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  • The Humanity of Huck Finn

    The Humanity of Huck Finn1

    Huckleberry Finn is no hero, though he is clearly a child on the cusp of adulthood. That perhaps is one reason I enjoy reading and teaching Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn every year. Like The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Huck and Tom’s imaginary childhood adventures quickly become real. From pranking the ever-suspicious Jim at night to

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  • Modern Plagues and the Prescience of Ray Bradbury

    Modern Plagues and the Prescience of Ray Bradbury0

    I am haunted by a lonely man. At sundown every day, he walked the neighborhood sidewalks, glancing at lives through windows. “Was that a murmur of laughter from within a moon-white house?” he asked as he passed the homes of his neighbors. He could not see people or their faces, just the glare of light

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  • In Defense of Jane Eyre

    In Defense of Jane Eyre1

    Jane Eyre is a perennial novel for me. Yes, I teach it every year, but more importantly, I reread it every time. Not just a skim. A full read. And this is why. 1. Jane is a character of such growth. I know, I know. Brontë includes much of her own life and experiences in the

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  • Booker T. Washington’s Racial Compromise?

    Booker T. Washington’s Racial Compromise?0

    I first read Up from Slavery ten years ago and was quickly surprised that it wasn’t required reading for every educator, that is, until I read the critics. In his autobiography, Booker Taliaferro Washington (1856-1915) leaves us an equal bounty of moral wisdom and caution that all began with his dream to learn. Education and merit are

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