Monthly Archives: February 2016

Dickens Improved the Lives of the Poor

By Robin Bates | Published: February 17, 2016

Charles Dickens had a tangible impact on how the poor were treated. “Oliver Twist,” “Nicholas Nickleby,” and “Christmas Carol” literally changed public policy. Few other authors can boast so much.

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The Wife of Bath & U.S. Race Wars

By Robin Bates | Published: February 16, 2016

A racial flair-up at our college has given me an opportunity to stress the relevance of the Wife of Bath’s prologue and tale. Like our African American students, she too feels disrespected. One has to dig beneath her seeming confidence to realize how vulnerable she feels, however.

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To Defeat White Militiamen, Be Beowulf

By Robin Bates | Published: February 15, 2016

White militiamen rode into the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge like Grendel, but they left as though they had gone mano a mano with Beowulf. The fed essentially took a page out of the Geat warrior’s book and came away similarly successful.

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On the Death of a Controversial Judge

By Robin Bates | Published: February 14, 2016

How long should one pause following the death of a public figure like Justice Antonin Scalia before considering the political implications? It’s an issue that also arises in Anthony Trollope’s “Barchester Towers.”

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During Lent, Don’t Avoid the Knife

By Robin Bates | Published: February 13, 2016

To use a horticultural analogy, Lent is a time to nurture the insights, to prune the tree, that come with Epiphany. This wonderful Rumi poem captures what is at stake.

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Brecht’s Working Class Revenge Fantasy

By Robin Bates | Published: February 11, 2016

Many working class and lower middle class Americans have felt abandoned by the GOP and Democratic establishments. Bertolt Brecht’s “Pirate Jenny” articulates a revenge fantasy that captures some of their anger.

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Cruz’s Contortion of Cristianity

By Robin Bates | Published: February 10, 2016

Bill Moyers has called Ted Cruz a “fundamentalist charlatan,” and he cites an 18th century satiric poem to help him make his case. Cruz, he says, is contorting a beautiful religion to garner votes.

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Ring Wraith Trump Wins in New Hampshire

By Robin Bates | Published: February 9, 2016

Donald Trump, winner of the New Hampshire primary, has been promoting torture. I’ve been teaching “Lord of the Rings” recently and he reminds me of the temptation of the ring, which hollows one out.

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Touching the Happy Isles One Last Time

By Robin Bates | Published: February 8, 2016

Peyton Manning limped rather than sprinted across the finish line but he still was victorious in probably what was his last game. The words of Walter Savage Landor’s dying philosopher come to mind.

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