The United States underwent significant changes in the early twentieth century. The automobile was replacing the horse-drawn carriage, the economy was shifting from agriculture to industry, and a new breed of industrialists began to emerge. Booth Tarkington's 1918 novel, "The Magnificent Ambersons," documents this national change through a story set in a midwestern city and its inhabitants.

At the beginning of the novel, horses fill the city's roads, and the Amberson family dominates the city's social and political system, as if they are royalty. It is not long before automobiles produced by Morgan's company fill the roadways.

George Amberson Minafer was born into a life of privilege. His mother, Isabel, spoiled him endlessly, and his family lived off his grandfather's fortune. George aspired to nothing more than to live a life of ease, which he believed was his birthright.
By contrast, Eugene Morgan attained his fortune through hard work and intelligence. George's courtship of Eugene's daughter, Lucy, highlights their cultural and upbringing differences. George's pompous rudeness contrasts with Lucy's practical nature. Their relationship serves as a metaphor for the two cultures in the nation.

George rationalizes his feeling of superiority: "really, don't you think that being things is rather better than doing things?"

George's relationship with Lucy serves as a metaphor for the clash of cultures and the shifting power in America. Lucy sees the value in all people, while George rates them based on their family's status. The power shifts from the old money of the Amberson family to the industriousness and work ethic of the Morgan family. George is intelligent and charming, but his sense of entitlement is off-putting. George looks down on those around him and even prevents his widowed mother from marrying Eugene, whom he believes was born into a lower class. Isabel was in love with Eugene, but George made it clear he would consider the match below her station.

The Amberson family fails to recognize the changing world, which ultimately leads to their inevitable downfall. Those who were offended by George's youthful rudeness and condescension take pleasure when his family fortune inevitably collapses.

"The Magnificent Ambersons" is a parable about the dangers of pride and hubris that can afflict individuals and groups.