What has educated Elmer (a few books, oratory, sermons, tracts, hymns, and a smattering of a college education) must be ridiculed in order to purge it from the land. Webbest neighborhoods in san diego for young professionals. He has been educated by Roger Williams, Adoniram Judson, Luther, Calvin, Jonathan Edwards, George Washington, Lincoln, Robert Ingersoll, William James, and Frasers Golden Bough. The incident is not strictly necessary for the plot, and Leffertss father never appears in the novel again. Be the first to contribute. While Gantry seeks and eventually gets forgiveness from Sharon, tragedy strikes when she finally manages to get out of her revivalist tent and opens a permanent church. As the years went on, however, compromises were reached, and these can be seen in the career of Elmer, who begins as a fundamentalist and winds up as the pastor of a large, urban church. WebHow does the novel Elmer Gantry end? George Killough, "Elmer Gantry, Chaucer's Pardoner, and the Limits of Serious Words". She tells Elmer that she has visions; God talks to her. In a very Elmer Gantry moment, starting at 2:54, after singing the Lord gave us two good hands, brothers and sisters, one for the givin and one for the takin, Excellent recounting based on the controversial Sinclair Lewis novel that got three Academy Awards . Elmer borrows a hundred dollars from Shallard, who is now a minister and is married with three children. eNotes.com, Inc. In the film, Gantry happens upon one of Falconers revivals being held in a country town. Will his charade collapse when an ex-lover shows up to settle a score? WebJones had probably read in the library at Schofield Barracks or from Lowneys collection Sinclair Lewiss Elmer Gantry, a satirical novel about a hypocritical revival preacher. Special Effects winner, with presenters Polly Bergen and Richard Widmark. Now dont you go explaining! He raises money to build a new church. When he at last finds the courage, now that he is out of the church, to speak his mind, he is viciously attacked and blinded by fundamentalist fanatics. A hundred and eleven people died that night, including all the gospel-crew save Elmer.. He sees her as a conquest. He is a well-educated Englishman in his early thirties with a colorful past. Elmer attends Mizpah Theological Seminary, a Baptist institution in Babylon, in the Midwest. The sociological factor that works against Elmer is the entire small-town Protestant environment in which he was raised. But a grand jury investigation found that McPherson had spent a pleasant month in Mexico with a married man from her church. So, I'll give him the credit and assume he was just playing his role, not hamming it up too much as it often appears. Elmer is so infatuated with Sharon that he gives up smoking and drinking for her. Elmer Gantry is a satirical novel written by Sinclair Lewis in 1926 that presents aspects of the religious activity of America in fundamentalist and evangelistic circles and the attitudes of the 1920s public toward it. , Sinclair Lewis: An American Life, McGraw Hill, 1961, pp. Awards The attendants give her their money, she leaves after a short period of time, and then the attendants are no better off and short on money. It's a first rate film! We are back in the land of wizards and ogres once more. Duke mentioned that he would love to play Puck, []. Binch is a dreadful character who leers at Sharon and has an excessive interest in church fundraising. They are encouraged by Dr. Zechlin, who tells him that no reasonable person can be a believing Christian; nevertheless, he ought to stay in the church to liberalize it from withinin effect, to destroy it. Frank finds some shame in being a preacher and longs to prove that he is nevertheless a real man. Not only had he been swathed in theology, but all his experience had been in books instead of the speech of toiling men. After two years as a salesman, Elmer meets Eddie Fislinger at his church in Kansas, and he decides he wants to be a preacher again. Come! He joins up with Mrs. Evans Riddle, who teaches New Thought, a Westernized version of Indian religion. Since religions are often sold with a spin to attract the most people or a certain group of people, it is important that potential followers examine the reasoning and intentions of religious leaders. Elmer loves to preach against immorality but feels no need to be moral himself. The purpose of Napap is to make life conform to the ideals agreed upon by the principal Christian Protestant denominations. This would be accomplished by combining into one association all the moral organizations in Americathe Anti-Saloon League, the Lords Day Alliance, the Watch and Ward Society, and the Methodist Board of Temperance, Prohibition, and Public Moralsand then lobbying for legislated morality. During his career, Gantry contributes to the downfall, physical injury, and even death of key people around him, including a sincere minister, Frank Shallard, who is plagued by doubt. I just spend two days at my best friends' home for his father's funerals, and during the obligatory moments of life contemplation, we were wondering what was awaiting us all. Elmer Gantry has been called the purest Lewis by Schorer. Lewiss version of what passed for religion in the United States of the 1920s brought him threats against his life and gave his name the same rhetorical function in Protestant fundamentalist sermons as that of Clarence Darrow, Darwin, and the devil himself. The movie is based on the 1927 novel of the same name by Minnesotas own Nobel Prizewinning author, Sinclair Lewis. It's strange, the way this movie opens and builds so strongly, and then has such an unsatisfying ending. One such character is the dean of Terwillinger College, who makes a brief appearance in chapter 4, section 3, in which he wonders, in conversation with his wife, whether he has sacrificed too much by going into the ministry. Kraus used []. I can kiss you like this Quickly she touches his cheek, Yes, or passionately, terribly passionately, and it would only symbolize my complete union with Jesus! A novel set from 1920 to 1922 in Zenith, an imaginary midwestern American city; published in 1922. In the following essay excerpt, Lundquist suggests that Lewis portrays religion as stifling, as a manifestation of the pioneer mentality that characterized the old American and has become a threat to the new American. He fell in love with Sharon when he first met her, and is devoted to her. A popular singer with a voice like French silk pie, Page is most famous for her hit song Tennessee Waltz. When she first appears onscreen, shes got such presence you might think she was the main heroine. Tries to give the kid a break. "Elmer Gantry", directed by Richard Brooks, is one of his best. Eddie Fislinger is a student at Terwillinger College and the president of the Y.M.C.A. Encyclopedia.com. Consider the character of Jim Lefferts, as revealed in the first three chapters. He also raised large amounts of money at his meetings, and like Elmer Gantry, he was one of he first evangelists to spread his message through the new technology of radio. Salesman Elmer Gantry, salesman teams up with evangelist Sister Sharon Falconer to sell religion to 1920s America. It shines upon the cradle of the babe, and sheds its radiance upon the quiet tomb As Elmers career begins its ascent, we learn something more of the images which fill his mind: For all his slang, his cursing, his mauled plurals and singulars, Elmer had been compelled in college to read certain books, to hear certain lectures, all filled with flushed, florid polysyllables, with juicy sentiments about God, sunsets, the moral improvement inherent in a daily view of mountain scenery, angels, fishing for souls, fishing for fish, ideals, patriotism, democracy . Protestant fundamentalism was in part a reaction in the early twentieth century to the development of the higher criticism in Biblical scholarship. There She dresses in exotic outfits such as Grecian robes, and uses a gold and white pyramidal altar. Elmer pulls the burning jacket off her, and beats He is soon invited to preach at one of her meetings. Playing the title character, Lancaster won his first and only Oscar, for Best Actor. NATIONALITY: British Elmer Gantry begins in 1902. It has provided much of his and Americas taste in architecture, clothing, music, literature, philosophy; it has provided everything but any longing whatever for decency and kindness and reason.. After collecting money from the patrons, Gantry takes a drunken barfly back to his hotel room. The gantry girders are girders which supports the loads that are transmitted through the travelling wheels of the crane. The book was banned in Boston and other cities and denounced from pulpits across the United States. He thereby makes a defiant gesture, nonetheless, somewhat apart from his customary preoccupation with quixotic heroes whom he could admire for their protests, rebellion, and search for freedom. He survived for a while by interpreting some of the Biblical stories as symbols that revealed the glory of God and the leadership of Christ. The movie was not just a group of scenes depicting sex and violence. He falls for her on sight, and follows her to Lincoln, Nebraska, for her next revival meeting. Interviewing key stakeholders in the company, gathering and organizing information, analyzing data and preparing reports that summarize finding. Despite this though the film is still quite engaging and enjoyable as it delves into this world with a certain amount of glee; the fact that it peels off this world to look at Gantry specifically is a bit of a shame because it cuts under that focus a little. Im afraid! He replies, Thats damned nonsense! Later he says, Come on now, Clee, show some spunk! Making fun of her, he thinks, Fellow ought to be brutal, for her own sake. Brute, fake, or philanderer, Elmer Gantry seems nevertheless destined for a successful career. Happiness is the key to success. He marries Cleo but gets bored with her and resents her lack of sexual passion. Watching it today, it is hard to be surprised by any such suggestion since my cynical generation is much more accepting that nothing is what it seems and everyone has an agenda. But while Elmers career ascends, that of the honest Frank Shallard, who goes to the seminary with Elmer, descends to the point where Frank is beaten up by members of the Ku Klux Klan for preaching what he believes to be the truth. Reviewers were divided on the merits of the novel. Contact UA. Elmer Gantry was raised by his mother, a staunch Baptist, in the small town of Paris, Kansas. Af Except in some of its sexuality (there are a couple cringe-making lines), however, the film doesnt feel outdated today. Later he was to learn that references to Dickens, Victor Hugo, James Whitcomb Riley, Josh Billings, and Michelangelo give a sermon a very toney Chicago air. Though he does not have quixotic benignity, helpfulness, or idealism, he does have visions of how the ministry can be useful to him; he sees thousands listening to himinvited to banquets and everything , and he dreams of hundreds of beautiful women [who weep] with conviction and rush down to clasp his hand., In addition to his hypocrisy and his ignorance, Elmer is a liar, a sinner, and a coward. Because each style has its own formatting nuances that evolve over time and not all information is available for every reference entry or article, Encyclopedia.com cannot guarantee each citation it generates. He long ago lost his faith in the literal truth of the Bible and has become an atheist. He returns to it in the context of Sharons revival meetings. Mrs. Evans Riddle is the proprietor of the Victory Thought Power Headquarters in New York. Was a member of the of the bogus Fleetwood Mac band, that the then manager Clifford Davis send on a US tour in 1974 when the real Fleetwood Mac rejected the tour. There are several other minor characters who are introduced with no apparent purpose other than to serve as victims of the authors anti-religious inclination. Concerning about some preachers exact wealth and power from their congregration . Besides the rise of world fundamentalism and revelations of sexual abuse by big-name evangelists and Catholic priests, Elmer Gantry calls up popular figures such as Sarah Palin. If I could only believe it! If there are three dates, the first date is the date of the original With a long line of charismatic cinematic rogues to his credit, Burt Lancaster pulls off a barnstorming performance as Elmer Gantry, the salesman turned opportunistic evangelist whose fast-talking pitch scarcely slackens, off-stage or on. Published in 1922 A satire can be aimed at an individual or a group. Bess Needham marries Frank Shallard and bears him three children. Probably the most significant thing to know about this film is that the story is set in 1927. It applied the methods of historical and literary analysis in order to determine the authorship, date and place of composition of the books of the Bible. Have faith! Undoubtedly many of the excesses Lewis describes, especially those connected with revivalism, deserve the treatment they get. The Faithful Dog who saved his master during a terrific conflagration . (Later Elmer runs from a conflagration, saving no one but himself. Movie Forums . 98107. Elmer pulls the burning jacket off her, and beats out the flames. It is not so much that he does not believe in God. In a very Elmer Gantry moment, starting at 2:54, after singing the Lord gave us two good hands, brothers and sisters, one for the givin and one for the takin, Diamond stretches out his hand toward a young woman who places in . The college president declares that he is a born preacher, and everyone urges him to become a minister. During his final year he is restless and bored, but he is given a Sunday appointment at a country church in Schoenheim, eleven miles away, with Frank Shallard as his assistant. you have to deal with a lot of these two-by-four hick preachers with churches about the size of woodsheds and getting maybe eleven hundred a year, and yet they think they have the right to make suggestions! WebWhen hedonistic but charming con man Elmer Gantry meets the beautiful Sister Sharon Falconer, a roadside revivalist, he feigns piousness to join her act as a passionate preacher. The one completely positive character in the book, Frank Shallard, wants to make Christianity an active force for social good; as it is, it is a negative force, a threat to freedom. She appears to Elmer as a saint, arms outstretched, stately, slender and tall, passionate. Another famous name was Aimee Semple McPherson (18901944), a female evangelist who clearly resembled the fictional Sharon Falconer. Web1. The citation above will include either 2 or 3 dates. Within the Protestant church, a battle rages between the traditionalists, or fundamentalists, who believe in the literal truth of the Bible, and the liberals, who believe that some parts of the Bible may be understood in a symbolic sense. Schorer also says that, while researching the book, Lewis attended two or three church services every Sunday while in Kansas City, and that: "He took advantage of every possible tangential experience in the religious community." 4748; originally published in the Bookman, March 1927. Later Frank is thrown from the church and he ventures forth as a worker in a charity organization. More information about the Trylons Lancastic! After Elmer dumps her for Hettie, Lulu loses interest in life. During his Yale career Lewis also traveled widely, including a trip to England working on a cattle boat, and he also lived in the Utopian colony at Englewood, New Jersey, which was founded by the novelist Upton Sinclair. WebElmer Gantry; Keith Phares, Sharon Falconer; Jennifer Rivera. Gantry, why dont you believe in God?. For that matter, one year after Elmer Gantry, Burt Lancaster appeared in the same movie as William Shatner, Judgment at Nuremberg (1961). document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Copyright 2022 The University of Alabama The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child. Religion was a force in politics, yes, but a force capable of bringing down buildings? Elmer cheats, he boasts, he lies, he deceives. During the opening service, with a crowd of more than four thousand, fire breaks out. He is drawn back to preaching when he falls in love with Sharon Falconer, and he hones his publicity and fundraising skills with her for several years until her death. The acting and directing is superb to the point that it becomes difficult to remember that it is only a movie.
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