It Can't Happen Here

Berzelius “Buzz” Windrip serves as the primary antagonist of the novel, though he never interacts with Jessup. Unlike contemporary totalitarians such as Hitler, Stalin, or Mussolini, Windrip is not portrayed as a true believer in his program, but rather an opportunistic demagogue who seeks power and personal enrichment. Windrip is frequently used to show the vulnerability of a population suffering from economic deprivation and how receptive such a demographic can be to a charismatic demagogue who tells them what they want to hear, instead of what is realistic. Windrip is an expert actor, performer, and con-man, but is unintelligent, vulgar, and borderline-illiterate. He has keen political instincts and is effective at being all things to all people.

Windrip is also used to demonstrate the inherent instability of totalitarian regimes. After he is elected, he consolidates power by ending checks and balances and rules the country with his militia, the Minute Men. However, his harsh crackdowns on dissent, coupled with his economic mismanagement, only worsen conditions in the country, and his propaganda and punitive apparatuses only quell dissent for so long. Windrip also quickly becomes paranoid while in power, which becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy as he is deposed by Sarason, and sent into exile.

Lorinda Pike is the manager of the Beulah Valley Tavern and close friend and lover of Jessup. As the novel begins, she is chastised by other residents due to her strong progressive and feminist beliefs and her tendency to criticize during public events. Pike is described by Jessup as “his wine,” as she fuels his passion for life and for his resistance to the regime. The two have been having an affair for some time as the novel begins, and their relationship is portrayed sympathetically, and as one between intellectual and political equals. Pike is also a talented and capable resistance figure in her own right, which is used to contrast the Corpo’s belief that women are only fit to be mothers and homemakers. 

Emma Jessup is the wife of Jessup, and mother to his three children. Though Jessup appreciates the comfort and familiarity she provides him, calling her “his bread,” the two have a sexless marriage and have little in common. In contrast to Pike, Emma is completely uninterested in politics, the most striking example being when she is more upset at the Minute Men for damaging her tables than for taking her husband to a concentration camp. Unlike Pike, Emma more closely fits the mold of the ideal woman as described by the Corpo regime, being more concerned about mundane matters and not giving much thought to the danger of totalitarian rule, or politics in general.

Mary Greenhill, nee Jessup, is Jessup’s older daughter and mother to David. As the novel begins, Mary is a typical wife and homemaker that fits with the Corpo’s idealized conception of women. She is then used to illustrate the inevitable resistance against totalitarianism as the murder of her husband drives her to joining the New Underground. She becomes so consumed with rage at the regime, and particularly Judge Swan, that she carries out a suicide attack by crashing her plane into his.

Cecelia “Sissy” Jessup is Doremus’ younger daughter. As the novel begins, she’s a high-school senior who dreams of becoming an architect. She is courted by two suitors—the wealthy Malcolm Tasbrough, and the intellectual Julian Flack–and eventually chooses Julian. Early in the novel, Sissy is the archetypal modern woman. Sissy also has modern ideas about sexuality, even suggesting that her father begin an affair with Lorinda Pike after noticing their compatibility. She doesn’t pay much attention to politics, and scolds Malcolm and Julian for bringing up Windrip during an outing. However, she later drops out of high school–refusing to say the Corpo loyalty oath–and joins up with her father’s resistance cell.

Sissy represents similar themes as Lorinda by demonstrating that women are equally as capable and intelligent as men. However, she also represents how totalitarianism steals youth from young people. Sissy is pushed into political action by necessity, and while she is brave and optimistic, she is forced to lose her naiveite and innocence as the narrative progresses.

Karl Pascal is a former labor leader turned garage mechanic. He is also a devoted communist. Pascal is frequently used as a foil for Jessup’s own liberal beliefs, as Pascal continually insists that communism is the only solution to the system that produced Windrip. Lewis frequently uses Pascal to show the weaknesses of communism, particularly their refusal to work with any of the other resistance groups. Jessup regularly challenges him on his beliefs by arguing that the USSR under Stalin is also totalitarian and wouldn’t necessarily be any better than rule by Windrip. Pascal and Jessup become cellmates and best friends while in Trianon; later, they become estranged, as Pascal becomes more and more zealous in his beliefs. This causes Jessup to reflect that another sad consequence of totalitarian rule is that it turns everyone into fanatics and zealots.  

Senator Walt Trowbridge is the Republican Nominee for President in 1936 who loses the election to Windrip. In contrast to Windrip’s campaign, Trowbridge is reluctant to make big promises and advocates incrementalism, which fails to excite voters. Trowbridge begins as the consummate establishment politician; however, by the end of the novel, he has come around to advocating a form of democratic socialism in order to address the conditions which gave rise to someone like Windrip in the first place.  

Lee Sarason is the intellect behind Windrip’s campaign, having groomed him for the previous seven years to take power. Sarason is depicted as incredibly intelligent, with a masterful understanding of politics and public relations. In his youth, Sarason was a committed socialist and anarchist, but after World War One came to the idea that mankind could not be trusted to rule itself, and that rule by a small group of despots was the only way forward. Sarason is also amoral and comes to despise the populace, considering himself akin to a Roman emperor after he seizes power from Windrip. Even more so than Windrip, Sarason represents the true foil to Jessup, rejecting the ideals of liberalism in favor of tyranny and using his intellect and public relation skills in order to create, rather than relieve, injustice.

Colonel Haik is a crucial military supporter of Windrip who later becomes High Marshall of the Minute Men. Haik represents the highly-militarized form of totalitarianism; after he seizes power from Sarason, he runs the entire country on military discipline in a manner akin to a slave plantation. Haik’s inflexible and militarized rule proves to be his undoing after he attempts to invade Mexico in a last-ditch effort to shore up patriotism and nationalism in the country. Instead, his mandatory draft serves as the last straw and triggers wide-ranging revolts against his rule.

Dr. Macgoblin is a key academic supporter of Windrip’s rise who is responsible for assisting Sarason with writing songs, as well as getting the intellectual class on board with the Corpo regime. Much like other members of Windrip’s regime, Macgoblin is cruel and resentful; after he is insulted by a former professor and a rabbi, Macgoblin kills them both. This incident is what causes Jessup to finally begin to stand up to the regime.