Salman Rushdie’s “Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights” helps explain how Trump came to power. Blame it on a longing for dark fantasy.
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Tag Archives: Donald Trump
Roy Cohn, Trump’s Mentor
A revival of “Angels in America” reminds us of the vicious lawyer who mentored Donald Trump. Yet the play is optimistic for all that.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged AIDS, Angels in America, homosexuality, LBGTQ issues, Roy Cohn, Tony Kushner Comments closed
Battered by a Raging Stormy
Stormy Daniels’s power over Donald Trump brings to mind various literary storms, such as Lear’s and those described by Mary Oliver and H.D.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Lightning", "Storm", H.D., King Lear, Mary Oliver, Stormy Daniels, William Shakespeare Comments closed
Trump on a Hot Tin Roof
Trump’s lawyer as compared the FBI to the mendacity that pervades “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.” The play applies, all right, but to Trump and Dowd themselves.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, FBI, James Comey, Matthew Dowd, Mueller, Tennessee Williams Comments closed
Corruption Starts at the Top
The spread of Trumpian corruption is an instance of the fish rotting from the top. “King Lear” shows this process at work.
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.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Joseph Conrad, Lord Jim, mass shooting, Parkland Florida shooting Comments closed
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.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged gun control, gun massacres, Most Dangerous Game, NRA, Parkland Florida shooting, Richard Connell, Russian bots Comments closed
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.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged authoritarian leaders, Constitution, John Milton, Paradise Lost, tyranny Comments closed
Is Sexist Lit Gaslighting Women?
A Guardian article argues that critical praise for sexist male authors valorizes patriarchal attitudes.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Charlotte Bronte, Ernest Hemingway, Feminism, Hillary Clinton, Human Stain, Jane Eyre, Lolita, MeToo, Norman Mailer, Philip Roth, Saul Bellow, Sexism, Vladimir Nabokov Comments closed