A theme is any universal idea explored in a literary work. After reading the novel Lolita it became obvious that there were multiple themes occurring throughout the book. In my eyes the most important theme of them all was the power of diction and how Nabokov honored words because they elevated his artwork otherwise dreadful topic. This particular book is known for being risqué, but it is important to note that there are no four-letter words or any obvious graphic material; that's because of Humbert's word choice. The language used in Lolita successfully overcompensates the unadvisable content and allows a sense of beauty to prevail. Subjects such as murder, pedophilia, rape, and even incest are surprisingly appealing due to the way Humbert Humbert narrates each scene with powerful word choice. Humbert uses diction and other forms of diction such as alliteration and imagery to ensure the captivation of his readers, entangling and convincing them into buying his version of the confession.
Humbert's deliberately uses specific words to emphasize his innocence in the first sex scenes of the confession. When Humbert masturbates in front of Lolita, he uses words like “impudent child” and “masked lust to her guileless limbs” (Nabokov 58). This scene could have been really gross and more obvious, yet he chose words like “I performed the adjustments necessary for the success of the trick” (Nabokov 59). By using elevated diction, he successfully indulges the reader and creates a beautiful scene no matter what the subject is. If you read the novel and looked up every word you haven’t yet met in the dictionary (which for me would be several a page), you’ll be amazed at the perfect choice of word construction. There’s so much substance in Lo...
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...d imagery Humbert seduces his readers just as craftily as he seduces Lolita. Words are his power, and he uses them to charm and distract his audience. He is a pedophile and a murderer, but he builds up elaborate explanations for every doing, and his language protects him. With Lolita, Nabokov’s overreaching achievement may be that he forces readers to confide in Humbert’s crimes and bring reasoning to the table. Readers have to immerse themselves in Humbert’s words in order to uncover the true story. By closely engaging with Humbert’s word trickery, readers cannot hold him at a far enough distance to see him for the man he truly is.
Works Cited
Moore, Anthony R. "How Unreliable Is Humbert In Lolita ?." Journal Of Modern Literature 25.1 (2001): 71. Academic Search Premier. Web. 12 Nov. 2013.
Nabokov, Vladimir Vladimirovich. Lolita. New York: Knopf, 1992. Print.
The effects of Humbert growing up “in a bright world of illustrated books” is evident in his approach to life and the ways in which he mythifies his own. When Humbert first sees Lolita, he describes the incident in storied and fanciful terminology, imagining himself in his own whirlwind fantasy, as a “fairy-tale nurse of some little princess.” Magic is also a theme that occurs consistently throughout the novel – from the “magic of nymphets” to “magic potions” – further indicating Humbert’s tendency to meld fictional symbolisms into his own
With his 1955 novel Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov invents a narrator by the name of Humbert Humbert who is both an exquisite wordsmith and an obsessive pedophile. The novel serves as the canvas upon which Humbert Humbert will paint a story of love, lust, and death for the reader. His confession is beautiful and worthy of artistic appreciation, so the fact that it centers on the subject of pedophilia leaves the reader conflicted by the close of the novel. Humbert Humbert frequently identifies himself as an artist and with his confession he hopes “to fix once for all the perilous magic of nymphets” (Nabokov, Lolita 134). Immortalizing the fleeting beauty and enchanting qualities of these preteen girls is Humbert Humbert’s artistic mission
An idea that recurs in or pervades a work of art of literature can be referred to as a “Theme”. Themes often explore timeless and universal ideas and may be implied rather than stated explicitly. Theme is an important part of fictional stories. Several themes are presented in the novel to kill a mocking bird. One of the reoccurring themes in to kill a mockingbird is courage.
...seful miscommunication between men and women. Lastly, when looking through the imagined perspective of the thoughtless male tricksters, the reader is shown the heartlessness of men. After this reader’s final consideration, the main theme in each of the presented poems is that both authors saw women as victims of a male dominated society.
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Themes are central to the plot of any story. In fact, themes are the purpose to an author writing anything. By definition, a theme is the subject or topic of a work. Some themes, like that in “A Good Man is Hard to Find” are more obvious, while others, such as, “Hills Like White Elephants” are less clear and require readers to do some deep reading and critical thinking in order to identify the purpose of it, and through strong reading techniques, audiences will find valuable lessons embedded within the themes can enlighten and even revive our thinking.
...rves the way for the plot, the theme is the central idea around which a literary piece revolves. Without the theme the plot would be meaningless and there would be nothing for the readers to derive from the literary piece. Without the plot, the theme would be meaningless as there would be nowhere to consign the message the writer intends to give the reader. It can be said that the plot and theme are the two most important literary elements of a literary piece and are inter-dependant.
In this extract, Nabokov’s use of wordplay is evident, notably through the repetition of “H.H” in the protagonist’s name and the name of Lolita’s deceased father. The use of this repetition aligns the characters into the same role, as both older male figures in the novel. Moreover, the idea of Humbert as a father figure to Lolita is noteworthy as, due to her biological father’s death, she is notably absent of such a figure in her life and would, therefore, look to Humbert to fill that role. However, Humbert is shown to believe that Lolita’s feelings towards him are sexual, most evident where he claims that she seduces him in the motel room, which may not be the case and may be an altering of the truth on Humbert’s part. This links to the extract
Backpack Literature defines theme as “the general point or truth about human beings that may be drawn from” a story. Most novels do not have one single theme, but instead have many themes spread throughout. Some of the themes may be related but others can come from opposite ends of the spectrum. The Great Gatsby has several themes that are related such as greed, lust, and selfishness. One of the themes that stood out to me was that some people will never be fully satisfied. This is demonstrated by Jay Gatsby’s continuous us of illegal activities to make more money to impress Daisy, by Tom Buchanan’s affair with a mechanic’s wife even though he was already married, and by Jay Gatsby constantly throwing parties to try and win Daisy back after
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Theme plays a very important part in this short story. Theme is the idea of a literary work abstracted from its details of language, character and action. The great example of theme that is evident throughout the entire short story is the duty to perform certain acts. We can see here that the Irishman Donovan is very big on obeying his duty to carry out orders that have been authorized to him.
Theme is the underlying power beneath a story; the “force” that makes the whole experience worthwhile. Theme is “an idea or message that the writer wishes to convey” (Holt 874). A theme can be either stated or implied. A stated theme is a theme “that the other expresses directly in his work (protic.net); an implied theme is a theme “that is not directly stated in the work” (protic.net). As mentioned before, both of these stories have an implied theme, which now is revealed to mean that the author of the story insinuated it. Themes exist in all stories (verbal or written) and can be long, short, true or false. “Earth people will beat out any other intelligent life-form in any and all competitions” is a theme, but “good always beats evil” is one too. “Once upon a time . . .” stories have themes too, except they are more one-dimensional. For example,...
For an abundance of authors, the driving force that aids them in creation of a novel is the theme or number of themes implemented throughout the novel. Often times the author doesn’t consciously identify the theme they’re trying to present. Usually a theme is a concept, principle or belief that is significant to an author. Not only does the theme create the backbone of the story, but it also guides the author by controlling the events that happen in a story, what emotions are dispersed, what are the actions of characters, and what emotions are presented within each environment to engage the readers in many
A theme is a fundamental and often universal idea explored in a literary work. In the book, To Kill a Mockingbird, there are three main themes: the side-by-side existence of good and evil, the importance of moral education, and the presence of social inequality. These themes help the story be what it is and help to create a proper setting, plot, conflict, and characters. The themes in the book have good meaning and make the book what it is.
... is romantic and at ease, but he turns brisk and honest as time disintegrates. This image becomes crystal clear with words and phrases such as, "heart", "beauty", "youthful hue sits on thy skin", "our sweetness", "virginity", "breast", and "pleasures". All of these words provide the reader with an illustration of the man's desires. The use of imagery permits the author to fully describe the necessity of time, and allows the reader to visualize the thoughts and feelings that the characters experience.