The Effect of Language in Vladimir Nabokovs Lolita Essay -- Nabokov L

The Effect of Language in Lolita What really is reality? How can we define reality? The very nature of such a numberive subject means that there are as many answers as there are enquirying minds on the planet. Therefore, reality can only be delineate as what it means to each of us. We learn particular ways of looking at life from our experiences, which we gain from our interactions with others. This is the basis of an elaborate theory called the social formula of reality. In modern America, one of the largest social groups to which we can belong, certain values are instilled into our impressionable minds for example, not many of us would accept pedophilia. Or would we? What if our interactions with others shaped our susceptible minds so well, and so discreetly, that we came to casually accept pedophilia without knowing we were being deftly manipulated? This is the magic of Lolita, which does just that. The richness and playfulness of Humberts prose prominent allus ions adumbrative and eloquence makes it difficult to relate to Humbert as anything less than a masterful lyricist, much less a pedophilic murderer, and pushes the reader to twist ethics until the situation is no longer seen from societys eyes, but from Humberts. In fact, the complex riddles that Vladimir Nabokov employs beyond Humberts own words, which further include such devices as foreshadowing and obscure jokes, cause us to compose so absorbed in the cleverness of the book and its author that we nearly dismiss pedophilia as second nature to the intricate use of language. at once our morals are firmly in place, its difficult for us to imagine them being warped or even forgotten, but Lolita manages to make us question th... ...ook down and feel pity for Humbert when Lolita runs away, then realize that we felt pity when we should have felt vengeance. Works Cited Couturier, Maurice. The Poerotic Novel Nabokovs Lolita and Ada. 27 Jan. 2002. <http//www.libraries.p su.edu/iasweb/nabokov/coutur1.htm> Nabokov, Vladimir. Lolita. New York Vintage, 1955. Rivers, J.E., Charles Nicol. Nabokovs Fifth discharge Nabokov and Others on his Lifes Work. Austin University of Texas Press, 1982. Wood, Michael. The Magicians Doubts Nabokov and the Risks of Fiction. Princeton Princeton University Press, 1994. Poe, Edgar Allen. Edgar Allen Poe - The Academy of American Poets. 16 Mar. 2002. <http//www.poets.org/poems/poems.cfm?prmID=2212> Eliot, T.S. Ash Wednesday by T.S. Eliot. 16 Mar. 2002. <http//web.mit.edu/ashah/www/ashwed.html>