Vladimir Nabokov's Invitation To A Beheading

815 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Conformity and non conformity

Invitation to a Beheading, written in 1959 comments on the blatant manipulation of reality in a totalitarian society, through conformity and the forced elimination of imagination. This poetic dystopian novel describes the surrealistic death-row experience of a man condemned to execution for the opacity of his mind in a world of a transparent souls. The dystopian construct depicted by Vladimir Nabokov highlights the flaws of the present, extrapolating them into the future, thus emphasising that the future is contingent on the present to a significant degree.

Nabokov emphasises the transgressive and adverse aspects of contemporary society through a totalitarian government’s desire for conformity. It is apparent to a significant extent that the most shocking aspect of the novel is that the protagonist Cincinnatus C’s denial of conformity leads to his execution, thus making the future contingent on the present. Even at a young age, Cincinnatus becomes aware of an opacity that sets him apart from the others as his soul was “opaque” not “transparent” like “everyone else’s”, however he was ignorant of the extreme social norms he was transgressing and learned to hide his deficiency. However this concealment of his peculiarity eventually fails, and Cincinnatus is imprisoned by the oppressive regime for the vague crime of “Gnostical turpitude”. Whilst he …show more content…

Therefore, it is apparent that the dystopian paradigm presented by Nabokov challenges the preconceived concepts of the future through exaggerations of conformity, forced abolishment of knowledge, and an individual’s metaphysical reality, thus highlighting that the future is contingent on the present to a significant

Show More
Related

  • Literary Techniques Used by Fyodor Dostoyevsky in Crime and Punishment

    2235 Words  | 5 Pages

    Dostoyevsky's writing in this book is such that the characters and setting around the main subject, Raskolnikov, are used with powerful consequences. The setting is both symbolic and has a power that affects all whom reside there, most notably Raskolnikov. An effective Structure is also used to show changes to the plot's direction and Raskolnikov's character. To add to this, the author's word choice and imagery are often extremely descriptive, and enhance the impact at every stage of Raskolnikov's changing fortunes and character. All of these features aid in the portrayal of Raskolnikov's downfall and subsequent rise.

    Read More

  • World Lit Essay

    1048 Words  | 3 Pages

    Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment incorporates the significance of murder into the novel through a multitude of levels. The act of killing is not only used to further the plot point of the novel, but also offers insight to the reader of Raskolnikov’s ideology and psyche. This is portrayed through both his initial logic and reasoning behind the plotting of the crime, as well as through his immediate and long term reactions after killing Alyona Ivanovna. The emotional and physical responses instilled in Raskolnikov after killing Alyona Ivanovna as well as his justification for doing so helps illustrate his utilitarianism by offering accurate insight into the character’s moral values. These reactions also serve to show the instability of Raskolnikov’s character due to his changing emotions from being completely justified as the ubermensch to showing a sense of great regret. By including the act of killing, Dostoevsky further develops Raskolnikov’s character, and provides another level of detail to readers concerning his ideology and beliefs prior to his actions.

    Read More

  • The Incarnation Of Dostoevsky's Crime And Punishment

    2060 Words  | 5 Pages

    This essay examines the social, philosophical, and psychological elements that had affected the Russian Society as well as the world of Dostoevsky’s novel “ Crime and Punishment ˮ. This essay demonstrates the wild impact and clashes left by these theories on the life, choices, and mentality of the novel and the characters embodied, the most important of which is the character of Raskolnikov. Highlighting an “in-depth exploration of the psychology of a criminal, the inner world of Raskolnikov, with its doubt, fear, anxiety and despair in escaping punishment and mental tortureˮ.

    Read More

  • Modernism In Ivan Turgenev's Fathers And Children

    911 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Fathers and Children, Ivan Turgenev shows the changing climate of society and his view of the societal shift from Pre-modernism to Modernism. Through the devolvement of Turgenev’s characters, we see Turgenev’s interpretation and feelings towards the push away from Pre-modernism towards Modernism, with the influence of Nihilism. Turgenev’s Characters show us that neither whole heartedly fallowing the old ways of Pre-Modernism nor swinging blindly into Modernism will a man be fully completed. He validates equality movement of Modernism, along with its willingness to reshape society, and the classical values of romanticism complete and bring a man to balance.

    Read More

  • Suffering to Achieve Happiness in Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment

    795 Words  | 2 Pages

    In such poor living conditions, those that the slums of Russia has to offer, the characters in Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment1 struggle, living day to day. Raskolnikov, the protagonist, experiences multiple layers of suffering (the thought of his murder causes him greater suffering than does his poverty) as does Sonia and Katerina Ivanovna (1). Through these characters as well as Porfiry Petrovitch, Dostoevsky wants the reader to understand that suffering is the cost of happiness and he uses it to ultimately obliterate Raskolnikov’s theory of an ubermensch which allows him to experience infinite love.

    Read More

  • Vivisection

    1555 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the late 1930’s while the United States was going through The Great Depression the Soviet Union was going through its own turbulent times. This would be known as the Moscow Show Trials, which took place under the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. The book Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler takes place during this time period. The main character Nicholas Rubashov has been imprisoned even though he always has been loyal to the goals of the party (Koestler). This showed a shift that was happening in the country and an attempt by Stalin to eliminate any possible opposition even if they were heroes in the revolution. In the text two different concepts come to light vivisection morality where the party comes before the individual and anti-vivisection morality where the individual is sacred. Rubashov in the beginning does not embrace individualism however throughout the novel he begins to adopt individualism that he refers to as grammatical fiction. Vivisection morality is never a justifiable political system. Suppressing the rights of human beings is not only inhumane but also counter productive in creating an effective and wealthy society.

    Read More

  • Dostoyevsky ‘Notes from Underground’ Critique

    1600 Words  | 4 Pages

    The tone of “Notes from Underground” is sharp, strange and bitter. The bitterness of the book is traced to the multiple personal misfortunes the author suffered as he wrote his novel. Through these personal tragedies it can be argued that the author presented the position of the “underground man” through his own experiences. Additionally, the research holds the second belief that the novel’s presentation of “underground man” is founded on the social context the novel addresses (Fanger 3). Through this, it was found that Dostoevsky presented the suffering of man under the emerging world view directed by European materialism, liberalism and utopianism. As he began writing his novel, Dostoevsky had been directed by the romantic error that looked at utopian social life and the social vision of satisfying and perfecting regular life for man. The failure for the society to gain these achievements was as a result of the distant liberalism and materialism that reduced the power of reasoning and...

    Read More

  • The Literary Works of Vladimir Nabokov

    2074 Words  | 5 Pages

    More so than that of most other comparably illustrious writers, a number of Vladimir Nabokov’s works beckon near polarizing discrepancies in interpretation and actual author intent amidst literary circles. In a letter to the editor of The New Yorker, he concedes to constructing systems “wherein a second (main) story is woven into, or placed behind, the superficial semitransparent one” (Dolinin). In practice, such an architectural premise is complicated further by his inclination to dabble in the metaphysical and occasionally, in the metafictional. Nabokov’s inclusion of meticulous description and word choice coupled with his reliance on unreliable narrators—in “Signs and Symbols,” “The Vane Sisters,” and “Details of a Sunset”-- permits him to explore the boundaries surrounding objective versus subjective realities, creating conscientiously woven narratives multi-layered and possibly cryptic in meaning.

    Read More

  • Turgenev and Dostoyevsky

    2339 Words  | 5 Pages

    ...ew that the reforming ideas of the older spawned the nihilist view of the younger, and that the older liberals must bear some responsibility for the actions of the radicals. The older Verkhovensky, Stepan Trofimovich, has produce a son, Petr, who has subjugated and broken the ideals of his fathers generation, metamorphosing the idealistic liberal humanism of the 1840s Westernizers into shallow nihilistic opportunism, to become a murky reflection of the disturbing, amoral Nechayev whose revolutionary theory culminated in murder (Jones -Miller p.75). It is the generational gap, first promoted by his former friend Turgenev, which gives Dostoyevsky the opportunity to condemn the nihilists.

    Read More

  • Nihilism in Turgenov's Fathers and Sons

    1686 Words  | 4 Pages

    Turgenov’s Fathers and Sons has several characters who hold strong views of the world. Pavel believes that Russia needs structure from such things as institution, religion, and class hierarchy. Madame Odintsov views the world as simple so long as she keeps it systematic and free from interference. This essay will focus on perhaps the most interesting and complex character in Fathers and Sons: Bazarov. Vladimir Nabakov writes that "Turgenov takes his creature [B] out of a self-imposed pattern and places him in the the normal world of chance." By examining Bazarov this essay will make this statement more clear to the reader. Using nihilism as a starting point we shall look at Bazarov’s views and interpretations of science, government and institution. Next we will turn to the issue relationships. Finally we examine Bazarov’s death and the stunning truths it reveals. These issues combined with the theme of nihilism will prove that chance, or fate is a strong force which cannot easily be negated. Nihilism as a concept is used throughout Fathers and Sons. To gain a better understanding of the ideas behind this term let’s look at what Bazarov says on the subject. "We base our conduct on what we recognize as useful... the most useful thing we can do is to repudiate – and so we repudiate" (123). The base concept of nihilism is to deny or negate, and as we learn later in the same paragraph, to negate everything. With this ‘destruction’ of everything from science to art there is no building for nihilists, as Bazarov says "That is not our affair" (126). Nihilists view the current structure of society as concerned with such trivialties as ‘art’ and ‘parliamentism’ while ignoring real life issues such as food, freedom, and equally. Nihilists are aware of these social woes and hence mentally deny to recognize any of the present authority or institutions which only serve to perpetuate a myth. Bazarov agrees with the statement that nihilism "confine[s] [oneself] to abuse" (126). "... I don’t believe in anything: and what is science—science in the abstract? There are sciences as there are trades and professions, but abstract science just doesn’t exist" (98). For Bazarov anything that is not tangible and concrete doesn’t exist. Psychology, quantum mechanics, neurochemistry would be scoffed at by Bazarov. It seems peculiar that Bazarov would say, "... nowadays we laugh at medicine in general, and worship no one," (197) while at the same time he pursues a career as a doctor.

    Read More

  • Resurrection of Lazarus in Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment

    452 Words  | 1 Pages

    In Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, Raskalnikov undergoes a period of extreme psychological upheaval. By comparing this death and rebirth of Raskalnikov's psyche to the story of the resurrection of Lazarus, Dostoevsky emphasizes not only the gravity of his crimes, but also the importance of acceptance of guilt.

    Read More

  • Fyodor Dostoevsky Crime And Punishment Analysis

    1980 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...tory meaning and depth as the reader continues to pull back the layers of each character and situation. Without these five words, Dostoevsky would not be able to portray the dark, universal, and timeless themes that are hidden deep between each line. Each word is co-dependent of each other in making the novel a tale that has been told for hundreds of years. Without one of these five structural words, the book would be lost in the shelves of libraries many years ago. Since all five words depend on each other and complement themselves, classrooms everywhere are still reading this book to this day. There is no telling when this novel will lose its popularity, but thanks to the themes Dostoevsky buries in the novel and secures with these five words, it is safe to say that “Crime and Punishment” will continue to educate and manipulate anyone that puts their hands on it.

    Read More

  • A Battle with Invisible Enemies in Kafka's The Trail

    1521 Words  | 4 Pages

    A sudden intrusion disrupts Joseph's peaceful life and brings him in a battle of life and death. Unlike usual warfare, Joseph is combating the enemies who can neither be seen nor can fight back. Begin with the arrest and end with an execution, what judges the main character is not merely the invisible power but also the decaying law.i[i] One of the main ideas, "A Battle with Invisible Enemies," in The Trail could be applied to the situation of Joseph as it applies to the theme of the fiction. Secondly the main character's action in the novel also brings out the idea of his struggling. The theme either appears in the dialogue between Joseph K. and the inspector. Moreover, the structure is under the influence of the idea. Finally, variations of the idea show some profound implications of human society.

    Read More

  • The Long Road Home

    1010 Words  | 3 Pages

    The future holds a different meaning for everyone, for some it holds hope while for others it holds despair. This constant wondering about the future has influenced many works to be written about the future. Some of these works propose a blissful future, but the majority paint the picture of an unfortunate dystopian world. Recently I read Daughters of the North, a novel in which the dystopian future of England is shown. Shortly after reading Daughters of the North, I watched The Road. This film showed a similar view of the future, yet more grim and unappealing that Daughters of the North. In this essay I will be comparing and contrasting these two works to show two different points of view of what a dystopian world is. After watching The Road I realised there was a large amount of books and movies that believe the future will be grim. I believe this is because as humans we fear what may be in our future due to the conflicts that we face today and wish to warm the world.

    Read More

  • Religion as Societal Conformity in Crime and Punishment

    1045 Words  | 3 Pages

    The central theme of Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky deals with conformity’s role in society. Dostoyevsky uses conformity to make Raskolnikov mentally ill and eventually turn himself in to face the punishment for his crimes. Religion influences every character in the book, but none more ardently than Raskolnikov. Understanding religion’s role as a force for conformity in Crime and Punishment provides a powerful insight into character motives and, furthermore, philosophical influences.

    Read More

More about Vladimir Nabokov's Invitation To A Beheading

Open Document