payment page
The primary antagonist of the novel, Nick at first appears to be a handsome, charming, and bright young man who is committed to his progressive political ideals. Early chapters in the novel present him through the eyes of Jane (later Laura), who is madly in love with him and therefore blind to his many faults. Later events in the novel reveal that Nick is highly manipulative, skillfully influencing those around him in order to gain their trust, their loyalty, and ultimately their obedience. Though he claims to have been raised in impoverished circumstances by a drug-addicted mother, the FBI ascertains that his background and even his name are false, largely drawn from the life of an actual young man named Nick Harp who was sent to the same rehabilitation facility as Andrew. His false identity allows him to easily guilt Jane and Andrew, who are ashamed of their own socioeconomic privilege, by insinuating that he has direct experience of the hardships faced by the American working class despite in fact coming from a comfortably upper-middle-class family.
Another tactic he employs is to find some common ground with those he targets, even if he has to resort to deception. He states, for example, that he was forced into prostitution as a child in order to better connect with Jane, who was sexually assaulted by her father at an early age, using this “shared” experience to get closer to her. In many ways, his tactics are similar to that of a cult leader, who demands the utmost loyalty from their followers and tolerates no dissent. Though he argues passionately about the rights of the poor, the disabled, and the mentally ill, even his political beliefs prove to be superficial. Jane notes that he rarely follows up on any of the new causes he champions, often getting bored and moving onto a new, more exciting cause. Unlike Jane, Nick has little interest in volunteering at soup kitchens or hospitals, and his actions do little to advance his political causes. Instead, the novel suggests that he is motivated by a hunger for excitement, the thrill of risk-taking, and a desire to get closer to young women who are attracted to his rebellious pose. Nick, then, represents the allure and danger of charisma, especially when paired with political extremism.
He primarily targets those who are, due to personal trauma or mental illness, particularly vulnerable to manipulation. Most members of the Army of the Changing World have an extensive history of mental illness and institutionalization, and Nick is willing to exploit them despite his stated goal of helping those who have been mistreated or neglected by the mental healthcare system. In many ways, Nick serves as a parallel to Martin Queller, despite his opposition to Martin’s work at QuellCorp and their profoundly different political beliefs. Both, the novel reveals, see other people as tools to be used and ultimately discarded.
