Sinclair Lewis's It Can't Happen Here: Fascism in America
This paper examines Sinclair Lewis's 1935 novel It Can't Happen Here, arguing that it deserves recognition as one of Lewis's most significant works. The paper summarizes the novel's plot, in which fictional dictator Berzelius "Buzz" Windrip rises to the American presidency on a platform of patriotism and populism, then dismantles constitutional democracy. It explores the novel's central themes — authoritarian rule, censorship, resistance, and the fragility of civil liberties — through the experiences of protagonist Doremus Jessup. The paper then connects the novel's warnings to real-world American political discourse, drawing on commentary from both conservative and liberal critics of successive U.S. presidents, and concludes that vigilant political activism remains the most reliable safeguard against tyranny.
- Introduction: Lewis's Overlooked Masterpiece: Argues the novel deserves recognition among Lewis's best
- Plot Summary: The Rise of Buzz Windrip: Populist dictator wins presidency during the Depression
- The Fifteen Points and the Destruction of Democracy: Windrip's platform dismantles constitutional rights systematically
- Doremus Jessup's Resistance and Escape: Editor resists regime, suffers, and joins Canadian underground
- Modern Political Parallels: Clinton, Bush, and Beyond: Real political critics echo the novel's warnings across decades
- Conclusion: Can It Happen Here?: Activist vigilance makes full American fascism unlikely
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What makes this paper effective
- The paper grounds its literary analysis in specific textual evidence, quoting directly from the novel's "Fifteen Points" platform to illustrate how Lewis constructed a credible fascist program within an American context.
- It bridges historical and contemporary relevance by connecting the novel's warnings to real political commentary from multiple ideological perspectives, demonstrating the text's enduring applicability.
- The author's concluding position is measured and balanced — acknowledging alarmist rhetoric on both sides while maintaining a reasoned view that political activism serves as a structural check on tyranny.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper uses sustained close reading combined with contextual application. Rather than simply retelling the novel's plot, it extracts key passages — such as the constitutional amendments in Point Fifteen — and interprets their ideological significance. It then applies that interpretive framework outward to real-world political discourse, a technique known as historicist or socially engaged literary criticism.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with a claim about the novel's underappreciated importance, then moves through a detailed plot summary organized around its major dramatic turns. A central section focuses closely on the novel's political program. The paper then pivots to contemporary relevance, surveying commentary from across the political spectrum before closing with the author's own moderating thesis. This structure moves from text to context in a clear, linear progression.
Introduction: Lewis's Overlooked Masterpiece
Upon hearing the name of Nobel Prize winner Sinclair Lewis, The Jungle often comes to mind first because of the impact that book made in its time and ever since. Yet It Can't Happen Here should be judged just as — if not more — important than any of Lewis's books. The work, which describes what would happen if America voted a dictator resembling Stalin or Hitler into power "to save the day," clearly reflects the fears of Lewis's own era. It also strongly warns today's readers what could occur if civil society does not remain watchful.
The main story of It Can't Happen Here revolves around Doremus Jessup, a moderate sixty-year-old Republican and editor of a small-town newspaper in Vermont. Everyone, including Jessup, said in 1935: "If there ever is a Fascist dictatorship here, American humor and pioneer independence are so marked that it will be absolutely different from anything in Europe." What occurred next proved them wrong.
Plot Summary: The Rise of Buzz Windrip
Under the Corpo (Corporate) Movement, a dictator by the name of Berzelius "Buzz" Windrip runs for president during the depths of the Depression, promising to save his country from welfare cheats, promiscuity, runaway crime, and a liberal press. His campaign is based on family values, the symbol of the flag, and patriotism. He portrays advocates of traditional American democracy as anti-American.
At first, Windrip grabs the country by storm — he is just what the doctor ordered. However, after he wins the election, the sinister truth is revealed in his platform, "The Fifteen Points of Victory for the Forgotten Men." Windrip explains his governing philosophy with blunt clarity: "There are two parties, the Corporate and those who don't belong to any party at all, and so, to use a common phrase, are just out of luck!"
When hearing Windrip's platform, Jessup begins to fear the worst. He believes that even if people worry at first about Buzzy, even if he has a few faults, they will rally behind him as a great liberator. "I don't know whether he's more of a crook or a hysterical fanatic," Jessup comments. Riots and revolts eventually do break out against Windrip's tyranny, but they are repeatedly crushed by the president's private army, the Minute Men.
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