Tag Archives: Mark Twain

The Novels that Shaped John McCain

By Robin Bates | Published: August 28, 2018

McCain’s favorite novels included “Great Gatsby,” “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” “Huckleberry Finn,” and works by Somerset Maugham. One can understand why.

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Pap Would Have Voted for Trump

By Robin Bates | Published: July 20, 2018

“Last place aversion” accounts for white resentment of safety net programs. Huck’s father is an example of the process at work.

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Lost in a Cave

By Robin Bates | Published: July 3, 2018

The scouts rescued from in a flooded cave bring to mind the Tom-Becky story in “Tom Sawyer.”

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My “Last Lecture”

By Robin Bates | Published: April 16, 2018

I share here my “last lecture” from my retirement ceremony. (But rest assured: I will not be retiring from this blog.)

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Studying for Exams, Risks & Rewards

By Robin Bates | Published: December 8, 2017

For all those cramming madly for exams, this “Tom Sawyer” episode is for you.

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Beware of Literature’s Purity Police

By Robin Bates | Published: November 3, 2017

Laura Moriarty’s “American Heart” has been attacked for being a white savior narrative. Such stories should in fact be critiqued, but the attackers are often a bigger problem.

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How Moliere Is Saving France

By Robin Bates | Published: October 20, 2017

Moliere is helping French PM Macron steer a sane middle road between rightwing and leftwing purists.

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A Cradle Yet Shall Save the Earth

By Robin Bates | Published: August 27, 2017

Mark Twain has fun in “Huckleberry Finn” with today’s New Testament reading, which is about Moses being discovered in “the bushrushers.” Victor Hugo also has a charming poem about the incident.

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Twain Anticipated Trump’s Crazy Talk

By Robin Bates | Published: September 8, 2016

Donald Trump is popular with certain fans not despite but because of his outrageousness. Mark Twain has a humorous piece, “The Presidential Candidate,” that captures how much fun such outrageousness can be.

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