Trump resembles the two conmen in Nikolai Gogol’s “Dead Souls.” But where he was once like the flamboyant Nozdrev, he has evolved to the more insidious Chichikov.
Tag Archives: Nikolai Gogol
To Understand Trump, Read Gogol
To understand Trump’s con, read Gogol’s “Dead Souls.”
Selling Dead Souls in an American Prison
While lit mostly helped Daniel Genis handle a 10-year prison term, novels by Gogol and Thomas Mann got him into special trouble.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Daniel Genis, Dead Souls, Doctor Faustus, prison reading, soul selling, Thomas Mann Comments closed
Which Poets Should Ukraine Honor?
Ukraine is currently taking down monuments to Russian-speaking poets and authors.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Alexander Pushkin, Joseph Brodsky, monuments and statues, Ukraine, Ukraine invasion, Vasyl Stus Comments closed
Did Russian Officials Recruit Dead Souls?
Did Russian officials claim to pay money to corrupt Ukrainian officials while actually pocketing the money? Cue Gogol’s “Dead Souls.”
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Dead Souls, FSB, Russian corruption, Ukraine invasion Comments closed
Which Shakespeare Character Is Trump?
Wednesday It’s satisfying to see national pundits take a page out of Better Living through Beowulf and turn to the classics to understand Donald Trump. Okay, so NeverTrumper conservative Bret Stephens has probably never read this blog, but we both recognize how literature deepens our understanding of the world, including American politics. I particularly appreciate […]
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Aristophanes, Donald Trump, Henry IV Part I, Henry IV Part II, Lysistrata, Macbeth, Othello, Richard III, William Shakespeare Comments closed
What Kind of Con Man Do You Want?
Gogol’s “Dead Souls” shows us two conmen, one who is a lot like our president, the other like various politicians (including Ryan, McConnell and Hillary Clinton). The boisterous and ineffective conman comes off better that the carefully calculating one.
Gogol’s Guide to Traveling
Friday I’m driving back to Maryland from Tennessee today and so have chosen a passage on traveling from Nikolai Gogol’s Dead Souls, which I’m listening to at the moment. I myself won’t have the same experience as Gogol’s traveler since I can’t lean back and fall asleep. Nevertheless, the passages reminds me of traveling by […]
Gogol Would Understand Trump
I may just have discovered the ultimate literary parallel for Donald Trump: Gogol’s Nozdrev from “Dead Souls.” Reading about Nozdrev helps us understanding our fascination with Trump.
