Tag Archives: Huckleberry Finn

Duck Dynasty Patriarch as Pap Finn

By Robin Bates | Published: December 23, 2013

Patriarch Phil Robertson of “Duck Dynasty” shares certain characteristics with Pap Finn.

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GOP Whites Splitting? Huck Finn Says No

By Robin Bates | Published: December 3, 2013

If “Huck Finn” has predictive value, the class tensions within today’s GOP will be papered over by racism.

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Aristotle Wrong about Tragic Heroes

By Robin Bates | Published: February 6, 2013

Revealing his prejudices, Aristotle tries to limit those whose suffering can be labeled tragic.

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Summertime and the Living Is Easy

By Robin Bates | Published: August 21, 2012

An afternoon spent in a friend’s boat brought to mind Huck and Jim watching the Mississippi River.

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Head for the Territories, a U.S. Fantasy

By Robin Bates | Published: July 17, 2012

When politics become harsh, we still dream, like Huck, of lighting out for the Territory.

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The Myth of Slaves as Faithful Companions

By Robin Bates | Published: October 5, 2011

A visiting lecture on “Slaves as Loyal Confederates” reminded me of the complex relationships between black and white as they are explored by Twain and Stowe.

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America Encourages the Vagabond Self

By Robin Bates | Published: April 21, 2011

Looking at the United States from the vantage point of Iran, Nafisi writes that it was America’s vagrant nature that she connected to. She writes that America “somehow encourages this vagabond self.”

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How Life Looks When One Is Property

By Robin Bates | Published: February 8, 2011

Last week we had another fine presentation in the series of Twain lectures that my colleague Ben Click has been running. Once again a talk about race and Huckleberry Finn deepened my respect for that magnificent book. Here are some of the ideas I picked up, which I share with you from memory since I didn’t […]

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Damn the N-Word, Full Speed Ahead

By Robin Bates | Published: January 18, 2011

  Writing about interracial friendships in yesterday’s post brings to mind the most famous interracial friendship in literature, that between Huck and Jim. The novel is once again in the news (is it ever out of it?) with a new edition of the novel where the n-word is changed to “slave.” The edition is the brainchild […]

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