in this "retreat," for Martin has finally accepted the power of independence. Thisretreat is what makes the novel optimistic; Martin is finally able to flee form the social andcommercial department heads that hinder his true work.

Motifs

Science Versus Religion

Religion and science seem as if they are opposing forces in the novel, and yet a person like IraHinkley lives between both of these forces. Also, both Gottlieb and Martin are seen "praying"in their own ways. Religion requires faith and science requires doubt. Still both of these entities(religion and science) are belief systems, which is what, paradoxically, makes them so similarin their opposition.

There is no doubt that Lewis is criticizing the overzealous Christians like Ira Hinkley, who, intheir arrogance and extremes, diminish in the eyes of the viewer. And yet, it is important torealize that the overzealous scientist is also reduced in the novel: Gottlieb ends in a poor andsenile state. There are no real conclusions to draw from the opposition of religion and sciencethroughout only that they are similar in their capacities for extremes and in their power. Also, itbecomes important that the scientist accept this struggle just as he must accept all the otherstruggles that exist in his "plight."

Men of Measured Merriment

Men like Holabird and Tubbs (and the sector of the medical world they represent) seem"happy," and yet they are what Martin calls "Men of Measured Merriment." Martin believesthat their happiness is measured because it is the happiness that comes with social success andthe profits reaped in "business," not Martin's ideal for greatness and discovery. The happinessthat comes out of a superficial success does not compare, for Martin, to the solitary success ofdiscovering something that may become a cure or that may help in the search for fundamentalunderstandings. And thus, these "machines," as Martin implies that they are, are measured intheir happiness, just as they are measured in everything they do in life. They are proper,correct, successful, and richthey are everything they are "supposed" to be and yet they arehypocritical and often times dangerous to Martin and others' own search for "truth."

The Idea of Success

Gottlieb tells Martin that he will be lucky if he is not successful because success ruins thescientist. Success would diminish the laboratory scientist to the level of the "men of measuredmerriment." To insult Martin, Gottlieb calls him a "college president" among other things,

illustrating his contempt for "success." The greatest reason for this contempt is that it is atemptation from ones true calling. This is, of course, another element of Lewis's romance and iscomparable to the painter or writer that writes magical verse or creates masterpieces on canvasbut never sells a line or stroke and dies in poverty with their greatness unknown to man.

Symbols

The Magnifying Glass

Doc Vickerson, in the first chapter of the novel, gives Martin a gift to "start his training." Thisgift is a magnifying glass. This is important because it represents the keen eye and curiositythat both the physician and the scientist must have. It represents the careful and deepobservation that Gottlieb lectures to Martin about over and over again. Although DocVickerson is, himself, a kind of failure in his alcoholism, his gift is nevertheless laden withsignificance, elevating Vickerson to the status of man who has had "influence" on the reader's"hero."

Terry Wickett

Terry is the symbol of what Martin could be, and he represents the kind of man that Martin is,in fact, by the end of the novel, the man that Martin follows. He represents the careful scientistwho is willing to give everything up for his work. He is Martin without the temptations thathave led him astray and, thus, is the true kin of Gottlieb.

The Centrifuge

Gladys the centrifuge at the McGurk institute is Holabird's pride and joy. She is an expensivepiece of machinery and the best of her kind and, thus, represents the commercialism andcompetition present in American medicine.

Chapters 13Summary

Chapter 1

The novel begins with a brief vignette about Martin Arrowsmith's great- grandmotherapioneer who wanted to see the world. She is "going west" in her wagon, with her mother deadand her father ill but remaining steadfast, nevertheless.

After this brief, one-paragraph episode, Sinclair Lewis begins the story of Martin Arrowsmith.When the reader first meets him he is fourteen and sitting in Doc Vickerson's office readingGray's Anatomy in the small town of Elk Mills, Winnemac. Martin's father heads the New YorkClothing Bazaar, but Martin prefers to spend his time with the doctor, reading his books andlooking at the specimens of Doc Vickerson's museum of medical oddities. And, in fact, Lewisinforms the reader that Martin, at the young age of fourteen, has become the doctor's unofficialassistant.

Doc Vickerson is an old widower who is fond of the drink. His office is not very clean, and thedoctor is portrayed as somewhat of a mess who calls himself a failure. Nevertheless, heencourages Martin in the direction of education, knowledge, and medicine. And, by the end ofthe chapter, Doc Vickerson has given Martin the gift of a magnifying glass.

Chapter 2

It is 1904, and Martin is a junior in college, preparing for Medical school at the University ofWinnemac, which is fifteen miles from the largest city in Winnemac (Zenith). He appears to bea fairly handsome though thin boy that the girls all call "romantic"; he is also quite shy.

Martin has forgotten Doc Vickerson and Elk Mills and is completely enthralled by his life atthe university. His new idol is the head of the chemistry department named Edward Edwards,whom all the students call "Encore." Martin is impressed by his knowledge and, mid chapter,finds himself at one of Edwards's "At Homes," where students and faculty confer and discuss.During this meeting, the strange German, Jewish professor Max Gottlieb comes up inconversation. Gottlieb is known for his brilliant and difficult-to-understand research inImmunology and is shrouded with campus rumors and mystery that excites Martin. After thegathering, Martin goes to the medical school campus and sees Max Gottlieb leaving the lab lateat night and is taken in a gust of admiration.

Soon after, Martin enters medical school feeling superior and yet, nervous. He goes to Gottlieband tells the professor that he would like to take his bacteriology class, but Gottlieb tells himthat he must come back the next year after he has taken physical chemistry. Martin isdisappointed and thinks about his encounter with Gottlieb, and he begins to wonder if EdwardEdwards was really as intelligent as he had once thought. Furthermore, Martin has begun toquestion "truth."

Lewis then begins his description of the world of the University of Winnemac Medical School.

Ira Hinkley, for instance, is Martin's dissecting partner, a twenty-nine-year-old medic whowants to become a medical missionary and who preaches and attempts to convert everyone hemeets. Martin is also a member of a fraternityDigamma Pi, the chief medical fraternitywhere the characters that will make up his life while in school emerge. The members of thefraternity include one Angus Duer, whom Martin both hates and envies for his determinationand intelligence. Fatty Pfaff, another member of the fraternity is a gullible freshman who is notvery smart. Then there are Clif Clawson and Irving Watters, who, along with Fatty Pfaff, roomwith Martin. Clif is the school's clown whom Martin quite likes, and Irving Watters is simplydull.

Chapter 3

Martin's circle of friends (listed above) is constantly involved in discussions about what makesa good doctor. Martin arises as the cynic of the group who insults the way the medical school isrun with all its mechanical memorization and striving for commercialism. He expresses hisviews often with his classmates and with Madeleine Fox, a girl he had gone to college with andhas re- discovered in "medical school." Madeleine remained at the university in order to takeup doctoral classes in literature. Martin believes that he loves her.

After exams, Martin looks forward to Gottlieb's bacteriology class after the summer and goesoff to his summer job, installing telephones in Montana.

Analysis

The introductory vignette about Martin Arrowsmith's great-grandmother sets the attemptedscope of the novel. By going so far back in time, Lewis is telling us that his novel will be a kindof epic, while at the same time foreshadowing the life of Martin Arrowsmith himself. Martin'sgreat-grandmother, "the pioneer," has suffered in that she has lost her mother at the age offourteen and is driving a wagon across the Ohio wilderness. Yet, she is determined. When hersick father, who is lying limp in the back of the wagon, tells her she should slow down, sherefuses to and says she is going to keep going west because there are "a whole lot of new things[she] aim[s] to be seeing!" This pioneer spirit will become evident within Martin Arrowsmithas the book progresses. And just as tragedy has befallen his great-grandmother, it will alsobefall Martin.

These beginning chapters also set the stage of Martin's background. He is a young, Americanboy living in the early 1900s who aspires to be a doctor. And, along with settings, charactersare introducedlively, yet archetypal characters. It becomes evident, early on, that Lewis is acaricaturist. Doc Vickerson is the epitome of the country doctor; Clif Clawson, with hispractical jokes, is the class clown; Ira Hinkley is the religious one of the group and so on. Eventhe names are caricatures. For example: Angus Duer. Angus's last name "Duer" befits hispersonality because he is a "do-er," doing everything with utmost skill and determined torealize his goals in silence; not so much saying as "doing." Martin, on the other hand, talks andtalks. He becomes a cynic and is constantly raving against "commercialism" and themechanical teaching ways of the university.

This tendency toward archetype is very much a part of Lewis's style, which is a mix of realism

and satire. From the beginning we realize that there are many things about the medicalprofession and American society in general, which Lewis is criticizing. He calls the universitya mill, as if it were a machine that produces people like products, taught how to behave andspeak and act within educated society.

It is important, however, to realize that another reason for the use of "types" in the novel is thatthis is not a novel about many characters; instead it is the journey of one man. It is abildungsroman: the personal education and development of a single person (MartinArrowsmith, in this case). Moreover, other characters are both a vehicle for satire and a way forLewis to provide further create the character of Martin, either by placing these other charactersin juxtaposition or through a connection to him.

Furthermore, as a side-note, Zenith, the largest city in Winnemac, is also the city in which thecharacter of Babbitt from Lewis's earlier novel entitled Babbitt lives. This is a device thatLewis is using out of cleverness and also for the purpose of tying the themes of his novelstogether.

Chapters 46Summary

Chapter 4

Martin finally finds himself in Max Gottlieb's bacteriology class. Gottlieb, during his lecture,shows himself to be a highly knowledgeable and intelligent man, taking from science,literature, and philosophy. Most of the students do not have a great affinity for Gottlieb, and, atmost, they find him useful and admirable as is illustrated by the discussion the students haveabout the professor after his class. However, Martin can relateto him and to what he does in hislaboratory. He imagines himself working the way Gottlieb works.

He is quite happy in Gottlieb's bacteriology class, and he begins to work late nights in thelaboratory. Gottlieb sees him working late one night and invites him to join him for somesandwiches. The sandwiches seem wonderful and foreign to Martin, and he loses himself in theexperiences that Gottlieb recounts to him. The two men forge a kind of friendship or atutorial/mentor relationship. Gottlieb tells him of the times he spent in London and Stockholm,he tells him of Marseilles. He tells him also of his children and encourages Martin. Gottliebnotes that he will probably not make a good physician but, instead, a good laboratory scientist.

Chapter 5

Completely enthralled in bacteriology, Martin becomes humbled as to the amount ofknowledge he does not yet have. He shows himself to be rebellious in medical classes, toprofessors, and in conversations with friends and even considers dropping medicine andspecializing in bacteriology.

He feels as though he has no one to speak with about this turmoil inside of him. He cannotspeak to Clif, his roommate, because Clif rarely takes anything seriously, and so he finds awilling ear in Madeleine, who is always "sympathetic and sensible." Martin believes thatMadeleine truly understands him and decides that he wants to marry her.

Madeleine is, however, not all together perfect. She is what Martin calls an "improver," awoman who is always trying to "improve" or change her man in the ways of vocabulary, taste,etc. Still, Madeleine, in her good moments opens up to him and, one time in particular, admitsthat she herself is "ordinary" despite all her appearances and her "bluffing." Martin proposes toMadeleine and even promises to become the "successful" doctor he has, until this point,adamantly criticized, in order so that they may have everything they want.

Their relationship continues to have its ups and downs, even after the proposal. Martinpromises Clif that he will work as a waiter with Clif during the summer at a hotel in Canada, apromise to which Madeleine snobbishly opposes. She does not want him to be a lowly waiter.They break off their engagement twice. The last time happens right before Martin leaves withClif for the summer. And although he has broken up with Madeleine, Martin is excited for thecoming year because Gottlieb has appointed him as an undergraduate assistant.

Chapter 6

During the summer in the Canadian hotel, Martin and Madeleine write to each other, and bymid-summer they are re-engaged.

Martin begins his own research, and his sense of observation and curiosity is encouraged, onceagain, by Gottlieb, with whom he works. At one point, Gottlieb asks Martin to run a laboratoryerrand for him and go to Zenith General Hospital to obtain a specimen. It is here that he meetsa seemingly impertinent and strong-minded nurse named Leora, whom he later gets to knowand begins to like.

Leora, a girl from Dakota, tells Martin about her background and herself and Martin begins todevelop a serious affection for her. He proposes to her and finds himself engaged to two womenat once. Not knowing how to solve his dilemma, or how to choose between them, Martin invitesthem both to lunch at the same time leaving them to decide for him. Madeleine is insulted andleaves him, whereas Leora stays and commits herself to him. She claims that she will not leavehim despite the seeming foolishness of staying with him. She tells him, however, that he nowbelongs to her and cannot go around with other women. Martin finds himself very happy at theway things turned out.

Analysis

In these chapters appears one of the major conflicts in the novel, which is the struggle of thephysician versus the struggle of the laboratory scientist. Martin's classmates all seem to belongto the "physician" category, most of them wanting to be successful and wealthy doctors. Otherssimply want to help people, such as the Reverend Ira Hinkley claims. But Martin finds himselfan outsider. He is not like his classmates in that he does not view success in the same light; infact he continuously rages against it. He is, instead, a laboratory man. He loves Max Gottlieb,who is the consummate symbol of the laboratory/research side of science.

Not only does Martin admire Gottlieb, but he loves the idea of him because Martin is, after all,filled with idealistic and romantic notions of the scientist working late at night in his lab, insearch of the truth. Lewis, from the beginning of the novel, is trying to illustrate and criticizethe problems that exist within the medical profession, which are problems that begin to ariseeven while Martin is still in medical school. Competition, for instance, seems to be one factorin the problematic web of science. From the beginning even Doc Vickerson, the old countrydoctor, is said to have a nemesis in the form of another doctor, Dr. Needham.

In Chapter 5, Lewis begins one of his sub-sections (III) by calling Martin "in no degree a hero,"yet a "seeker of truth who stumbled and slid back all his life. " Here it becomes apparentthat the protagonist of this modern novelin this epic or myth of sortsis not the typical hero,instead he is more of a man who seeks truth but finds difficulty in the search. For example,Martin is idealistic, and he talks and talks about what he believes and, in fact, Martin doesbelieve what he says. However, he also finds himself giving it all up in an impulsive proposalto Madeleine. He says to her that he will become that "successful surgeon" he so despises sothat the reader can see that Martin Arrowsmith is not a man who is altogether incorrupt orimpossible to tempt.

Perhaps the best thing that happens to Martin in these chapters is that Madeleine leaves him,and Leora accepts him. Madeleine is too much of an "improver" for Martin to find himselffeeling the freedom he needs to become the kind of man he wants to become. Martin feels freerwith Leora because, although he occasionally likes the luxuries of life, he is "simple" in manyways. Leora accepts him for who he is, likes Vaudeville, is not impressed by big dinners,prefers simplicity, and better complements Martin in this way.

It becomes apparent that although Martin is an independent thinker he is not capable of beingalone. He falls in love frequently and easily, which coincides with his romantic nature.Although Leora is seemingly strong-minded when we are first introduced to her, she is the kindof woman that wants to make her husband happy. Lewis's portrayal of women throughout isless than flattering, sometimes submissive, and sometimes frivolous. Lewis intends to portrayLeora as "the good wife," which may irk the modern reader. It is important, however, to alsoremember that this book takes place in the early 1900s.

Chapters 79Summary

Chapter 7

Digamma Pi holds an annual dance, which Martin attends with Leora. At first, Martin feels badfor Leora and somewhat embarrassed that no one is asking her to dance. However, eventuallyFatty Pfaff appears and asks Leora to dance. Other dance partners follow, and Martin becomesjealous. Leora chides him for his jealousy and reassures him that she loves only him.

After the party, they go to the cafeteria and are joined by Martin's friends. Clif, who had hatedMadeleine, likes Leora. Also while at the cafeteria, Martin approaches Angus Duer andcongratulates him for getting Sigma Xi. Angus acts in an aloof manner, which disturbs Martinfor the rest of the night. The next day, however, Angus apologizes and claims that he had aheadache and was sorry if he was rude, afterwards proceeding to invite Martin and Leora to aplay. He asks if Leora could bring a friend since he has four tickets.

Leora agrees to go and brings her friend Nelly Byers. After the play, both Leora and Nelly haveto be back at the hospital early, but whereas Nelly returns on time, Leora says she will stay awhile longer with the boys and sneak in later. All the while, Angus studies Leora along with theexchanges between her and Martin. When Leora finally goes back to work, she sneaks in, andMartin goes in after her, despite the danger of being caught. Surprisingly, Angus is still waitingfor Martin outside (sleeping). The watchman has seen Martin leaving the building. After almostbeing caught by the police and after Angus has gotten condescendingly violent with thewatchman, Martin is able to salvage their situation and escape with Angus. Martin believes thatAngus will show friendship for having saved him from his violence but instead Angus turns thesituation around and, the next morning, tells Martin that he better stop drinking if he cannothandle his alcohol.

Chapter 8

Martin continues to work for Gottlieb and occasionally even visits the old professor in hiscottage. He also begins to gain a liking for "Dad Silva", the professor of internal medicine andalso the dean of the faculty. At the same time, Martin despises Dr. Roscoe Geake the professorof Otolaryngology whom he calls a "peddler" and who is about to leave the university to accepta job as Vice President of the New Idea Medical Instrument and Furnishing company.

Leora has to go back to Dakota because her mother has taken ill, and Martin misses herterribly. He begins to complain about work and his feelings of loneliness without Leora. He hasstayed on with Gottlieb to work through his winter vacation, after exams, and Gottlieb is beingterribly hard on him. He feels overwhelmed by all of this and takes to drinking. The onlyperson who is also around for vacation is Clif Clawson, and Martin takes refuge in him until theincident at Founder's Day.

Founder's Day is the school's celebration of the founder's birthday, and there are speakers andwineeveryone is expected to attend. Dr. Benoni Carr has been invited to speak, but he shows

up for the occasion completely drunk. This incident turns out to be mostly the fault of ClifClawson who had met the man while they were both drunk and had told Dean Silva that Carrwas a celebrated pharmacologist who had just returned from Europe (which was, of course, notthe whole truth) and who should be invited to Founder's Day.

When Clif discovers that he is going to be expelled for what he has done, he resigns from themedical school before the school can expunge him, leaving Martin behind.

Chapter 9

Clif comes to visit Martin in his new car and in his new suit. He is making good money as a carsalesman and takes Martin out to eat at the Zenith Grand. Meanwhile, Leora has written a letterto Martin implying that she will not be able to return to Zenith. Martin takes to the drink and,one day, answers back to Gottlieb in an unacceptable manner during a class that he assistantteaches with Gottlieb.

Dean Silva gives Martin an ultimatum and tells him that he needs to apologize to Gottlieb, tostop drinking so much, and implies that he should not confer with the likes of Clif. Martinrefuses all of this and is suspended from medical school until he can come to terms with whathe has done. Martin then borrows money from Clif and leaves town. He travels all over andobtains dishwashing jobs and the like. After wandering the states for a while, he realizes that hemust return to medical school but not before seeing Leora.

He goes to Leora's home in Dakota and tells her what has happened. She accepts all of it, andthey elope, even though her parents and her brother, Bert Tozer, had wanted them to wait untilhe finished medical school. As a result, Mr. Tozer tells Martin that they shall not live togetheruntil he finishes school, and that, until then, Leora shall remain in their home. After all of this,Martin goes back to school and finds himself in the office of Dean Silva.

Analysis

Through the character of Dr. Roscoe Geake, Sinclair Lewis is able to criticize a certain aspectof the medical world that is present throughout the novel. Lewis calls him a salesman and a"peddler" and had him leave the university to sell doctors' office furniture. Before he leaves,Geake gives a speech entitled "The Art and Science of Furnishing the Doctor's office." In thisspeech he talks about the fact that office furniture is the doctor's first step toward selling "theidea of being properly cured." This section is humorous in its obvious satire, and it is Lewis'sforte.

Not only does Lewis write Geake into these chapters, but he also introduces the salesman sideof Clif Clawson. After leaving school, Geake, almost immediately becomes a fairly successfulcar salesman, which indicates that the step from doctor to salesman is, unfortunately not sovery distant or difficult to achieve. At the Grand, where Clif takes Martin to eat, the two runinto George F. Babbitt, the protagonist of Lewis's previous novel, in which Lewis acerbicallycritiques the archetypal American businessman. This is yet another critique on thecommercialism of the medical profession that Lewis is exposing. The fact that Geake knowsBabbitt simply adds to that critique and links the works, especially in these chapters. And yet,

there are those like Martin who stand opposed to all of this. However, it is in this section of thenovel that Martin begins to become disheartened.

Under pressure, Martin finds himself alone and not as excited as he had once been underGottlieb. After Leora leaves and Clif is expelled, Martin feels alone, which, as was illustratedin earlier chapters, is not a state of being that Martin handles well. Martin has his faults: hetakes to drinking, and his arrogance and impatience drive him to act in an improper and rudemanner toward his mentor and his dean. It is apparent that Martin needs the humblingexperiences he goes through now and again just as it is evident that in this, the story of hispersonal growth, he must wander before finding his way. For this reason, it is important that hewander throughout the states as a dishwasher called "slim," only to return to his two loves:science and Leora.

It is also important to recognize, prior to his being suspended, that although Martin still lovesGottlieb, he also is developing liking for Dean Silva. This is important because Gottlieb andSilva are opposites in their field: one is the laboratory man, and the other is the physician.Moreover, the fact that Martin likes both of these men illustrates the struggling aspects of hispersonality. It also illustrates that although his idols are continuously supplanted (Vickerson byEdward Edwards and Edward Edwards by Gottlieb, for example), they all have a lastinginfluence on his thoughts and in his life. There is no doubt that Gottlieb is the most lasting andthe greatest of these influences, but that is not to say that the others are not important.

Chapters 1012Summary

Chapter 10

Dean Silva happily accepts Martin's return to the university. Silva is encouraging andunderstanding, and Martin's admiration for Gottlieb begins to become supplanted for that ofDean Silva. As a result, Martin puts his efforts into his studies as he had never before, withouthis previous cynicism.

Meanwhile, Leora is in Wheatsylvania. She has been expelled from the school of nursingbecause of her absences and her marriage. She writes to Martin and tells him she would like tojoin him in the fall and become a stenographer in order to earn a living. And thus, Martin goesto Wheatsylvania to pick up Leora against the will of her parents and her brother.

Upon his return to Zenith, Martin finds Leora a place where she can live in north Zenith whileshe attends the Zenith University of Business Administration and Finance. He travels the fairlyshort distance from Mohalis (where his medical school is) to where Leora lives in Zenith atleast twice a week to study in what they call their "first home." They each study, take walks, seemovies, and spend time with Clif Clawson. However, Clif moves to New York leaving Martinand Leora to grow closer and more dependent on each other.

It is Martin's senior year, and everyone is trying to figure out his or her course after graduation.Angus already has a job as a surgeon at the renowned Rouncefield Clinic, and Fatty decides tobecome an obstetrician. Martin does not know what he will do but eventually agrees, and notwithout pressure from Dean Silva and Leora's family, that after his two-year internship atZenith General (where Angus would also do his internship) he will then move to Wheatsylvaniato practice medicine. Leora's father has promised to pay for his equipment when they arrive inWheatsylvania and to send the occasional check during Martin's internship.

Chapter 11

Chapter 11 recounts Martin's experiences as an intern at Zenith General. He tends to those hurtin a fire, is interviewed by reporters, is respected by crowds that surround accidents, anddelivers a baby in a tenement during a serious flood, among other things. However, Martin'sexperience as an intern is not without its downfalls. He claims not to be able to develop a"bedside manner," and although he convinces himself that being an altruistic doctor is betterthan being a selfish and closed laboratory scientist, he still has his moments when he longs forthe lab.

He finds himself doing blood counts and the like in the laboratory of the hospital just to quenchhis desire for the laboratory, but he consistently attempts to put it and the memory of Gottliebout of his mind. Instead, he lingers on Dean Silva's words and even goes out to eat with Silvaand Leora. Nevertheless, one day he runs into Max Gottlieb in the street, and although he ismoved by their meeting, after which Leora excitedly admits to Martin that he Gottlieb must bea great man, he forgets him once again during the hectic move to Wheatsylvania.

Chapter 12

Lewis takes this opportunity to bring Max Gottlieb, who has seemingly been missing from thepast few chapters, back to the story. This chapter focuses wholeheartedly on Gottlieb, his life,and what had happened to him in the three or so years since Martin had last worked with him.The narrator tells us that when Martin ran into him in the street, Gottlieb was a ruined man. Hethen proceeds to tell his story.

The narration moves back to Gottlieb's birth and education, his beliefs, and his following ofscientists like Helmholtz. He had worked in famous laboratories like that of Pasteur and Koch,done important and unappreciated research, married and had three children, and also traveledwidely by the time he was forced to leave Europe for America because of growing anti-Semitism. In America, he takes a position at the University of Winnemac where he met Martin.Gottlieb had believed in Martin and was heartily disappointed at himself for having let him go.This sadness, however, turns to anger, and Gottlieb tries to forget Martin.

Meanwhile Gottlieb's wife is becoming very ill and Gottlieb is mentally making a plan tocreate a school of his own, one made for pure science. He has the idea of fulfilling his project atWinnemac and writes dean Silva a letter asking him to step down as dean in order for Gottliebto fulfill this new school of his. When Silva, of course, refuses, Gottlieb takes the plan tohigher authorities who charge him with disloyalty, atheism, egotism, and force him to resign.Gottlieb is ruined and angry and no one will hire him, and it is at this point that Martin had runinto him on the street.

Analysis

Martin has allowed himself to be swayed away from what he truly loves and has given in to thepressures of society that he had once so despised. He has a wife now and has to take her intoconsideration. In other words, he finds himself thinking about money and the needs required insupporting a family. He finds himself tempted by Leora's father's aid of money and funds forinitial medical equipment and, finally, gives in to becoming the type of "country doctor" he hadonce criticizeda Wheastylvania, small-town physician.

He is constantly, in these chapters, trying to convince himself of his chosen path. Lewis poses"Dad Silva" and "Pa Gottlieb" in opposition. The two doctors, as previously mentioned,represent the two extremes of the medical spectrum. Silva is the compassionate and caringphysician, and Gottlieb is the cold and yet much needed, brilliant scientist. These two extremesmeet in the person of Martin and cause a struggle that persists throughout the book. Martinadmires Silva's strengths and his philosophies as a doctor, and he admires the ability of helpingothers. Yet, he cannot, no matter how much he tries, eliminate the laboratory scientist withinhimself; his nature is much to curious and inclined to discover to relinquish that side of himselfcompletely.

To intensify this juxtaposition, Lewis places an entire section in these chapters dedicated to thelife of Max Gottlieb. The narrator tells his story, which is one of struggle, lack of recognition,constantly being misunderstood, and strife. Yet, Gottlieb has not, up until this point, wavered in

his belief system, and he is also, like Martin, in search of some kind of grander truth. Silva,however, is content in the practice of what others find and says that there is more greatness inbeing a "Raphael" or a "Holbein" than having been the person who invented paint.

Although Gottlieb is idealized in Chapter 12 as a genius, he is also brought down, and his "fall"is outlined in detail. While, at the same time, Silva is also shown as somehow "great" when hetends to Gottlieb's sick wife. In the scene in which Gottlieb trusts Silva with his wife, it isevident that Lewis intends to show a humbled Gottlieb and to illustrate that those like Silva(the "Raphael's" of the medicinal world) are also necessary. Furthermore, it is all of thisseeming contradiction and juxtaposition that causes turmoil in Martin, leaving him unsure ofhis own path.

Martin is constantly saying to himself that Gottlieb could never waddle through a flood anddeliver a baby, as he had done, and could not survive the adventures of his medical internship.Thus, Martin heightens the value of what he is doing. Martin even gets caught up in the amountof power and respect he is given as a doctorcrowds make way for him, policemen bow to hiswishes, and he rides the streets in the ambulance like a king, stopping for no-one. Still, it isobvious that there is always the pestering voice of Gottlieb in his mind, which Lewis includesby not only having Martin mention Gottlieb (even in a negative way) consistently, but also byhaving him physically run into him in the street.

Chapters 1315Summary

Chapter 13

Gottlieb goes to the Hunziker Company in Pittsburgh and asks for a job. He says he will workfor them part-time if he will be allowed free time for his own laboratory research. TheHunziker Company produces antitoxins and the like and was reputable, but Gottlieb had calledits product, in the past, doubtful. Nevertheless, in desperation, he writes to the company, andthe company informs him that they will be happy to give him a space in their laboratorieswithout his having to work for them, with all of the materials he needed, provided that if hestumbles upon something they will be able to manufacture it. The company then puts outadvertisements that Max Gottlieb is now working for them, and the word spreads. Martin isdisappointed when he hears the news.

Gottlieb is well received and is given much space but after six months at the company herealizes that he was right about their doubtful product and remains cynical about it.Nevertheless, during his time there he stumbles upon an important scientific discovery (theproduction of antitoxin in a test tube). He reveals this discovery at a Hunziker dinner and isapplauded. However, Dawson Hunziker, the head of the company, applies pressure on Gottliebfor a patent of his product. Gottlieb says that he needs more time to make sure that he is rightin his discovery and that he also thinks the process should be available to all labs. Still, thepressure mounts unbearably.

Meanwhile, Gottlieb has trouble with his son, Robert, who seems the professor's antithesis, andGottlieb's wife dies. It is at this point that Dr. A Dewitt Tubbs, the director of the McGurkInstitute, upon having heard about his discovery, asks Gottlieb to join the Institute and workfreely on his research within it. Gottlieb agrees since he has no contract with the HunzikerCompany.

Chapter 14

Leora and Martin find themselves in Dakota under the strict hand of Leora's family and thestifling commands of Leora's brother, Bert, and her father. After having promised to financiallyhelp Martin begin his practice, the Tozers tell him they think Martin should set up his practicein their barn. Martin is appalled, and Leora threatens to leave. She tells her father that they areto be given one thousand dollars to do with what they will (and which they will repay), or theywill leave. Leora wins the battle, and Martin begins to look for an office space.

Mr. Tozer has heard that the Norbloms are thinking of moving from their home above thegeneral store, which is a prime location. Tozer, therefore, goes and asks about the place for hisson-in-law. The Norbloms are uncertain and say they will give him an answer soon. Martinbecomes impatient with the Norbloms and decides to look for another place and finds that Wisethe Polack, is leaving town and will rent out his shack to him for fifteen dollars a month.Martin rents the shack, against the will and suggestions of Leora's family, given that they

believe he owes a certain degree of loyalty and patience to the indecisive Norbloms.

Chapter 15

Now that Martin has his own practice, he begins to prepare it and orders furniture from Dr.Roscoe Geake's New Idea Instrument and Furniture and Company. At first, the doctor is notvery popular given that he is new and has not yet earned, in the eyes of the community, the trustof the people. And, in fact, Martin has built a few enemies: the Norbloms, for example, as wellas Pete Yeska, the local pharmacist at whom Martin yelled at because of his mishaps withprescriptions. Martin is forced to use another town's pharmacist.

Still, Martin has had enough patients that he and Leora believe they can buy a car for hiscountry house calls. They buy a five-year-old Ford, after which Martin receives his first nightcall from one Henry Novak. Novak is calling because his daughter Mary is very ill and seemsto have the croup. Martin leaves straight away but gets lost on his way there. When he finallyarrives he has to leave again for another town to be able to secure a diphtheria antitoxin. Whenhe returns to the house, the girl is still alive but dies while under his care. The town loses faithin him, and Martin is himself distraught. Having no one to turn to but Leora (who is assupportive as ever), he visits Dr. Adam Winter, in the neighboring town of Leopolis. Dr. Wintersuggests that next time he should get a second opinion from another doctor so that the blamedoes not fall solely on his shoulder's and so that the people know that he did all he could do. Dr.Winter also promises to talk to the newspaper. The newspaper prints a story praising Martin'sefforts as a doctor, and the town regains its trust in him, even Henry Novak comes around.

Analysis

When Lewis describes the companies with which Gottlieb has secured positions, he is at hismost satirical, using the companies in order to expose the commercialism and corruptions withthe medical world of the early twentieth century. For example, Mr. Hunziker, of the Hunzikercompany in Pittsburgh says: "We like to make money, of we can do it honestly, but our chiefpurpose is to serve mankind." This statement is pure hypocrisy and also pure satire, given thatthis man is the president of the same company that is selling a fraudulent cancer treatment,along with their other antitoxins and vaccines. The language that Lewis gives to the heads ofthe laboratories and companies is pure business jargon, full of the salesmen's half-truths. TheHunziker Company is using Gottlieb, taking him while he is at a low point and then waitinguntil he can produce something for them which they can then sell. This is evidenced by the factthat as soon as Gottlieb discovers something, Hunziker applies constant pressure on him so thatthe company may put out and sell what he has discovered. The company is not concerned, asGottlieb is, with the importance of perfecting such important processes in science. They are notconcerned, as Gottlieb is, with understanding.

Later, when Dr. Tubbs of the McGurk Institute (which is Lewis' version of the RockefellerInstitute) calls, he also uses the selling language that Hunziker had used and, with an altruisticair, claims: "Mr. McGurk and I desire nothing but the advancement of science," which thereader later realizes is not truly all the institute desires. Furthermore, it becomes apparent thatin order to survive in the world of scientific research, everyone must align him or herself withone of these institutes, even a man as brilliant as Max Gottlieb, no matter how much he

despises such institutions.

Also of significance in these three chapters are Martin's own struggles, his beginnings as adoctor. It becomes apparent that Martin needs his freedom and that he feels suffocated underthe wings of Leora's family. This is not to say that Martin is altogether independent because hedesperately needs Leora and her undying support. It is to say, however, that Martin needs hisspace. And, interestingly enough, when Martin is able to attain his first spacethe shack he hasrented from Wise the Polack and has turned into an officethe first thing he says is that he isgoing to build a test tube rack "of his own." Moreover, when left to his own will, Martin alwaysturns back to research. The test tubes, of course, symbolize that other side of science (thelaboratory) that he so misses.

Aside from Lewis's satire of the medical world, he also attacks small-town America throughthe vessel of Wheatsylvania and its citizens. Wheatsylvania is a town that holds its head highpreaching ethics and then turns around to turn the wheels of gossip and arrogant, and oftenignorant, righteousness. This critique of American life is one of the things for which SinclairLewis is best known.

Chapters 1618Summary

Chapter 16

Life in Wheatsylvania has its ups and downs until one day, quite by accident, Martin is made alocal hero. He decides to go fishing, and on his way he passes a farmhouse out of which awoman runs to him screaming that her baby is choking. Martin performs an emergency surgerywith the tools he has readily available and saves the child's life. After this success, the entiretown entrusts Martin, and Martin even cures the village's hypochondriac, Agnes Ingleblad.Meanwhile, Bert becomes a town "booster," trying to advertise and praise his home town ofWheatsylvania in everyway possible.

Martin, although it had been said in previous chapters that he had acquired enemies, alsoacquired friends. He played poker with and talked to the barber, the editor of the Eagle, and thegarageman. However, his gambling and drinking with these men was seen in a negative light bythe people of the town, and they began to call him a "drinking man" and a "gambler."

Martin begins to feel frustrated since he has no one to talk to about work except Leora.Eventually, he goes to visit Dr. Hesselink, of Groningen because he thinks they will be able tohave professional conversations as he had had in medical school. However, Hesselink is contentwith his life and does not relate to Martin. It is about this time that Martin decides that he is"half- educated" and must further educate himself and Leora and, therefore, goes about readingConrad and others in order to learn.

Also in this chapter, Martin discovers Gustaf Sondelius, a speaker and one- man army againstdisease, whose philosophy Martin begins to align himself with.

Leora becomes pregnant and, sadly, has a miscarriage.

Chapter 17

Dr. Coughlin of Leopolis and another doctor, Dr. Tromp, are seen talking. Their conversationturns and ends up on the topic of "Martin Arrowsmith of Wheatsylvania." They begin by sayinghe is intelligent but end by talking of his drinking and his lack of attendance at church. Berthears about how Dr. Coughlin is speaking of Martin and informs him.

Following, there is an incident of blackleg among the cattle in Cryssen County. Martin isolatesthe problem and takes it upon himself to prepare a vaccine since the Hunziker vaccine hadfailed. Martin succeeds in stopping the black leg but the veterinarians and doctors claim he is a"notoriety seeker," and the doctors claim that it is wrong for a doctor to turn to cattle.

Martin discovers that Sondelius is lecturing in Minneapolis and decides to go. Sondelius turnsout to be an eloquent speaker, and Martin decides to invite him to have a couple of drinks withhim after his lecture. Sondelius agrees, and the two men have a good time talking and drinking,after which Martin finds himself a greater follower than ever of Sondelius.

Chapter 18

Martin offers, because of his newfound interest in Sondelius's crusade on public health anddisease, himself to Dr. Woestijne, the Superintendent of Health for Cryssen County. He doesthe work for half the pay and goes about adamantly seeking out epidemics and disease. Hehears about a typhoid epidemic in the community at Delft and begins to map out the cases inorder to come to some sort of conclusion. He discovers that the carrier of the typhoid is ahygienic spinster seamstress, and he wants to isolate her and examine her. The seamstress andthe town are insulted and believe that he is wrong. However, when the County Board of Healthcalls in Dr. Hesselink, Dr. Hesselink confirms Martin's diagnosis.

Leora saves him from the town's resentment when she has the idea of collecting funds for theseamstress so that they may send her away to a good and large hospital to be cured. After hissuccess with the typhoid case, Martin goes about searching out other epidemics and claims thatthere is a small pox outbreak in a nearby village. Martin is wrong and ridiculed endlessly by thetownspeople.

When the town does not seem to abandon their jokes at Martin's expense, Martin decides he hasto leave and that he has to start over somewhere else. He writes to Sondelius and asks him if heknows of any openings in the realm of public health. Sondelius helps him and, with the help ofthree recommendations (one from Silva, one from Sondelius, and one from Gottlieb) Martinattains a position in Public Health under Dr. Almus Pickerbaugh, in the town of Nautilus.Martin is optimistic about Nautilus.

Analysis

Lewis continues his critique of small-town America throughout these chapters. First, there isthe humorous section about Bert Tozer's new self-induced role as town "booster," a particularly"American idea." Lewis illustrates it as a kind of senseless pride, pointing to the uselessness ofadvertising one's own town within one's own town (a notion, which appropriately, is worthy ofsatire). And so the character of Bert, who has been annoying from the start, becomes even morelaughable with his new insistence on displaying town pennants on every car, an idea thatspreads throughout the town. In fact, Martin seems to be the only one who finds this ridiculous.

Furthermore, there is the character of Gustaf Sondelius who seems particularly American, eventhough he is a Swede. And yet the fact that he is a Swede does not seem to make null theprevious statement especially within the American world that Lewis creates. For example, bythe second page of the novel, the narrator says that Martin was a "typical Pure-bred Anglo-Saxon American, which means that he was a union of German, French, Scotch, Irish, perhaps alittle Spanish, conceivably a little of the strains lumped together as "Jewish," and a great dealof English, which is itself a combination of primitive Briton, Celt, Phoenician, Roman,German, Dane, and Swede." In short, America is a place of mixture. And Sondelius with hisverbal eloquence and manner of crusading around the world, against disease is both endearingand, at times, under Lewis' satire, quite comical. His name mimics the word "sound" in itsprefix and calls further attention to his vociferous nature.

Sondelius is important because he becomes Martin's new hero and leads Martin toward Public

Health. Martin is desperately in search of something to fill the void and ease his dissatisfaction.He cannot find what he is looking for among the townspeople of Wheatsylvania, and he cannotfind it among the competitive and gossiping doctors that surround him. Even among the kinddoctors, like Hesselink, Martin does not feel at home because Hesselink is content with hisplace in life. Martin, however, needs something else. He finds this "something else" inSondelius's crusade, which leads him back to research and attention to detail in his attempts toroot out typhoid and disease in his neighboring areas. Martin cannot help but find himselfattracted to the laboratory, as is evident in the blackleg incident with the cattle. But it isobvious that Martin is out of place.

No matter what Martin does, he cannot seem to keep the people on his side, and it is perhapsbecause of that "bedside manner" that he never quite developed, as he had pointed out whileinterning at Zenith General. He feels he has failed, and he must start over, which is what themove to Nautilus isa new beginning. Nautilus is a larger city than Wheatsylvania, whichexcites Martin, having felt trapped within the small town of Wheatsylvania. He has tried DeanSilva's methods as a country doctor, and now he will try Sondelius's in Public Health, under theeye of Dr. Pickerbaugh.

Chapters 1921Summary

Chapter 19

The chapter opens with a description of Nautilus, which is somewhere between a large villageand a small city. Martin reports to his boss, Dr. Pickerbaugh, the director of the Public HealthDepartment, a man of forty- eight, who turns out to be quite talkative and waxes on abouteverything from good business to hygiene and morality. Pickerbaugh is also a "doctor/poet"who composes verses about sanitation and the like. Martin's first impression of him is poor andalmost immediately feels out of place, though he tries to convince himself otherwise. And asfor his work: Martin performs a little bit of everything, with little time for laboratory work.

Martin and Leora are invited to dinner at the Pickerbaugh's, which turns out to be a long,tedious, and extended affair. Dr. Pickerbaugh has eight daughters whom he has converted intothe "Healthette Octette," and who sing his verses at public functions. They are a "health band"of sorts who sing many a "health hymn." The night at the Pickerbaugh's consists ofperformances by the children, word games, and charades, among other things. Martin's charadepartner is the oldest daughter, Orchid, who is flirtatious and to whom Martin is attracted andcannot help but think about.

After leaving the house, Martin and Leora talk about the couple. Martin complains, and Leorawarns Martin about Orchid. Leora reacts jealously and tells him that he had better not act uponany of the flirtations between them (between Martin and Orchid). The chapter ends with Martinthinking about Gottlieb and about Orchid.

Chapter 20

One day at work Martin receives a call from Irving Watters, a colleague from the University ofWinnemac whom Martin had always thought of as dull and who is now a doctor at Nautilus.Irve invites Martin to dinner and though Martin tries to get out of the commitment, Irvinginsists.

When Leora and Martin arrive at the Watters', Martin finds the couple tedious and is annoyedby Irving's tendency of speaking in "axioms" and "admonitions." At one point, Irving makeshim sing an old Winnemac cheer.

Martin is constantly being taken away from his lab work by Pickerbaugh and, at one point,Martin is made to make a speech for a free lecture course at the Star of Hope UniversalistChurch, which Martin entitles: "What the laboratory teaches about epidemics." Martin is, atfirst, nervous but, in the end, finds himself having liked the applause and power that came withthe experience. Orchid, whom Martin thinks about at every turn, had been sitting in the firstrow balcony. It is Leora who has to bring Martin down to Earth and tell him that he is better atthe laboratory than at speeches.

The chapter ends with a gathering at Pickerbaugh's cabin, where, once again, Martin is

confronted with his desires for Orchid.

Chapter 21

Pickerbaugh leads Nautilus in "Weeks" like "Pep Week," for example and "Glad- hand Week,"in which everyone had to talk to at least three strangers a day. Pickerbaugh is full of ideas andslogans to go along with his "Weeks." Martin observes his boss and comes to certainconclusions about him and about leaders in general in much the same dissenting way that MaxGottlieb had done.

Again, the reader is told that Martin is taken from his lab work time and again to tend to themundane aspects of his position. And when he is in the lab, he is often visited by thePickerbaugh children, including Orchid, who praises and flatters Martin and acts with a feignedmorality toward him, until Leora goes to visit her family for a week. At this point, whichcoincides with the beginning of World War I, Martin goes to visit Orchid. The first time hevisits her while Leora is away he finds Charley, a twenty-year-old clerk who, after the boy hasleft, Orchid claims to have been bored by. It is during this visit that Martin and Orchid kiss.Martin thinks about the girl but feels "glum" afterwards and longs for the "sure solace ofLeora."

Analysis

Pickerbaugh is one of the most satirical characters throughout the novel and the chapter of hisintroduction provides one of our most entertaining experiences in the book. ThroughPickerbaugh, Lewis is criticizing the politician, even if it is the "earnest" politician, who feelsthe need to sell and change his tune, depending on with whom he is speaking. Pickerbaughthinks himself a clever man when really his kitschy verse is laughable. The satire is furtherembellished by Pickerbaugh's daughters: the Healthette Octette, who with their Health Hymnsspread their father's "mission." What is also being criticized is the tendency of Americanleaders to "reform" with a puritanical morality. It is important to remember that Sinclair Lewis,himself, was living in Prohibition Era America when this novel was written and that he is alsoportraying/critiquing the early temperance movements of the late nineteenth and earlytwentieth centuries. And it is also important to remember that Lewis is not only criticizing theleaders like Pickerbaugh, but the followers as well, as is illustrated with the scene betweenMartin and the policeman. When Martin, on first arriving in Nautilus, asks a policeman what hethinks of Pickerbaugh, the policeman speaks well of him and admires his "verse."

Although Martin finds fault in Pickerbaugh's tendencies, he is not altogether immune to thetemptations of fame and power that come with Pickerbaugh's job. For instance, Martin dwellson having given his first speech and having been received well, he likes the praise and theattention. In short, he likes the power that comes with speech making. It is Leora who has tobring him down to Earth and tell him that he must stop trying to fit in and begin to realize thathe will always be an outsider. Dean Silva, in an earlier chapter, had told Leora to keep him tohis work. Silva had, ironically meant, to keep Martin dedicated to being a physician.Nevertheless, Leora is, in fact, keeping Martin to his true workthe laboratory.

Martin's temptations do not end in the power of speech making, and they extend to take the

shape of Orchid. Martin cannot stop thinking about the girl and almost every subheading endswith his thoughts on her. Her name is archetypal for a temptress, being the name of an exoticyet delicate flower. Martin has a wonderful relationship with the ever-supportive and always-loving Leora, and yet he kisses this girl and falls into yet another trap. Martin says to Orchidthat he does not think it is wrong to do what they are doing and humorously "thank[s] God [thathe's] a liberal." And yet, it is obvious that Martin feels guilt and that he knows what he has inLeoracompanionship, love, and what he calls a "sure solace." In short, it is to the laboratoryand to Leora that Martin should be faithful because, in so doing, he would be faithful tohimself. However, Martin strays from his path in these chapters and finds himself caught in thespiral of the Nautilus.

On another note, Lewis, in these chapters, also points out America's isolationism during thisperiod. For, while Pickerbaugh is organizing his ridiculous "Weeks," the world is enteringWWI.

Chapters 2224Summary

Chapter 22

Dr. Pickerbaugh goes on tour with his health reforms and is well known all over America. He isso popular, in fact, that the Republicans nominate him to run for congressman. Martin isshocked and told that he will have to take over while Pickerbaugh i s away campaigning.

While Pickerbaugh is away and Martin is running the health department, Martin is called atyrant. Martin is not aligned with the unions, and he discovers strep infection in the udders ofthree cows. Because of his discovery, Martin wants to close down the Klopchuck Dairy. Mostpeople, including Pickerbaugh, Irving Watters, and of course Klopchuck himself are against theclosure. Another doctor reinforces Martin's opinions, but the town remains upset about theclosing of the dairy.

Martin meets Clay Tredgold, the president of the Steel Windmill Company, while he isconducting an inspection of the premises. Tredgold takes a liking to Martin and invites him andLeora to dinner. Before the couple knows it, they are taken into Tredg old's circle of aristocracyas their "poor relations," and are attending get-togethers with the group, which soon becomesknown to the reader as the "Ashford Grove Group," given that they are a group of about twelvefamilies that live in the Ashford Grove section of town.

Chapter 23

Pickerbaugh has planned a Health Fair in which the whole city participates. There are all kindsof booths, and in one, for example, the "anti-nicotine" woman injects cigarette paper into ratsand shows how they die because of it. Martin is also asked to p lay a part and work in a fakelaboratory, a stage-set of sorts, in order to show the civilians how such a thing is done. Leora ishis "fake assistant." Everything is going well until disaster begins to strike.

First, the Eugenic Family, who is conducting one of the booths, turns out to be, according to thepoliceman who discovers it, the "Holton Gang," known for selling liquor to the Indians andother crimes. Then, on Saturday, the youngest of the Gang has an e pileptic seizure, and a fightbreaks out between the "anti-nicotine" woman and the "anti-vivisection" woman. The "anti-vivisection" woman accuses the "anti-nicotine" woman of being a murderer. Furthermore, thefireman in charge of the "Clean Up and Preven t Fires" exhibit accidentally drops a match intothe "Clean House" and starts a fire. Pickerbaugh manages to calmly lead the people away fromthe site and stop the hysterical stampede that was created as a result of the flames. Meanwhile,Martin and two o thers put out the flames. The next day, Pickerbaugh is proclaimed a herobecause it was said he had taught the city a lesson and had prevented hundreds of deaths. All ofthis publicity is good for Pickerbaugh's vague campaign.

While Pickerbaugh is campaigning for congress, Mayor Pugh is running for re-election.Pickerbaugh tells Pugh that, if he wins, he must elect Martin to his current position as Directorof Public Health. Soon enough, Pickerbaugh has won the election and is off to Washington,

taking Orchid with him and ending Martin's pining after the girl. Although the mayor hadagreed to Pickerbaugh's request, it is a struggle to appoint Martin, until Tredgold steps in, pullsstrings, and Martin is appointed as Acting Dire ctor.

Chapter 24

Martin appoints Dr. Rufus Ockford, who is recommended by Dean Silva, as his assistant whenhe becomes Acting Director of Public Health. Soon after he begins his work, Martin realizesthat he has much more free time and that Pickerbaugh must have spent mos t of his time on histours and trying to inspire others through his speeches and verses. Furthermore, because oftheir free time, Martin appoints Dr. Ockford to the city's free clinic, which the doctors in thetown (i.e. Irving Watters) are opposed to bec ause this attention to the free clinic is takingpatients away from them.

Nevertheless, Martin finds that he has more time for the laboratory and makes a considerablediscovery regarding hemolysin and strep. He stays at the lab during all hours of the lab, andLeora accompanies him. Meanwhile, he is criticized for spending too much time in his researchand not enough time as director. He is about to give in to F.X Jordan (a contractor andpolitician in Nautilus) and his words of advice when he hears of Gottlieb's latest developmentsin "in vitro" studies.

Martin's popularity continues to dwindle after he expresses his desire to eliminate one of Mrs.McCandless's putrid tenements. Martin takes the case to court and wins, but because he feelshis opponents will appeal the decision he and his assistant go dir ectly to the buildings to tearthem down and set them afire. Aside from this instance, Martin has an incident with ClayTredgold. Tredgold had appeared at his lab one day with drinks and the intention to lure himinto some merriment but Martin would not b e lured and had yelled at Tredgold to leave him towork in peace. This simply added to Martin's opposition throughout the city. The people beganto call him a tyrant and nicknamed him the "schoolboy Czar." Martin feels himself a failureand does not know what to do.

An opportunity presents itself when Martin goes to Chicago to present his paper on strep, whichhe has finally finished, to the Journal of Infectious Diseases. After the Journal has accepted hispaper, he goes to see Angus Duer at the Rouncefie ld Clinic who offers him a job as apathologist at the Clinic.

When Martin returns to Nautilus he is confronted with a war against him. The mayor hadappointed someone above him and together with his new appointment, Dr. Bissex, they forcedMartin to resign by lowering his income until he could no longer survive on i t. Martin,therefore, resigns and accepts the job in Chicago at the Rouncefield Clinic.

Analysis

Of utmost importance in these chapters is Lewis's attention to Martin's character andpersonality. Martin is constantly tempted, even when Orchid leaves by forces such as power,pressure to fit in, and money. Still, it becomes evident that Martin is not m eant to fully give into these forces because he is finally being pulled out of themit is as if there were something

else in store for Martin, something else he was meant to do. For example: Martin is about togive up his lab work because th e pressure he is receiving from the town and because of theadvice F.X. Jordan has given him, when suddenly he hears about Gottlieb's newest discovery.Martin's remembrance of Gottlieb and what he stands for is what constantly draws him out of atemptatio n to fall into the complacency of a steady job and income and having to give up hisresearch.

Also, to add to Martin's potential to corruptibility, he allows Clay Tredgold to use his money,power, position, to secure Martin's the directorship of the Public Health office. This is the verysame political crookedness that Martin had previously critic ized. And yet, Martin does notallow himself to be corrupt in office and is actually quite ardent about that in which hebelieves. In fact, his determination seems extreme at times.

Martin is not perfect. In fact, it seems as though even Lewis is criticizing him as the town ofNautilus does. For example, Martin is ardent when it comes to closing down the down of thedairy. His insistence is somewhat cold and although it may seem nece ssary, still, we are meantto feel sorry for the owner, who is a Polish immigrant who had worked himself up in life.Martin does not feel for him, and the "coldness" of the laboratory scientist, as was onceevidenced in Gottlieb, surfaces here in Martin. Furthermore, Martin is not the kind tosympathize with labor unions because he feels superior to them, and this arrogance is, needlessto say, not one of Martin's most admirable qualities. However, it is not until Martin applies thisconviction to his own life, until he commits himself to what he wants as much as he commitshimself to the closing of the dairy and the burning of the putrid tenement. He has it in him to bedetermined, but he simply needs to place that energy in the right place.

The satire also continues throughout these chapters in the form of the Health Fair, a disastrousevent in which everything is ridiculous and in which firemen set fire to fire-preventionexhibits. And yet, Pickerbaugh, the politician, comes out winning bec ause of his ability tosmile and sell. Pickerbaugh's commercialism, despite his "good will," is heavily criticized. It isnot only Pickerbaugh who is criticized, however, so is the Ashford Group and their cloak of"aristocracy." The group is made up of pe ople who know New York and are educated, havemoney, and have been to Europe. They take in Martin and Leora, despite their poverty becausethey are "amused" by them and because they find the couple entertaining. Also, the readershould pay attention to na mes. The name Clay Tredgold, for example, is not coincidental,given hi