Tag Archives: Herman Melville

Democracy under Assault? Stand Firm

By Robin Bates | Published: April 8, 2024

How to withstand Trump’s incessant assaults on democracy? Be like Lizzie in “Goblin Market.”

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Poet Hart Crane on Forgetting

By Robin Bates | Published: February 13, 2024

Crane’s poem “Forgetfulness” captures the ambiguity of this mental state.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , , , , , | Comments closed

Melville Would Have Understood Trump

By Robin Bates | Published: July 31, 2023

Melville foresaw Trump in “Confidence Man.”

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , , | Comments closed

Moby Dick and Whales with a Grudge

By Robin Bates | Published: May 29, 2023

Orca boat attacks are causing me to rethink “Moby Dick.”

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , | Comments closed

Weeping for Ukraine’s Lost Children

By Robin Bates | Published: March 19, 2023

Ukraine longs for its kidnapped children as the Rachel captain in “Moby Dick” longs for his son, lost at sea.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , , , | Comments closed

Avatar II’s Debt to Moby Dick

By Robin Bates | Published: January 23, 2023

Cameron’s “Avatar 2” owes a large debt to “Moby Dick.”

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , | Comments closed

Winter Solstice and Desert Places

By Robin Bates | Published: December 20, 2022

In “Desert Places,” Frost finds despair in a handful of snow. Maybe he also has in mind Melville’s discourse on whiteness in “Moby Dick.”

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , | Comments closed

Moby Dick and The Whale (2022 Movie Version)

By Robin Bates | Published: November 21, 2022

In the 2022 film “The Whale,” and English professor searching for authenticity finds it in a childhood essay on “Moby Dick.”

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , , | Comments closed

Ahab & Trump, Two Master Demagogues

By Robin Bates | Published: February 11, 2021

For a demagogue with the skills of Donald Trump, check out Captain Ahab. Both know how to get people to act against their best interests.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , | Comments closed