Noah Welch Assignment 1

The allusion I will discuss is the reference to Sinclair Lewis which forces the reader to ponder the dark side of American culture.  Sinclair was a famous muckraker who used his literature to try to expose the corruption in American society.  The poem states “Sinclair Lewis' name comes up, and Kay Boyle's, and then Fitzgerald's. They disagree about the American Dream.” The America that Sinclair describes is a harsh world in which workers are abused, standards are neglected and greed is prevalent.  This is important to consider because the discussion of the American dream and its relation to World War Two in the poem. Many Americans were concerned with US involvement in the war and how it would affect families.  The text rises from a pleasant scene in a corner café to the questioning of the moral character of Americans. It shows that the family is well educated and thoughtful and that they care about truth and justice in the world.  It also demonstrates how the author wants to remind people of how the American dream can be warped.