Tag Archives: Bernie Sanders

Biden vs. Bernie, Aeneas vs. Turnus

By Robin Bates | Published: March 11, 2020

To apply a classic allusion to the Democratic primaries, think of Joe Biden as Aeneas and Bernie Sanders as his foe Turnus. Aeneas wins the battle, Turnus the war.

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Bringing an End to Bernie’s Romance

By Robin Bates | Published: June 22, 2016

The Democratic Party has been striving to let Bernie Sanders down slowly, even as it separates him from his dream. It is like the way upper crust society in Edith Wharton’s “Age of Innocence” separates the protagonist for the scandalous woman he has fallen in love with.

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Trump’s Game of Thrones Invasion

By Robin Bates | Published: June 9, 2016

Now that the Democrats have a presumptive nominee, the question is whether Bernie Sanders’s supporters will join Hillary. A “Game of Thrones” analogy points out what is at stake.

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Bernie Is Peter Pan, Hillary Is Wendy

By Robin Bates | Published: March 10, 2016

Bernie Sanders is the adventurous Peter Pan, Hillary Clinton is the cautious and pragmatic Wendy. Which candidate you prefer may be related to which character you like better.

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Clifton, Ellison Help Explain Whitesplaining

By Robin Bates | Published: February 22, 2016

White politicians, if they want the Black vote, must be cautious about “whitesplaining.” Lucille Clifton gives us insight into the insensitivity in “note to self.” Brother Jack in “Invisible Man” is racially insensitive in this way and may have lessons for certain Bernie Sanders supporters.

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Prospero and the Presidential Primaries

By Robin Bates | Published: February 21, 2016

Think of Shakespeare’s “Tempest” as an allegory for the current state of American politics, especially the presidential primaries. It contains visionaries and cynics, orchestrators and disrupters. If Prospero is the island “establishment,” then he enjoys some success but it is qualified.

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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 as Beowulf? Try Grendel

By Robin Bates | Published: October 28, 2015

Thursday Normally I would be delighted with a New York Times article that matched up presidential candidates with works of literature, such as Ted Cruz with Beowulf, Hillary Clinton with Persuasion, and Bernie Sanders with Around the World in 80 Days. This piece, however, strikes me as so uninformative that it’s all but useless. I’ve tried […]

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Bernie, Black Lives Matter, & Invisible Man

By Robin Bates | Published: October 5, 2015

Bernie Sanders’s early missteps with Black Lives Matter, which bewildered him and his followers, is explained in Ralph Ellison’s “Invisible Man.”

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