If Bill Gorton, a positive figure in “The Sun Also Rises,” is politically incorrect, does that mean that Donald Trump is correct in his attacks on PC? Award-winning high school teacher Carl Rosin tackles the issues by contrasting Gorton and Trump.
Monthly Archives: August 2016
Politically Incorrect Okay for Hemingway?
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Donald Trump, Ernest Hemingway, political correctness, politics, Sun Also Rises Comments closed
How Trump Echoes Marc Antony
A New York Times article argues that Trump is using rhetorical flourishes like those that Marc Antony uses to defeat Brutus in Shakespeare’s play. His key strategy is casting himself as authentic against the inauthenticity of politicians.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, Julius Caesar, Marc Antony, Rhetoric, William Shakespeare Comments closed
On Forgetting Old Students
Sometimes as teachers we forget students that we impacted greatly. Thomas Hardy’s Jude learns this when he looks up his old teacher Phillotson.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Herman Melville, Jude the Obscure, Moby Dick, teaching, Thomas Hardy Comments closed
When Christianity Becomes a Money Cult
A new book, “The Money Cult: Capitalism, Christianity, and the Unmaking of the American Dream,” brings to mind Howard Nemerov’s poem “Boom!” The book’s author argues that prosperity theology is not an aberration but was present from the beginning of American Puritanism.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "Boom!", Adam Bede, Calvinism, Capitalism, Daniel Defoe, George Eliot, Howard Nemerov, Ian Watt, Max Weber, prosperity theology, Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, Robinson Crusoe, theology of abundance Comments closed
Walmart Practices a Tom Sawyer Economy
Walmart relies on American taxpayers to subsidize its work force. This is being called “a Tom Sawyer economy,” an allusion to the fence whitewashing episode.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged American businesses, Mark Twain, Tax Policy, Tom Sawyer, Walmart Comments closed
Welcome Class of 2020 (and Others)
A letter to incoming college students, with a tip of the hat to Montaigne, Williams Wordsworth, and Lucille Clifton.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "Tintern Abbey" entering students, academe, College, Liberal arts education, Lucille Clifton, Michel de Montaigne, William Wordsworth Comments closed
Teachers, Don’t Nip Their Buds
In “Songs of Experience,” William Blake worries that authority figures will nip the promise of budding schoolboys. “The Schoolboy” serves as a timely reminder for all teachers.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "Schoolboy", Education, public schools, schooling, teachers and teaching, William Blake Comments closed
Lochte, White Privilege, & the Giving Tree
Alexandra Petri of “The Washington Post” makes brilliant use of “The Giving Tree” as she examines the recent shenanigans of Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte, As Petri sees it, Lochte is protected by white privilege and would be facing far different consequences were he a person of color
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Brock Turner, enabling, Giving Tree, Ryan Lochte, Shel Silverstein, white privilege, white resentment Comments closed
