Tag Archives: Oliver Twist

Literature Has Paul Ryan’s Number

By Robin Bates | Published: April 12, 2018

Lewis Carroll, Charles Dickens, Chinua Achebe, John Milton, and Thomas Hardy see through men like departing Speaker of the House Paul Ryan.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged "How Doth the Little Crocodile", Alice in Wonderland, Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand, Charles Dickens, Chinua Achebe, Hard Times, John Milton, Lewis Carroll, Paradise Lost, Paul Ryan politics, Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Things Fall Apart, Thomas Hardy | Comments closed

The Magic Spell Cast by Stories

By Robin Bates | Published: December 5, 2016

In “1Q84” Murakami describes novels as holding out the promise to solve our problems only we can’t quite make them out.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged 1Q84, Charles Dickens, children reading, Haruki Murakami, Little Lord Fauntleroy, Ozma of Oz, Twelfth Night | Comments closed

Savaging the Poor Left and Right

By Robin Bates | Published: March 15, 2016

Supply-side economics has been ravaging the economies of such states as Kansas, Louisiana, and, to a lesser extent, Wisconsin. The GOP governors sound like the poor house’s Board of Directors in “Oliver Twist.”

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Charles Dickens | Comments closed

Dickens Improved the Lives of the Poor

By Robin Bates | Published: February 17, 2016

Charles Dickens had a tangible impact on how the poor were treated. “Oliver Twist,” “Nicholas Nickleby,” and “Christmas Carol” literally changed public policy. Few other authors can boast so much.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Charles Dickens, Christmas Carol, Nicholas Nickleby | Comments closed

Speaker Paul Ryan in Literature

By Robin Bates | Published: November 4, 2015

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.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Alice in Wonderland, Ayn Rand, Chinua Achebe, GOP, Hard Times, Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad, Lewis Carroll, Paul Ryan, politics, Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Things Fall Apart, Thomas Hardy | Comments closed

Cruz as Beowulf? Try Grendel

By Robin Bates | Published: October 28, 2015

Thursday Normally I would be delighted with a New York Times article that matched up presidential candidates with works of literature, such as Ted Cruz with Beowulf, Hillary Clinton with Persuasion, and Bernie Sanders with Around the World in 80 Days. This piece, however, strikes me as so uninformative that it’s all but useless. I’ve tried […]

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Around the World in 80 Days, Beowulf, Bernie Sanders, Carla Fiorina, Charles Dickens, Democrats, Donald Trump, Election 2016, GOP, Hillary Clinton, Huckleberry Finn, Jane Austen, Journey to the Center of the Earth, Jules Verne, Mansfield Park, Marco Rubio, Mark Twain, Mike Huckabee, Persuasion, politics, Rand Paul, Tale of Two Cities, Ted Cruz | Comments closed

The Dickensian Horror of the Death Penalty

By Robin Bates | Published: July 13, 2015

The Supreme Court has ruled in favor of problematic drugs for lethal injection. The Charles Dickens of “Oliver Twist” would be appalled.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Barnaby Rudge, Charles Dickens, death penalty, Glossip v. Gross, lethal injection, midazolam, Supreme Court, Tale of Two Cities | Comments closed

GOP Budget Proposes Gruel Cuts

By Robin Bates | Published: March 24, 2015

Mean-spirited legislators who seek to cut food stamps and other programs for the poor bear more than a little resemblance to the workhouse authorities in “Oliver Twist.”

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Charles Dickens, food stamps, GOP, GOP budget, Medicaid, Paul Ryan, poverty, Scott Walker, Tom Cotton | Comments closed

Will Oliver Finally Get Health Care?

By Robin Bates | Published: April 4, 2014

Oliver Twist experiences the same ups and downs as Obamacare has. But there’s a happy ending.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged ACA, Barack Obama, Charles Dickens, GOP, McCutcheon v FEC, Obamacare, politics, Supreme Court, Tale of Two Cities | Comments closed