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Excerpt from Alice Adams, by Booth Tarkington

However, he did sleep intermittently, drowsed between times, and even
dreamed; but, forgetting his dreams before he opened his eyes, and
having some part of him all the while aware of his discomfort, he
believed, as usual, that he lay awake the whole night long. He was
conscious of the city as of some single great creature resting fitfully
in the dark outside his windows. It lay all round about, in the damp
cover of its night cloud of smoke, and tried to keep quiet for a few
hours after midnight, but was too powerful a growing thing ever to
lie altogether still. Even while it strove to sleep it muttered with
digestions of the day before, and these already merged with rumblings
of the morrow. “Owl” cars, bringing in last passengers over distant
trolley-lines, now and then howled on a curve; faraway metallic
stirrings could be heard from factories in the sooty suburbs on the
plain outside the city; east, west, and south, switch-engines chugged
and snorted on sidings; and everywhere in the air there seemed to be
a faint, voluminous hum as of innumerable wires trembling overhead to
vibration of machinery underground.

In his youth Adams might have been less resentful of sounds such as
these when they interfered with his night's sleep: even during
an illness he might have taken some pride in them as proof of his
citizenship in a “live town”; but at fifty-five he merely hated them
because they kept him awake. They “pressed on his nerves,” as he put it;
and so did almost everything else, for that matter.

He heard the milk-wagon drive into the cross-street beneath his windows
and stop at each house. The milkman carried his jars round to the “back
porch,” while the horse moved slowly ahead to the gate of the next
customer and waited there. “He's gone into Pollocks',” Adams thought,
following this progress. “I hope it'll sour on 'em before breakfast.
Delivered the Andersons'. Now he's getting out ours. Listen to the darn
brute! What's HE care who wants to sleep!” His complaint was of the
horse, who casually shifted weight with a clink of steel shoes on the
worn brick pavement of the street, and then heartily shook himself in
his harness, perhaps to dislodge a fly far ahead of its season. Light
had just filmed the windows; and with that the first sparrow woke,
chirped instantly, and roused neighbours in the trees of the small yard,
including a loud-voiced robin. Vociferations began irregularly, but were
soon unanimous.

Explanation ​

Detailed Explanation of the Excerpt from Alice Adams by Booth Tarkington ​

Context of the Source ​

Alice Adams (1921) is a novel by Booth Tarkington, an American writer known for his satirical and realistic portrayals of Midwestern society in the early 20th century. The novel follows the social ambitions of the title character, Alice Adams, a young woman from a declining middle-class family in a fictional Midwestern town. The excerpt focuses on Alice’s father, Virgil Adams, a man in his mid-fifties who is disillusioned, resentful, and physically uncomfortable. His sleeplessness and irritation with the sounds of the city reflect his broader dissatisfaction with his life—his failed ambitions, financial struggles, and the erosion of his youthful optimism.

Tarkington’s work often critiques the American Dream, particularly the gap between aspiration and reality in a rapidly industrializing society. This passage captures the alienation of modern urban life, where progress and industry, once symbols of pride, now feel oppressive to those left behind by economic change.

Themes in the Excerpt ​

  1. The Oppressiveness of Modernity and Industrialization

    • The city is personified as a "single great creature"—alive, restless, and indifferent to human suffering. Its sounds (factories, trolley cars, switch-engines) are not just background noise but intrusive forces that disrupt Adams’ peace.
    • The "faint, voluminous hum" of machinery suggests an inescapable, mechanical existence, where even sleep is invaded by the rhythms of industry.
    • Adams’ resentment toward these sounds marks a shift from youthful pride in progress to middle-aged exhaustion with it, reflecting how industrialization, once a source of civic pride, now feels like a burden.

  2. Aging and Disillusionment

    • Adams’ inability to sleep symbolizes his restless dissatisfaction with his life. His bitterness ("I hope it'll sour on 'em before breakfast") reveals a man who has lost patience with the world.
    • The contrast between his youthful tolerance ("he might have taken some pride in them") and his current irritation ("he merely hated them") highlights how aging has stripped him of resilience.
    • His hyper-awareness of trivial noises (the milkman’s horse, the sparrows) suggests a mind too weary to filter out the mundane, amplifying his sense of helplessness.

  3. Isolation and Alienation

    • The city is impersonal and indifferent—it "tried to keep quiet" but cannot, just as Adams cannot escape his own discomfort.
    • His solitary, resentful thoughts ("What's HE care who wants to sleep!") emphasize his loneliness; he is awake while the world sleeps, trapped in his own frustration.
    • The dawn chorus of birds, usually a symbol of renewal, here feels like another intrusion, reinforcing his sense of being at odds with nature and society.

  4. Class Anxiety and Economic Decline

    • Adams’ family is slipping socially and financially, a common theme in Tarkington’s work. His resentment toward the milkman (a working-class figure) and the noise of industry (a sign of economic activity he is no longer part of) suggests class resentment.
    • His wish that the milk sours on the Pollocks (likely a wealthier family) hints at his bitterness toward those better off than him.

Literary Devices & Stylistic Analysis ​

  1. Personification & Pathetic Fallacy

    • The city is a "great creature" that "rests fitfully", "mutters with digestions", and "chugs and snorts"—giving it animalistic, almost monstrous qualities.
    • This personification makes the city feel alive but uncaring, reinforcing Adams’ powerlessness against it.
    • The dawn light "filming" the windows suggests a veil of inevitability, as if the new day is an unwelcome intrusion.

  2. Sensory Imagery (Auditory Dominance)

    • The passage is dominated by sound:
      • "Howled on a curve" (trolley cars)
      • "Metallic stirrings" (factories)
      • "Chugged and snorted" (switch-engines)
      • "Clink of steel shoes" (horse)
      • "Vociferations" (birds)
    • These sounds create a cacophony of modernity, overwhelming Adams and mirroring his internal chaos.

  3. Juxtaposition & Contrast

    • Youth vs. Age: Adams once took pride in the city’s noise; now he hates it.
    • Nature vs. Industry: The sparrows and robin (natural sounds) are just as irritating as the factories and trolley cars (industrial sounds), suggesting that nothing brings him peace.
    • Silence vs. Noise: The city tries to sleep but cannot, just as Adams tries to rest but is kept awake by his own resentment.

  4. Stream of Consciousness

    • The passage mimics Adams’ fragmented, resentful thoughts, jumping from the city’s noises to the milkman’s routine to the birds’ chirping.
    • His petty, bitter observations ("I hope it'll sour on 'em") reveal his psychological state—exhausted, irritable, and unable to find comfort.

  5. Symbolism

    • The Milkman’s Horse: Represents the inexorable, indifferent march of daily labor—something Adams once participated in but now resents.
    • The Sparrows & Robin: Typically symbols of new beginnings, but here their loud, unanimous chirping feels like another assault on his senses, reinforcing his alienation from nature’s cycles.
    • The "Night Cloud of Smoke": Symbolizes the industrial haze that both sustains and suffocates the city, much like Adams’ own disillusionment with progress.

Significance of the Passage ​

  1. A Microcosm of Adams’ Psychological State

    • His sleeplessness mirrors his life’s stagnation—he is awake but unproductive, resentful but powerless.
    • The city’s restlessness parallels his own inability to find peace, suggesting that his internal turmoil is a product of his environment.

  2. Critique of Industrialization & Urban Life

    • Tarkington critiques the dehumanizing effects of modernity, where progress comes at the cost of individual well-being.
    • The city’s sounds, once symbols of growth and opportunity, now represent oppression and exhaustion for those left behind.

  3. Foreshadowing of Adams’ Role in the Novel

    • Adams’ bitterness and pettiness hint at his failed ambitions and his dependence on his daughter Alice’s social climbing.
    • His resentment toward the Pollocks and Andersons (likely wealthier families) foreshadows the class tensions that drive the novel’s plot.

  4. Universal Themes of Aging & Disillusionment

    • The passage captures the universal experience of growing older—how what once inspired pride now causes irritation, and how the world moves on while the individual feels left behind.
    • Adams’ hyper-awareness of trivial annoyances is a realistic portrayal of middle-aged frustration, making him a relatable, if flawed, figure.

Conclusion: The Passage’s Power ​

This excerpt is a masterful study in mood and character, using sound, personification, and stream-of-consciousness to immerse the reader in Adams’ restless, resentful mindset. The city’s relentless noise becomes a metaphor for his own inability to escape his dissatisfaction, while the dawn’s intrusion signals the inevitability of another day of struggle.

Tarkington doesn’t just describe a sleepless night—he captures the weight of a life unfulfilled, where progress feels like oppression, and even nature’s rhythms are an annoyance. In doing so, he critiques the human cost of industrialization and the fragility of the American Dream, themes that resonate far beyond the novel’s 1920s setting.