Thursday, October 22, 2009
Gretchen Minton's Presentation
I thoroughly enjoyed Gretchen's presentation today. I will be the first to admit that I not very familiar at all with the majority of Shakespeare's works, so pretty much everything that she said revealed something new to me and helped me to further understand what is going on in Nabokov's novel Pale Fire. It never ceases to amaze me how many literary allusions Nabokov sneaks into his works. For example, the names of the street signs in Zembla being taken from Shakespeare works. That is something that I never would have noticed on my own, and is so random that is difficult to believe that he would put something like that in. I cannot even imagine how much time he must have spent just doing research in order to write his novels. In a time where the Internet was not accessible, it is insane that he could even find as much information as he did. Minton too has retained an incredible amount of knowledge it seems. I was blown away by how familiar she was with both "Timon of Athens" and "Hamlet." Something that I would never have noticed had she no pointed out is the switch of gender in the passage about the moon stealing light from the sun. It is likely that Nabokov did this in order to make Kinbote give himself the greater power, since that is what he does throughout the novel. I thought that the interpretation of the colors green and red as indication of heterosexuality and homosexuality was interesting as well. Overall, it was a great presentation and led to an interesting discussion. I'm sure that everyone on class was thankful that she came in.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
1st Paper: Humbert's Femme Fatale
Humbert Humbert, the not so reliable narrator of Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita, is not only a somewhat offensive pedophile, but a creator. Humbert and Lolita, the nymphet who becomes the apple of his eye, take on the role of two primary characters in his story, and together take a fantastical journey across the United States and boundaries of morality. By incorporating elements of numerous fairy tales and myths into his own experiences, he creates a unique story of love and obsession. One of the myths that he, somewhat ironically, peppers throughout the novel, particularly in character of Lolita, is that of the biblical genesis. Lolita is characterized repeatedly throughout the novel as the very first femme fatale, the one temptress who instigated the fall of all men, Eve.
Humber Humbert evokes the image of Eve in the Garden of Eden from the very moment he glimpses Lolita for the first time. The instant he walks into “the breathless garden” (Nabokov, 40) he is struck by the beauty of Lolita. At this point in his mind she is still innocent and seeing as he has “a gross liking for the fruit vert” (Nabokov, 40), he falls head over heels for her. She becomes an obsession for him. He frequently dreams of intimacy between them and stays in the Haze house only to be close to his Lolita. Although he arranges for them to spend as much time in the same vicinity as possible, it is not until later that he takes a nibble of the forbidden fruit.
“God said, 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die" (Genesis 3:3). Although Humbert does not enjoy the “forbidden fruit,” Lolita’s body in this case, to the fullest extent on their first encounter, he does touch make the mistake of touching it. This action occurs in the living room while Humbert and Lolita are alone, and is perhaps the most obvious allusion to Eve in the entirety of the novel. Not only is Lolita “holding in her hallowed hands a beautiful, banal, Eden-red apple”, but she “grasped it and bit into it” (Nabokov, 58). This is a very obvious allusion to Eve, who first ate of the forbidden apple. He also calls Lolita “apple-sweet” in the same passage, intimating that he has had just a taste of the sweet juice. It is after this that, while moving her body to a song, Humbert brings himself to climax, and therefore has nibbled the forbidden fruit of Eve and begun the infamous fall.
Humbert finds himself in a similar situation in the Enchanted Hunters Hotel, where he initially plans on putting Lolita in a deep sleep before taking advantage of her, but in the end doesn’t. However, rather than claiming responsibility for the situation he places the blame on Lolita. He says to the reader, “I am going to tell you something very strange: it was she who seduced me” (Nabokov, 132). This evokes the image of Adam placing the blame on Eve or eating the forbidden fruit, for like Lolita, she seduced him. In this point in the Bible Adam said to God, "The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate" (Genisis 3:12). Like Adam does with Eve, Humbert characterizes Lolita as a temptress who seduces him into the act of intercourse. It also intimates that he would not have done it, but he could not muster the power to resist the temptation put before him by his lover. For the first time takes a full bite of the forbidden fruit, and he and Lolita’s fates are sealed.
Upon reflecting on that night, Humbert says this, “I should have known (by the signs made to me by something in Lolita—the real child Lolita or the angel behind her back) that nothing but pain and horror would result from the expected rapture” (Nabokov, 125). The fall has occurred, and things slowly go downhill for Humbert. His obsession continues, but the two begin to fight, and although he continues to submit power over her, she openly objects. As Eve began to think for herself and consider her desires as well, so does Lolita, ultimately causing Humbert to become dejected. He realizes that “there was in her garden […] regions which happened to be forbidden to me” (Nabokov, 84). He also notes that they are living in a “world of total evil.” The world, his wondrous “nymphetland” has lost much of its allure, and Humbert is left dreaming of the past.
“Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-lee-ta” (Nabokov, 9). Although Eve is not technically Adam’s sin, it was her that brought it on him. Lolita not only causes Humbert, in a way, to sin, she is in fact his sin. This is one aspect of his story that differs from Genesis. By the end I think that he realizes, perhaps, that Lolita was not so much like the temptress Eve that he evokes through much of the story, but the innocent and curious Eve. She was a young female who wanted to experience knew things and gain knowledge of the world. She was lead to do this in a unorthodox way, by a troubled man. If Lolita is Eve, then Humbert is the snake that tempted her in the first place, and I think he begins to realize this.
Humber Humbert evokes the image of Eve in the Garden of Eden from the very moment he glimpses Lolita for the first time. The instant he walks into “the breathless garden” (Nabokov, 40) he is struck by the beauty of Lolita. At this point in his mind she is still innocent and seeing as he has “a gross liking for the fruit vert” (Nabokov, 40), he falls head over heels for her. She becomes an obsession for him. He frequently dreams of intimacy between them and stays in the Haze house only to be close to his Lolita. Although he arranges for them to spend as much time in the same vicinity as possible, it is not until later that he takes a nibble of the forbidden fruit.
“God said, 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die" (Genesis 3:3). Although Humbert does not enjoy the “forbidden fruit,” Lolita’s body in this case, to the fullest extent on their first encounter, he does touch make the mistake of touching it. This action occurs in the living room while Humbert and Lolita are alone, and is perhaps the most obvious allusion to Eve in the entirety of the novel. Not only is Lolita “holding in her hallowed hands a beautiful, banal, Eden-red apple”, but she “grasped it and bit into it” (Nabokov, 58). This is a very obvious allusion to Eve, who first ate of the forbidden apple. He also calls Lolita “apple-sweet” in the same passage, intimating that he has had just a taste of the sweet juice. It is after this that, while moving her body to a song, Humbert brings himself to climax, and therefore has nibbled the forbidden fruit of Eve and begun the infamous fall.
Humbert finds himself in a similar situation in the Enchanted Hunters Hotel, where he initially plans on putting Lolita in a deep sleep before taking advantage of her, but in the end doesn’t. However, rather than claiming responsibility for the situation he places the blame on Lolita. He says to the reader, “I am going to tell you something very strange: it was she who seduced me” (Nabokov, 132). This evokes the image of Adam placing the blame on Eve or eating the forbidden fruit, for like Lolita, she seduced him. In this point in the Bible Adam said to God, "The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate" (Genisis 3:12). Like Adam does with Eve, Humbert characterizes Lolita as a temptress who seduces him into the act of intercourse. It also intimates that he would not have done it, but he could not muster the power to resist the temptation put before him by his lover. For the first time takes a full bite of the forbidden fruit, and he and Lolita’s fates are sealed.
Upon reflecting on that night, Humbert says this, “I should have known (by the signs made to me by something in Lolita—the real child Lolita or the angel behind her back) that nothing but pain and horror would result from the expected rapture” (Nabokov, 125). The fall has occurred, and things slowly go downhill for Humbert. His obsession continues, but the two begin to fight, and although he continues to submit power over her, she openly objects. As Eve began to think for herself and consider her desires as well, so does Lolita, ultimately causing Humbert to become dejected. He realizes that “there was in her garden […] regions which happened to be forbidden to me” (Nabokov, 84). He also notes that they are living in a “world of total evil.” The world, his wondrous “nymphetland” has lost much of its allure, and Humbert is left dreaming of the past.
“Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-lee-ta” (Nabokov, 9). Although Eve is not technically Adam’s sin, it was her that brought it on him. Lolita not only causes Humbert, in a way, to sin, she is in fact his sin. This is one aspect of his story that differs from Genesis. By the end I think that he realizes, perhaps, that Lolita was not so much like the temptress Eve that he evokes through much of the story, but the innocent and curious Eve. She was a young female who wanted to experience knew things and gain knowledge of the world. She was lead to do this in a unorthodox way, by a troubled man. If Lolita is Eve, then Humbert is the snake that tempted her in the first place, and I think he begins to realize this.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
"On First Looking into Chapman's Homer"
On page 36 in Pale Fire, Shade writes about an article in Aunt Maude's room that reads, "Red Sox Beat Yanks 5-4 On Chapman's Homer." In class today Dr. Sexon informed us that this is not only a reference to a baseball game, but a poem by John Keats as well. Below is a copy of John Keat's poem "On First Looking into Chapman's Homer."
John Keats. 1795–1821
MUCH have I travell'd in the realms of gold,
And many goodly states and kingdoms seen;
Round many western islands have I been
Which bards in fealty to Apollo hold.
Oft of one wide expanse had I been told
That deep-brow'd Homer ruled as his demesne:
Yet did I never breathe its pure serene
Till I heard Chapman speak out loud and bold:
Then felt I like some watcher of the skies
When a new planet swims into his ken;
Or like stout Cortez, when with eagle eyes
He stared at the Pacific—and all his men
Look'd at each other with a wild surmise—
Silent, upon a peak in Darien.
John Keats. 1795–1821
MUCH have I travell'd in the realms of gold,
And many goodly states and kingdoms seen;
Round many western islands have I been
Which bards in fealty to Apollo hold.
Oft of one wide expanse had I been told
That deep-brow'd Homer ruled as his demesne:
Yet did I never breathe its pure serene
Till I heard Chapman speak out loud and bold:
Then felt I like some watcher of the skies
When a new planet swims into his ken;
Or like stout Cortez, when with eagle eyes
He stared at the Pacific—and all his men
Look'd at each other with a wild surmise—
Silent, upon a peak in Darien.
Waxwing
This is a picture of a waxwing, the bird mentioned on pg.33 and pg.37 in Nabokov's Pale Fire.
Kinbote's Irksome Qualities
1. His narcissistic nature. Kinbote is quite possibly one of the most narcissistic literary characters to ever be written. He takes Shade's beautiful poem, and makes it all about himself. I HATE people like that.
2. His habit of spying on John Shade. He is CREEPY!!! Not only does Kinbote spy on him with binoculars in order to track his and Sybil's every move, he invades their privacy in other ways as well.
3. The fact that he stole Shades poem at the end rather than try to care for his "good" friend. He claims to love Shade, yet when he is shot, Kinbote is more concerned about the manuscript than his friend. The fact that he thinks he is qualified to write the last line is annoying as well.
4. His psychotic belief that he is in fact a king of a "distant northern land" named Zembla and is being pursued by the Gradus. He is basically crazy, yet attempts to make it seem like he is a totally credible narrator and it is everyone else that is mistaken.
5. His extreme dislike for and endless amount of things. He doesn't like the pictures of Judge Goldsworth's daughters, so he throws them in the closet. He dislikes Sybil Shade as well as the cat that lives in Goldsworth's house. Other than Shade, he really likes very few people. It seems like he is always complaining about people and his surroundings.
6. His laziness. Kinbote spends so much time telling his story, yet there are numerous instances in which he blames other people for not knowing Shade's story. Although his story is a construct of his imagination, he goes into detail about things that happened when he wasn't present. If he really cared about giving an accurate commentary as he claims, he would have taken the necessary time to come up with the missing information.
2. His habit of spying on John Shade. He is CREEPY!!! Not only does Kinbote spy on him with binoculars in order to track his and Sybil's every move, he invades their privacy in other ways as well.
3. The fact that he stole Shades poem at the end rather than try to care for his "good" friend. He claims to love Shade, yet when he is shot, Kinbote is more concerned about the manuscript than his friend. The fact that he thinks he is qualified to write the last line is annoying as well.
4. His psychotic belief that he is in fact a king of a "distant northern land" named Zembla and is being pursued by the Gradus. He is basically crazy, yet attempts to make it seem like he is a totally credible narrator and it is everyone else that is mistaken.
5. His extreme dislike for and endless amount of things. He doesn't like the pictures of Judge Goldsworth's daughters, so he throws them in the closet. He dislikes Sybil Shade as well as the cat that lives in Goldsworth's house. Other than Shade, he really likes very few people. It seems like he is always complaining about people and his surroundings.
6. His laziness. Kinbote spends so much time telling his story, yet there are numerous instances in which he blames other people for not knowing Shade's story. Although his story is a construct of his imagination, he goes into detail about things that happened when he wasn't present. If he really cared about giving an accurate commentary as he claims, he would have taken the necessary time to come up with the missing information.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Test 1 Study Guide
In the past I have found that making study guides is a helpful way for me to study....so...here it goes.
1. What was the name of the only hotel that HH and Lolita stayed in part 1?
The Enchanted Hunters
2. What is the significance of the number 342?
a) The address of the Haze home
b) 342 hotels on the road trip
c) Their room number at the Enchanted Hunters
3. Nabokov talks about the instances that logicians loath and poets love. (pg.342)
4."You can always count on a murderer for a fancy prose style. (pg. 9)
5. Memorize the last line of the book Lolita.
"And this is the only immortality you and I may share, my Lolita."
6. What does Nabokov think he was really born as?
A landscape painter (pg. 342)
7. Who can recognise a nymphet?
An artist and a madman
8. What was Nabokov plagued by?
Synethesia (when your senses are confused. Nabokov heard colors)
9. What mustached man does Quilty resemble?
a) Adolf Hitler
b) Charlie Chaplin
c) Uncle Trap
10. Humbert is to Quilty as the Reader is to Nabokov.
11. What does Nabokov think about sleep?
He finds it unspeakably repulsive because you are parting with consciousness.
12. What is the formal name from which Lolita is derived?
Dolores (sorrows)
13. Mater Dolorosa: mother of sorrows
14. "Life imitates art more than art imitates life."
15. What are the names of Jean Farlow's dogs?
Cavall (King Arthur's hunting dog) and Melampus (one of Actaeon's dogs)
16. How is the story of Diana and Actaeon significant to Speak, Memory?
When Nabokov was young he came upon a pool with a number of young, and naked, girl(nymphets), similar to the scene in which Actaeon came upon Diana
17. What are the four things that all good readers should have?
1. memory
2. imagination
3. artistic sense
4. a dictionary
18. Three things that every author should be.
1. a story teller
2. a teacher (least important)
3. an enchanter (most important)
19. What color is Quilty's dog's ball?
red
20. Describe HH forearms in two words.
Hair and Masculine
21. What word comes to HH's mind when he finds out who took Lolita?
"Waterproof"
22. Name one of the plays that Clare Quilty wrote.
"The Little Nymph," "Fatherly Love," "The Strange Mushroom" and "The Lady that Loved Lightening"
23. Who drove the car that killed Charlotte Haze?
Frederick Beale Jr.
24. What are the two words used to describe how HH's mother died?
Picnic, Lightening
25. What is the difference between parody and satire?
Parody is a game, Satire is a lesson
26. In Speak, Memory, what did Nabokov's mother like to collect from the woods?
Mushrooms
27. What is the order of Lolita's favorite kind of movies? (pg. 170)
1. musicals
2. underworlders
3. westerners
28. Who is "Jutting Jaw"? Dick Tracy
29. "Reality" (according to Nabokov the word must have quotes around it)
30. Lolita, Don Quixote, and The French Lieutenant's Women are all examples of what?
Metafiction
31. What kind of car did Masonovich, the man who stole HH first wife, drive?
a taxi
32. Which passages are the ones that Nabokov says he is most proud of?
1. The Ramsdale Class list
2. The Creation of the character Taxivich
3. The Kasbeam Barber
4. Lolita playing tennis
33. What did Lolita seem to represent while playing tennis?
The very geometry of reality
34. What could Darwin not explain with respect to butterflies? (pg. 95)
Their imitative behavior (it is solely aesthetic)
35. What are HH's age regulations for a nymphet?
9-14 years old
36. What regions are nymphets not found in?
The polar regions
* Read blogs
1. What was the name of the only hotel that HH and Lolita stayed in part 1?
The Enchanted Hunters
2. What is the significance of the number 342?
a) The address of the Haze home
b) 342 hotels on the road trip
c) Their room number at the Enchanted Hunters
3. Nabokov talks about the instances that logicians loath and poets love. (pg.342)
4."You can always count on a murderer for a fancy prose style. (pg. 9)
5. Memorize the last line of the book Lolita.
"And this is the only immortality you and I may share, my Lolita."
6. What does Nabokov think he was really born as?
A landscape painter (pg. 342)
7. Who can recognise a nymphet?
An artist and a madman
8. What was Nabokov plagued by?
Synethesia (when your senses are confused. Nabokov heard colors)
9. What mustached man does Quilty resemble?
a) Adolf Hitler
b) Charlie Chaplin
c) Uncle Trap
10. Humbert is to Quilty as the Reader is to Nabokov.
11. What does Nabokov think about sleep?
He finds it unspeakably repulsive because you are parting with consciousness.
12. What is the formal name from which Lolita is derived?
Dolores (sorrows)
13. Mater Dolorosa: mother of sorrows
14. "Life imitates art more than art imitates life."
15. What are the names of Jean Farlow's dogs?
Cavall (King Arthur's hunting dog) and Melampus (one of Actaeon's dogs)
16. How is the story of Diana and Actaeon significant to Speak, Memory?
When Nabokov was young he came upon a pool with a number of young, and naked, girl(nymphets), similar to the scene in which Actaeon came upon Diana
17. What are the four things that all good readers should have?
1. memory
2. imagination
3. artistic sense
4. a dictionary
18. Three things that every author should be.
1. a story teller
2. a teacher (least important)
3. an enchanter (most important)
19. What color is Quilty's dog's ball?
red
20. Describe HH forearms in two words.
Hair and Masculine
21. What word comes to HH's mind when he finds out who took Lolita?
"Waterproof"
22. Name one of the plays that Clare Quilty wrote.
"The Little Nymph," "Fatherly Love," "The Strange Mushroom" and "The Lady that Loved Lightening"
23. Who drove the car that killed Charlotte Haze?
Frederick Beale Jr.
24. What are the two words used to describe how HH's mother died?
Picnic, Lightening
25. What is the difference between parody and satire?
Parody is a game, Satire is a lesson
26. In Speak, Memory, what did Nabokov's mother like to collect from the woods?
Mushrooms
27. What is the order of Lolita's favorite kind of movies? (pg. 170)
1. musicals
2. underworlders
3. westerners
28. Who is "Jutting Jaw"? Dick Tracy
29. "Reality" (according to Nabokov the word must have quotes around it)
30. Lolita, Don Quixote, and The French Lieutenant's Women are all examples of what?
Metafiction
31. What kind of car did Masonovich, the man who stole HH first wife, drive?
a taxi
32. Which passages are the ones that Nabokov says he is most proud of?
1. The Ramsdale Class list
2. The Creation of the character Taxivich
3. The Kasbeam Barber
4. Lolita playing tennis
33. What did Lolita seem to represent while playing tennis?
The very geometry of reality
34. What could Darwin not explain with respect to butterflies? (pg. 95)
Their imitative behavior (it is solely aesthetic)
35. What are HH's age regulations for a nymphet?
9-14 years old
36. What regions are nymphets not found in?
The polar regions
* Read blogs
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