Monthly Archives: February 2018

What Would Lord Jim Do?

Trump and the NRA call for heroes with guns to save us from mass shootings. Conrad’s “Lord Jim” shows us what happens when fantasies encounter reality.

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On Labeling Survivors as “Crisis Actors”

Murakami has the perfect analogy for the vast rightwing echo chamber that labels mass shooting survivors as “crisis actors.”

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Snakes, Ladders, and National Disunity

Rushdie’s “Midnight’s Children” gives us profound insights into the forces that divide people–Indians as well as Americans–and also offers solutions.

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Flannery O’Connor on Lenten Despair

Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” works as a powerful Lenten meditation upon doubt and salvation.

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Mass Killings, Our Most Dangerous Game

Many high school students these days feel hunted, bringing to mind Richard Connell’s “The Most Dangerous Game.” Unfortunately, Trump sees it all as a game as well.

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Magical Realism’s Special Powers

Magical realism defined and its significance discussed.

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Foodie Lit, an Antidote to Anorexia?

In “The Reading Cure: How Books Restored My Appetite,” the author turned to Dickens and T. H. White but shied away from Joanne Harris’s “Chocolat.”

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Satan and Trump, Gifted Demagogues

Satan in “Paradise Lost” is a gifted leader who manipulates people for his own selfish ends–like a certain American president.

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Is Sexist Lit Gaslighting Women?

A Guardian article argues that critical praise for sexist male authors valorizes patriarchal attitudes.

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