This thesis examines the concepts of populism and fascism as fodder for satirical themes in literature and as a device for warning of impending populist and fascist surges. Populism is a group...Show moreThis thesis examines the concepts of populism and fascism as fodder for satirical themes in literature and as a device for warning of impending populist and fascist surges. Populism is a group response to individual grievances and differences, and when compounded by social insecurities like ethnic and cultural insecurity and economic insecurity, can lead to a justification of fascism and the rise of authoritarian leaders. I will demonstrate the relevance of populism and fascism in a comparative literature analysis of Sinclair Lewis’s Main Street (1920) and Lewis’s It Can’t Happen Here (1935).Show less
