Bishop Paul Peter Prang Character Analysis in It Can’t Happen Here

Bishop Prang is a popular Methodist Episcopal minister and radio host, modeled on the real-life fascist personality Father Charles Coughlin, whose weekly broadcast commands an enormous nationwide audience. Fickle and belligerent, Prang uses his platform to attack minority groups, call for wealth redistribution, and run a profitable fan club called the “League of Forgotten Men.” Yet he’s the most influential political commentator in the United States by far. In fact, he helps Buzz Windrip gain recognition and legitimacy in the nation’s eyes by publicly campaigning for him. However, as soon as Windrip takes office, Prang starts to question the administration’s authoritarian policies. When he visits Windrip in Washington to voice his concerns, Windrip jails him, then shuts him in an insane asylum. He disappears forever. Prang’s wild popularity shows how mass media increasingly shapes politics in the 1930s and how dishonest public figures can push Americans towards a uniquely American style of fascism, particularly by promising a solution to economic crisis through a combination of religion and racism. Meanwhile, his downfall shows how dishonest fascists are dangerous because they are generally willing to turn on their supporters (or anyone else) in order to increase their own power.

Bishop Paul Peter Prang Character Timeline in It Can’t Happen Here

The timeline below shows where the character Bishop Paul Peter Prang appears in It Can’t Happen Here. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...Buzz Windrip might win the presidency next year, especially if the popular radio personality Bishop Prang endorses him. Jessup thinks that Windrip will launch a war, dismantle democracy, and set up... (full context)

Meanwhile, the nation’s most popular political figure is Reverend Paul Peter Prang from Indiana. Millions of people listen to his weekly radio show, which is modeled after... (full context)

But Prang does profit handsomely from his followers, who pay a high price to attend his talks... (full context)

...rough sleeper, so he and Emma sleep in separate bedrooms. It’s Saturday, the day of Prang’s show, but Jessup’s son Philip is also visiting town for a picnic. The whole family... (full context)

...be the 1800s again, except when Buck Titus mentions all the “Messiahs,” like Windrip and Prang, who are trying to save the country from itself. Julian Falck, the Reverend’s handsome young... (full context)

Meanwhile, Doremus Jessup fiddles with a borrowed portable radio to catch Bishop Prang’s show. Prang’s voice is forceful but charming. He reads a verse from the Book of... (full context)

Prang officially endorses Buzz Windrip and declares that the League will propel him to the presidency.... (full context)

...and staying up late. Normally, he’s never grumpy, except before his morning coffee—but now, after Prang has endorsed Windrip, Jessup is speechless and worried in the mornings, which worries Emma. (full context)

...If it weren’t for his wealthy ancestors, Jessup realizes, he would probably be one of Prang’s “Dispossessed.” Emma still doesn’t understand him, but he tolerates her complaints. (full context)

...pro-Windrip signs. And behind them, the last man in the procession is Bishop Paul Peter Prang. (full context)

Buzz Windrip and his team—Bishop Prang, Senator Porkwood, and Colonel Osceola Luthorne—give constant radio addresses and take a 40-day campaign trip... (full context)

...War (even though his title is honorary and he has no actual military experience). Bishop Prang and Father Coughlin both turn down posts in the government, but Dr. Macgoblin will fill... (full context)

When Bishop Prang starts questioning Windrip’s coup, his broadcast rights get cancelled, so he visits D.C. to talk... (full context)