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Babbitt is a loosely structured novel. There is a plot--Babbitt\'s growing discontent with his life in Zenith, and his attempt to change by supporting Seneca Doane and engaging in an affair with Tanis Judique. There are subplots as well: Paul Riesling\'s desperation, which leads to a shooting; Ted Babbitt\'s romance and elopement with Eunice Littlefield; the growth of the Good Citizens\' League. But many critics have noted that Lewis is really more interested in exploring Babbitt\'s world in all its variety than he is in creating a tightly woven plot and moving that plot forward. One thing doesn\'t always lead to another. You could reverse the order of many of the episodes in the book--say, Babbitt\'s speech to the real estate convention and his church work for the Reverend Drew--without any harm.
Still, Babbitt does possess a structure. Chapters 1 through 7 show a typical day in the life of George Babbitt. Then comes a long middle section--chapters 8 to 19--that examines Babbitt\'s growing restlessness but also examines various aspects of life in Zenith. We see important social institutions like dinner parties, leisure activities, business conventions, political campaigns, and churches. In a sense, not much happens in this middle section to move the plot forward, but you come away from it with a much greater understanding of the society George Babbitt lives in, the society against which he\'s about to rebel.
The last section of the book deals with rebellion, Babbitt\'s and others\'. Paul\'s affair and its aftermath are treated in chapters 20, 21, and 22. Babbitt\'s first efforts to change his life--by dating Ida Putiak, going to Maine, and supporting Seneca Doane--occupy chapters 23 through 27. His open revolt and its failure are recounted in chapters 28 to 34.
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