I’ve written a lot about Paul Ryan and his aspiration to be a John Galt figure. Now that he is Speaker of the House, I review other literary parallels I’ve drawn over the years.
Sign up for my weekly newsletter
Tag Archives: Hard Times
Speaker Paul Ryan in Literature
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Alice in Wonderland, Ayn Rand, Chinua Achebe, GOP, Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad, Lewis Carroll, Oliver Twist, Paul Ryan, politics, Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Things Fall Apart, Thomas Hardy Comments closed
Why Baltimore Blacks Are Down and Out
Black poverty in Baltimore has racial causes that are invisible to most people. Dickens would understand.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Baltimore, black underclass, Charles Dickens, poverty, race relations, white working class Comments closed
Clean Air Is Bad for the Nation?!
Republicans complaining about clean air regulations recall the Coketown mill owners in Dickens’ “Hard Times.”
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged air regulations, Charles Dickens, Environmental Protection Agency, ozone, smog Comments closed
How Is Lit Useful? Let Me Count the Ways
A recent issue of “New Literary History” explores a number of ways that literature is useful.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Charles Dickens, Literary Theory, Lolita, reader response, utilitarianism, Vladimir Nabokov Comments closed
Dickens’ Children Expose Class Unfairness
Charles Dickens’ Sissy Jupe, in her innocence, could teach the GOP something about its insensitivity to the needs of the poor.
E. W. Jackson, a Modern Day Bounderby
Virginia lieutenant governor candidate E. W. Jackson appears to be attempting a fraud worthy of Dickens’ Josiah Bounderby.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Charles Dickens, E. W. Jackson, electoral politics Comments closed
Gradgrind Takes Over English Classes
The new Common Core State Standards are pushing literature out of English classes.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Charles Dickens, Common Core State Standards, Education Comments closed
Joe Biden Debates Bounderby
In last night’s, Joe Biden found himself up against a modern-day version of Dickens’ Bounderby from “Hard Times.”
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged 2012 election, Charles Dickens, Joe Biden, Paul Ryan, politics Comments closed