How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Section.Paragraph)
Quote #1
He glanced once at his favorite tree, elm twigs against the gold patina of sky, and fumbled for sleep as for a drug. (1.2.6)
For Babbitt, sleeping in is like taking a drug. Why, you ask? Because both sleep and drugs are ways of escaping from a reality that he doesn't want to face.
Quote #2
It may have been the tremendous home-brewed beer of the prohibition-era and the cigars to which that beer enticed him. (1.3.2)
Babbitt always wonders where happiness and sadness come from. In this case, he feels as if his happiness is coming from alcohol and tobacco. It's not about finding deeper meaning in life. It's about using whatever chemicals you need to make your brain feel good.
Quote #3
"I do like decent cigars—not those Flor de Cabagos you're smoking—." (5.3.41)
Paul Riesling likes cigars just as much as the next man. In fact, he probably likes them even more because he's so miserable. In a situation like Paul's, a person will sometimes use whatever means he can to take his mind off of his problems.