Last week my "Violence in American Art & Culture" class was split up into groups to tackle important passages in the novel "It Can't Happen Here" by Sinclair Lewis. I was paired up with Enid and Ali and we discussed the topic of friendships which is found in chapter 20; (page 177 on my e-book). It stated:
"Under a tyranny, most friends are a liability. One quarter of them turn "reasonable" and become your friends, one quarter are afraid to stop and speak and one quarter are killed and you die with them. But the blessed final quarter keep you alive." And it goes on beginning with the sentence, "when he was with Lorinda, gone was all the pleasant toying and sympathetic talk with which they had relieved boredom".
My group agreed that this meant friendships and even love, may not have been real and true under a dictatorship. Everyone had to fend for themselves. Anyone was capable of turning their backs on each other at any given time. Doremus and Lorinda messed around for sure; whether it was talking or getting intimate. But, real feelings may not have existed between them. If society wasn't under the rule of Winthrop, would they be involved with each other? I think a lot of friendships and relationships in this type of environment, such as the one with Doremus and Lorinda, definitely served as a way to seek out information and provide a backbone to take action against those they opposed. For example, Lorinda encouraged Doremus to publish the newspaper article that ultimately landed him in jail. Close ties are dangerous and individuals who are associated with each other, may just be acquaintances. People had to be wise who they talked to and what words came out their mouth since fascism took over.
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