Vladimir Nabokov

schools or even a whole state it means that it contains things such as sexual explicitness, offensive language, political incorrectness, violence, views contrary to the state or are seen threatening in some way (Gale 1).The book Lolita written by Vladimir Nabokov was banned in 1955 in France and Australia for its controversial content (Amy 4). Lolita should be banned or challenged because of its detailed way of describing a situation that influences bad actions. The act of banning books has…

Certain concepts have proven too controversial to be put in literature and exposed to the world. Pedophilia and statutory rape are among those ideas, both of which are found in Vladimir Nabokov’s “Lolita”. On first glances it may seem like low class smut, however upon a closer look “Lolita” exposes a sophisticated love story between two complex, moral less characters. Humbert Humbert, a pedophile addicted to the beauty of nymphets, and Dolares. While Humbert may seem like an great european…

Resembling John Keats in, Ode on a Grecian Urn, Humbert Humbert, from Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov, envies the past innocence and youth that transforms overtime into a relationship of disenchantment, disillusion and destruction with a child. Through textual evidence, one can see that Humbert’s desires for the past love affair with Annabel, his young counterpart who dies before their consummation, manifests into a relationship with Dolores Haze, a young girl who resembles his young past lover. Time…

The picture of persuasion Vladimir Nabokov paints throughout Lolita cues the reader through its language, stylistic devices of repetition, metaphor and alliteration. This passage is no exception as the readers is thrown into a pool of ambiguity, left to their own devices and the seduction of Humbert Humbert to discern what is right or wrong? Worthy of forgiveness? Is Charlotte’s death Humbert’s fault? There are no clear answers and this is precisely what makes good literature what makes Lo lee…

Whether one is attempting to glean the hidden meanings within the 999 lines of Pale Fire or determine the sanity and identity of the narrator, a great number of mysteries still surround Vladimir Nabokov’s novel Pale Fire. Many theories have been put forward by various academics, including those who were close to Nabokov, that helps to reveal the identity of Kinbote; many of the ideas revolve around Kimbote being a made up fictional character created for Shade’s novel, while another puts forward…

monster, the reader of Lolita finds herself unable to agree with that assessment’. Discuss. ‘Vladimir Nabokov uses the chestnut tree as a symbol of death and extinction in his 1955 novel Lolita. Humbert Humbert refers early on to the chestnut and later, during their cross-country trip west, likens their sojourn to the westward spread of the American chestnut tree.’ Ann McCauley Basso’s interpretation of Vladimir Nabokov’s novel Lolita is clearly flawed, since the marginal appearance of…

One of the major themes in Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov is time. Humbert Humbert, the narrator is trying to go back to his childhood of a young love, furthermore he wants to keep recapturing the moment, he doesn’t understand how time works. Humbert keeps falling back in time to his childhood days, furthermore he is painting a picture of this beautiful young girl, his dream girl Lolita. We also see Humbert coming back into reality, present time of what actually is going on, in addition to the…

Finding voice is a very difficult thing to do, and it needs to be practiced and studied. Often what limits one’s voice are other people and the societal expectations of the time. For example, in the essay “Good Readers and Good Writers” by Vladimir Nabokov, leaves the readers with an overall message of how one should ignore the criticisms of their work and try a new approach by finding different critics that will actually appreciate their work. This is a good step to take in finding a person’s…

by Vladimir Nabokov, a college literature professor and famous literary writer, who passionately writes to create art through words. He addresses this writing to students majoring in literature, in which his text informs the reader about the skills necessary to be a good reader and writer in order to construct the magic necessary to effectively read and write. Nabokov proves through his literary essay that reading and writing is a masterpiece that requires expertise to make. To do so, Nabokov…

The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, is a controversial book that is still discussed today. There are many controversies debating whether or not the book relates to him in a personal way or not, and whether or not he was actually a bug. I believe that the novella relates to him personally because of the similarities between the book and himself. The Metamorphosis takes place in an apartment, in an unknown city, and unknown time. We can assume that this takes place in Prague during the 20th century…