Randy Kennedy has written a superb article in the New York Times that points out parallels between the Gulf oil spill and Herman Melville’s Moby Dick. Kennedy says that, in the 19th century, New England whalers had to venture further and further afield to find oil-producing whales (they had depleted the local stock). Melville’s apocalyptic vision is eerily prescient.
Tag Archives: Mark Twain
When Nature Wreaks Its Revenge
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Albee (Edward), Edward Albee, Goat or Who Is Sylvia?, Gulf oil spill, Moby Dick, Nature, Oil Spill Comments closed
The Damned Human Race
Last Wednesday was the 100th anniversary of Mark Twain’s death. To mark the occasion, Ben Click, our enterprising department chair, set up a panel to discuss what Twain had to say about “race, religion, politics, and the ‘damned human race.’” On the panel were Peter Sagal, star of National Public Radio’s “Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell […]
“No one could resist him”
As I am out of town this week, colleagues of mine have been gracious enough to loan me articles for my website. The following was written by Ben Click, our department chair and a Mark Twain scholar. In addition to talking about Twain’s remarkable stage presence, the article announces a Twain colloquium that Ben is […]
Huck Finn vs. CBS in the 1960’s
Hal Holbrook as Mark Twain This past Friday was the 125 anniversary of Huckleberry Finn, a book that packed a wallop when it came out in 1885 and has continued to be controversial ever since. Last May I wrote a series of posts on Huckleberry Finn, including on its importance to me as a child […]
“My Habits . . . Would Assassinate You”
As a change of pace, I turn today’s column over to my very good friend and department chair, Mark Twain expert Ben Click. Ben is a 6’6″ Texan who is the funniest man I know and a kind of Mark Twain figure himself. His courses on the man who called himself “the American” have […]
Empowering Conversations about Race
As I look back over this past week of entries, what conclusions can I draw? First, that literature can serve the cause of race relations in this country. The friendship between Huck and Jim spurred my dreams of black-white friendship when I was a child being raised in segregated schools in the south, and it […]
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged black anger, censorship, Huckleberry Finn, race relations, Song of Solomon, Toni Morrison, white fantasies Comments closed
When I Defended Song of Solomon
I think it was 13 years ago or so when I read in our county newspaper that a high school student was objecting to a book he had been assigned to read in an Advanced Placement English class. The book was Toni’s Morrison’s Pulitzer-winning Song of Solomon, a book on the Advanced Placement list, and […]
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged censorship, Huckleberry Finn, power of literature, Song of Solomon, Toni Morrison Comments closed
Should Huck Finn Be Banned?
How much impact can images from a book like Huckleberry Finn have upon a reader? I’ve written about the importance of Huck’s courageous stand upon me as a young child, so I would answer, “ a tremendous impact.” But could there also be a negative impact? Could the docile and comic Jim undermine the self […]
