If Trump is like Napoleon in Tolstoy’s “War and Peace,” can he be defeated by popular resistance, as he is in Tolstoy’s novel?
Tag Archives: American Dream
Tolstoy on Resisting a Narcissist
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Donald Trump, Immigration, Leo Tolstoy, Trump resistance, War and Peace Comments closed
Trump Is Gatsby (But a Lot Meaner)
Donald Trump is Jay Gatsby, albeit a Gatsby with a mean streak. Nevertheless, the rise of the character helps us understand the success of our current president.
The Wicked Witch, Disillusioned Dreamer
Gregory Maguire’s novel “Wicked,” like versions of the Oz story before it, wrestles with the death of the American Dream.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Death of the American Dream, Gregory Maguire, L. Frank Baum, Wicked, Wizard of Oz Comments closed
To Know Gatsby Is to Know America
“The Great Gatsby” is about fantasizing. Baz Luhrmann’s new film appears to understand this well.
Destructive Grieving for a Lost America
Grieving for a lost America reaches deep across the political spectrum, “Beowulf” provides a healthy response.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Beowulf, Grendel's mother, grieving, Marilynne Robinson, politics, When I Was a Child I Read Books Comments closed
Burlesque and the American Dream
Film Friday In memory of a friend who died this past March, this past weekend Julia and I went to see Burlesque, the new Christina Aguilera/Cher film. The friend was Maurine Holbert Hogaboom, who in 1934 made her way from a tiny east Texas town to New York by way of burlesque. The Great Depression […]
You, Sir, Are No Jay Gatsby
Everyone has something to say about Barack Obama, who has been the subject of non-stop scrutiny since last year’s Democratic primaries. It therefore is not surprising that some would turn to literature to understand what he means. Including, in recent weeks, two New York Times columnists. Stanley Fish, the subject of three posts this […]
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Oven Bird", Julius Caesar, Nationalism, Obama, politics, Robert Frost, Roger Cohen, Stanley Fish, William Shakespeare Comments closed
