Opinions of Lolita

My previous posts have focused on characterization or the Nabokov's style or themes he presents in the novel, but for this final post, I want to focus on how the book has affected me, and how it could be used to help improve other English student's skills in analyzing texts.

The biggest question regarding Lolita is if its subject  is too controversial to be taught or read by high school students. English professors and critics have argued over this novel for years, their opinions varying pretty significantly. Some believe that the book should be banned from classrooms because of its justification or portrayal of pedophilia, while others argued that the author intended to offer criticisms about society by writing the topic of the novel as he did, and that although the subject is unpleasant the moral the story offers is beneficial. I would have to agree with this, I believe that the author offers not only valuable statements about the unfavorable aspects of our society, but also presents elements of literature that are elegant and intuitive, such as his use of irony and symbolism. However, I do believe the topic is a little intense and mature for freshman or sophomore classes to be reading and discussing, but it would present and interesting and insightful view for upperclassmen and could be beneficial in their progression towards being successful on the AP exam.

I discussed what I think the meaning of the work as a whole was in my last post and I believe that the theme of the novel, and the devices the author used to express these ideas are sufficient enough to credit the book as being worthwhile to read in an English classroom, as the moral of the story is still relevant to our society today. I also believe the subject of rape and sexual abuse, which was presented in the novel, needs to be discussed and learned more about in school as it is also a very relevant issue in society. I believe by reading the book and discussing the effect it has on the readers in class would be a useful activity to help prepare students to use it as a novel on one of the AP prompts. It would also be helpful to review the stylistic and literary devices presented in the novel as a class. This would help students getting used to analyzing texts and being able to understand multiple points of view and identify motifs and themes in passages which is an important skill on the AP exam.  

I would recommend this book to people who are looking for a challenge of both literary and ethical circumstance. Vladimir Nabokov included many literary devices into this novel that often are not noticed when looking through it the first time. This is one reason why I believe the book should be included in the curriculum of an AP English class. It is important that students be able to identify the literary devices used in pieces as that is one of the key things students have to do on the AP exam. I feel this book has helped me learn how to identify and understand the devices being used as the character, Humbert, in the novel often alluded to the previous comparisons and analogies he had made. The novel forces the reader attempt to understand the references, allusions, symbolism, and irony used throughout the novel but also forces them to ask why they were used and what effect they have on what the author, or the main character, Humbert, is trying to prove. This book also helps the readers be able to understand the effect of narrative point of view and how it is used. The novel is written in first person objective where we see the opinions and revelations of only one character observing what is going on around us, this is significant in this novel as it helps to develop the theme as I talked about in recent posts. Being able to identify the significance of literary devices and the style and diction of the author or also very important skills that we work on in our AP English class and that we will be tested on in the future. These are also just good skills for readers to have as they enhance the reading experience and allow the reader to understand more about what is going on in the book and feel more connected to the topics it introduces.

Reading this book was a good experience for me and helped me develop my skills in analysis and forces me to notice details of the writing and devices used that I hadn't noticed in books before. For that reason I also believe it would be a good option as a suggested book for other AP English students looking to expand their repertoire and maybe improve their interpretive skills as well. Reading from the perspective of the antagonist forced me to perceive a point of view I did not morally agree with or understand, but also allowed me to focus on the literary devices and style used, instead of shifting point of view, it also -as I have stated before- helped to develop the major theme in the novel. Overall I believe, this book would help the readers to gain skills in analyzing literature and determining the significance of specific literary devices and stylistic features which would be helpful for doing well on the AP exams.

Section 4: Analysis of Themes

One of the prevailing themes presented in the novel was related to the contrast between bygone ideas and contemporary ideas and how some of the newer ideas reflected a more self-interested society influenced by forces of manipulation by comumerism. Humbert contrasts Europe's old world setting and beauty through description in the beginning of the novel, and then describes its social niceties saying initially he was just a typical "polite European" showing that he believed that Europeans were typically graceous which he contrasts with how he viewed Americans, often describing them as "whores" (37). He and also stated that the Arcadian American wild didn't offer the ability to " indulge in the most ancient of all crimes and pastimes" but instead "innocent surrender" (168) showing that he felt the intrinsic qualities- like freedom in his opinion to love who you want- present in other countries were not apparent in America.

Throughout the two years traveling around the U.S with Lolita, Humbert recounts the countless "Sunset Motels, U-Beam Cottages, Hillcrest Courts, Pine View Courts, Mountain View Courts, Skyline Courts, Park Plaza Courts, Green Acres, Mac’s Courts" that he saw with contemptuous  disdain (148). The contrast in setting and social structure also very clearly relates to the two societies described in Brave New World  by Aldous Huxley. A rather negative description of the unsatisfactory, undeveloped Reservation is given when compared to the advancements and technology of the new society. However, this novel also presents the positives and negatives of both locations and lets the reader decide which one they view as more desirable. We only get one point of view from Lolita: the negative view of America from Humbert's perspective. This shows that while the two books are similar in subject, Nabokov writing style does not allow the reader any differing viewpoints or the ability to choose their own viewpoint on the setting, as Humbert gives only a cynical description of America compared to his luxurious life in Europe.

Humbert also contrasts contemporary and traditional ideas through presenting the contrasting personalities and interests of Lolita and Humbert, Lolita being characterized as a "typical" American teenager, showing that while he detests aspects about her it really has to do with society and the traditional customs and social practices that were common at the time that he detested. In the story Humbert is characterized as being sophisticated, having a highly prestigious education, and growing up in upper class european background with a love of writing and reading, and often refers to himself as "dark-and-handsome" which shows that he is very confident in himself (187). He characterizes Lolita however often as immature and dependent on others, as I have stated in previous posts. Humbert also says that Lolita was "the little deadly demon among the wholesome children" and as having some "elusive, shifty, soul-shattering, insidious charm" that separates her from the other girls who he views as being  "dependent on the practical world of synchronous phenomena" and "provisionally plain and "ordinary" (19). This not only shows Humbert's view of Lolita as being something special among a world of children who are focused on unimportant "synchronous phenomena", but also that he thinks that they are all similar as demonstrated when he explains that all other girls are just "ordinary" compared to her. However Humbert also discusses how she is the epitome of a new generation of thinking that's interests and objectives he dislikes. Humbert discusses his contempt with Lolita's interests: " Sweet hot jazz, square dancing, gooey fudge sundaes, musicals, movie magazines and so forth—these were the obvious items in her list of beloved things" and because of them he "found her to be a disgustingly conventional little girl" (150). This again demonstrates his derision towards American cultural ideas and customs. He also describes Lolita's naivety towards advertisements and consumerism when he states that "If some café sign proclaimed Icecold Drinks, she was automatically stirred, although all drinks everywhere were ice-cold. She it was to whom ads were dedicated: the ideal consumer, the subject and object of every foul poster" and that she believed "with a kind of celestial trust, any advertisement or advice that appeared" in popular media forms such as her magazines and in movies (150). Humbert then goes on to describe all of Lolita's naiveness like buying something just because it sounded interesting or nice or someone else said you needed it.

This idea was a large part of the judgement of American culture by Humbert, he viewed Americans as being materialistic and having a strange desire for superfluous items. Humbert is quick to judge and does not take time to get to know people, especially Lolita because his is overwhelmed with desire when he is around her.  I believe that the author is trying to demonstrate a point about American culture through the description of these characters, and maybe explain to us in a way that we can understand, how our interests and consumer nature might be reprehensible. These ideas of consumerism reflect on our current society as we see the ever pressing issue of advertisement surrounding us in our daily lives and pursuits, on our social media, in magazines and articles we read, on signs everywhere we go, and on the television. Readers now days can understand most of the references that Nabokov makes about the media influencing individuals interests and views of themselves and others, because the issue with photoshop and idealistic body types in models affecting young girls eating behaviors and confidence is a controversial subject being discussed today. This along with the issue of consumerism which is an obvious issue with Americans in the "land of plenty", is discussed in depth in Lolita. Nabokov might be demonstrating the negative result of such practices through adressing the result of Lolita's life where she was forced to please other men to acquire things she desired. This I believe shows another one of the themes that Nabokov was trying to prove by writing the book: that material items don't lead to happiness and only when someone frees themselves of the desire for possessions taking control of certain aspects of their lives, can they truly be happy. Unfortunately Lolita never escapes this fate in this novel because she accepts bribes from Humbert which he offers to her in return for her affection and even when she escapes Humbert she continues to do the same with other people. I also believe Nabokov may have written this in because believes and understands that it is not easy to break the chain of consumerism, but that if it is not broken it could be detrimental to the moral of American teenagers, and people in general.

Section 3: Analysis of Literary Style

Firstly I am going to apologize for this being a rather long post, but there was a lot to analyze in this section. I hope this is both informative and interesting.

        Like many other authors Nabokov uses colors to describe emotions or depict feelings or incite sentiments in the reader. The three main colors used in this section are black, blue, and white. White typically represents innocence and is often used to describe things Lolita is wearing or Lolita herself. Humbert describes the attire she wears: "the white wide little-boy shorts", " the white breast-kerchief", and "Her cap had a white peak" (232). He then goes on to describe how the tennis ball "becomes whiter" and more resilient when it is in her presence. This I believe parallels to the fact that Humbert views Lolita as becoming more innocent and resilient when she plays tennis and it is something that she can do that makes her more like a normal person or having the "very geometry of basic reality" and less just like an object of his (233) but also he feels something he can be proud of. The color white also represents woe as Humbert describes the white stones he sees on the road to finding Lolita after she has run away, or course looking back on it and asking "why she did not go away forever" but saying that he whites stones "seemed the very initial of woe" not his woe for leaving her but his recognition that the poor child had the opportunity to run away from him but didn't take it. He asked himself later if it was because of the "quality of her new summer clothes" he had bought her, or just her impish and rebellious nature.

While he perceives Lolita as innocent and naive he often describes himself as "dark" and in one part calls him and Lolita a "black sock and sloppy white sock" (170) and calls himself "a blackmailer" (226). He again contrasts another color with black, blue. He uses black to describe things that he views as malign such as himself and the detective who he notices to be following and investigating him and he is suspicious of. Blue is used to describe Humbert's emotions of views of things. An example that shows the blue as it describes beauty and bliss in contrast to the "dark reality" is when he says that he knew when he was with Lolita what he was doing was "atrocious, unbelievable, unbearable", and that it was a "dot of blackness in the blue of my bliss" (171). This quote shows Humbert's conflicting emotions and hints he might feel guilty about having the aberrant relationship with her and after realization it knocked his "poor heart out of its groove" (171). Blue is also used often to describe the scenery and demonstrates that as he is writing about what happened in the past and recounting all of the things he sees along the way as blue. When describing the scenery, looking back on things he describes everything in color, he especially focuses on the description of things that are blue like " bluish beauties" to describe the mountains, "blue flowers", the "hazy blue view", and then describes the lake as "Blue, blue Crater Lake" (188, 160). I believe this is symbolic to the fact that he regrets what he has done or indicates the underlying feeling that he should have enjoyed things when he could and he writes about the little details he thinks he remembers to try and preserve their memory.

Besides the clever remarks made by Humbert like " Lo and Behold", Nabokov frequently uses irony throughout this section (163). The use of irony implies that he offers criticisms of the world, which introduces the underlying theme in the novel about how society influences some of the negativity described in the novel and the oppression of certain groups.The Headmaster of an all girls school called Beardsley, the name also being ironic in itself, makes many ironic quotes that Humbert reflects on. One of the quotes "We live not only in a world of thoughts, but also in a world of things. Words without experience are meaningless" (180) describes the materialistic nature of humans.

Another quote that introduces problems in society is when the school outlines their interests and states that "we are more interested in communication than in composition. That is, with due respect to Shakespeare and others, we want our girls to communicate freely with the live world around them rather than plunge into musty old books (179), and that that the school aims at "preparing students for mutually satisfactory mating". It is ironic that it says they are not trying to offend Shakespeare but later refers to his work and other great authors work as "musty old books". This quote introduces and discusses the flaws in social standards for women, and how at the time women were being taught that their duty was not to learn and be intelligent but to be able to look pretty and serve the needs of men. A newspaper from the school addressed to the parents also states that fathers should stop being "old ogres" and "to be happy in the admiration and company of boys she likes" and "have wholesome fun together" (187). Humbert disgusted by hearing the school promoting relationships in young children recounts to himself that high school boys are "self-sufficient rapists" which is ironic because he is one himself (188).

Humbert interrupts the vivid description he gives of the stunningly beautiful mountainous area him and Lolita are traveling through to describe one of the town they stopped in. He states ""A zoo in Indiana where a large troop of monkeys lived on concrete replica of Christopher Columbus' flagship. Billions of dead, of half dead, fish-smelling Mayflies in every window of every eating place all among a dreary sandy shore. Fat gulls on big stones as seen from the ferry City of Cheboygan, whose ventilator pipe passed under the city sewer. Lincoln's home, largely spurious, with parlor books and period furniture that most visitors reverently accepted as personal belongings" (160). This shift in tone and topic presents the idea that this town offers the reality of the world: that people do not care about the past or their heritage, as referenced by the ideas that people built zoos for profit,on top   of historical monuments. It also alludes to the fact that humans are dirty and disgusting as we live among billions of foul smelling creatures and the air we breathe is polluted by waste.This I believe is symbolic to the true nature of people, through we may seem like we are full of good intentions and prospects of creating a better future, we forget about our mistakes and confuse our past, as presented by the idea of the confusion about the use of President's Lincoln's belongings- likely alluding to his life's work and involvement in the Civil War. This shows again that people really only care about themselves and often fail to see their own faults, this is one theme presented in the novel and is supported by what I have mentioned in my previous posts how Humbert neglected to admit his wrongdoings.

Humbert also uses irony purposely to describe his life and Lolita's situation. Humbert refers to himself as a "dark-and-handsome, not un-Celtic, probably high-church, possibly very high-church" man. When he states that he is "high church" he is referring to his faithfulness to God and his priestliness, this of course is ironic because of the immortality of his relationship with Lolita, and it is clear here that he is mocking his own vulgarity. Humbert also in one part of the story refers to Lolita's world or life as "Humberland" which is an allusion or analogy to Alice in Wonderland in which Lolita is Alice and is trying to find her way in a strange world in which she reacts "with rash curiosity, she surveyed it with a shrug of amused distaste; and it seemed to me now that she was ready to turn away from it with something akin to plain repulsion" (168). This shows how Humbert as uncompassionate and inconsiderate as he knows the psychological adversity she is experiencing but wished only to fulfill his own needs and so he continues to keep her as his possession his "slave child"(190), or "his little concubine" (210) .

Besides using language to paint a picture or depict specific characters Nabokov also uses names intelligently. Humbert comes up with nicknames for most of the people he meets for example, he briefly describes the names of two criminals he sees the adds for their capture, "Bryan Bryanski" or Sullen Sullivan" (224). Those names of course are not their actual names but pseudonyms he has given them, however they make them seem more similar to his own name Humbert Humbert, and states "have one of these faces melt into my own" in order to tell his life story (224). This introduces the idea that Humbert might be starting to view himself as a criminal and has realized that he will be held accountable for his actions, yet at this point in the novel he is still not acting on these feelings of guilt and continues in his relationship with Lolita. At one point he also says " Annabel Haze, alias Dolores Lee, alias Loleeta", of course paralleling to his young love, Annabel Lee, who initiated his interest and amusement in young girls, where Lolita was simply a diversion (169). This comparison shows through rearranging their names how Humbert considers them the same person in his mind and sees no issue in having a relationship with her.

Section 2: Analysis of Literary Devices used to Characterize Humbert and Possible Themes

Brief Summary of Plot Detail for this Section:

The story continues of how a middle aged man named Humbert Humbert seduces and convinces a girl of twelve to become physically involved with himself without developing suspicion from her mother or the people around them. In this section of reading Mrs. Haze, now Mrs. Humbert, finds the letters that Humbert has been writing about his plans with Lolita. Distraught and confused she tries to organize herself and gain the support of her friends and relatives by writing letters regarding her adversities and worries about the situation and asking what she should do. While she goes to deliver these letters she is hit by a car and killed. While it is clear that Humbert does feel some remorse when he states that he recognizes his "vile contribution" and that he had "palpated the very flesh of fate", it is also clear that he does not feel guilty for long (105). His focus quickly shifts to trying to devise a plan on how to acquire his beloved Lolita and how to gain her love and admiration in order to take advantage of her. He plans to pick her up from the summer camp that she was attending and to inform her that her mother was very ill and in the hospital and that they were going to go visit her. In actuality he planned to travel with her across the country but had wanted an excuse to get her away from the camp and something that she would believe. Throughout this section Humbert describes his deliberations about how he manipulates Lolita and then tries to enhance his story and convince the reader of his guiltlessness regardless of the immorality of his actions.

Tone, Irony, and Allusions Introduced in this Section That Illustrate Style:

The novel offers one one point of view aside from the forward by the doctor in the beginning, Humbert's, so all accounts of what happens are made by him and characterization of others is from his point of view which makes the reader question the credibility of the information we are reading but since there are no alternative sources the reader must decide whether to believe Humbert or not. Humbert uses many different techniques and stylistic devices to explain other characters and plot developments and again try to make him seem less disreputable by using poetic and lyrical phrases to persuade the reader to think differently of him. The language he uses can be viewed as almost a deceptive veil that masks his true intentions and actions.

The point of view of narration is shifted when Humbert is describing his actions versus his feelings of his actions or his own physical appearance.  Humbert uses first person when he is trying to sound more innocent and describing things from his point of view for example when he says "I am not a criminal psychopath taking indecent liberties on a child...I am a therapist" (152).  He uses it in general when he is describing his actions but very rarely states "I" when he is describing the illicit scenes with him and Lolita. He uses third person when he is describing how other people view him or often when he feels guilty for something and doesn't want to directly state that he is the one doing the actions. An example of this is when he refers to himself as "poor Humbert Humbert" as if he was being subjected to some sort of abuse or deprived of something (142). This is him again trying to play with the readers minds and convince them that he is not as terrible a person as his actions describe.

Throughout the novel thus far Humbert has used a tone to describe his affection for Lolita or view of her that is almost poetic and makes the reader believe that he really does have admiration for her. However, this does still starkly contrast the actual content of his descriptions of the actions he takes on his younger lover which are disturbing and morally controversial. When he is describing the sexually explicit scenes he will also generally use language that sounds more agreeable to try to make what he is doing sound more pleasant than it actually is. He describes the hickey he made on her neck as  the "purplish spot on her neck where a fairytale vampire had feasted" (141). He even tries to convince the reader he was trying to comfort Lolita when he says that at the hotel they were staying at they "had separate rooms, but in the middle of the night she came sobbing into mine, and we made it up very gently. You see she had absolutely nowhere else to go" (144). This not only demonstrates a pathetic attempt at him trying to make it sound as though he was caring for her as he was clearly pleasuring himself, but also reveals his psychotic tendencies as he mentions that she is trapped and really has no one else to go to to confide in, which is precisely how he wanted the situation to be. He also states that he has been not entirely truthful previously in the novel when he says that his lawyer "suggested he give a clear, frank account of the itinerary that followed" and that "I suppose I reached a point where I cannot avoid the chore" showing that he had previously tried to avoid talking about what him and Lolita did and now understands he must be truthful but admits that he wishes he didn't have to be(155). All of these examples help strengthen the argument that he is censoring out the information he believes will damage his visage to the audience and that he is not a reliable narrator.

On top of shifting the point of view of his narration, Humbert also frequently uses imagery and allusions to describe his experiences or feelings. Humbert alludes to characters from the past, for example Edgar Allan Poe's relationship with his thirteen year old wife, Virginia, is mentioned and compared to Humbert's relationship with Lolita. Virginia had died at a young age leaving Poe alone, and no way to expel his emotions besides through writing, this is very similar to the relationship between Humbert and Lolita and how Humbert is expressing his emotions. He quotes “Oh Lolita, you are my girl, as Vee was Poe’s, and Bea Dante’s” (page 107). He also references a relationship between a nine year old Beatrice, and Dante who became a famous poet after the two were married, sometime in the 13th century. However after doing some light research I found that their age difference was not as significant as Humbert's and Lolita's age gap and therefore the circumstances cannot be compared especially when considering that Humbert and Lolita aren't planning on getting married. This demonstrates that he is trying to appeal to the readers morals about his relationship with the much younger Lolita by saying that other people, even famously intelligent individuals have had relationships with children. However, ultimately his arguments are invalid and cease to change the reader's view of him in any significant way.

Uncle Tom is also alluded to briefly in the novel with a reference to a bellhop that stops to help Lolita and Humbert gather their bags and bring them to their room in a motel they decide to stay at. Hubert dicerns him as a "hoary and hunchbacked Negro in a uniform of sorts" and later refers to him as "Uncle Tom" (119). Humbert sees himself superior to this man who he not only calls a offensive title but also believes the man's work is not very honorable considering he is only wearing a "sort of uniform" and works a tedious and treacherous job. Humbert's racial prejudice against another man shows the audience again that he still neglects to see or admit the horrific actions he has taken against Lolita and still views himself as superior to someone simply based on their appearance or job position. I believe that the reference also holds a deeper meaning. "Uncle Tom's Cabin", the story of Uncle Tom a kind and honest man who helps a few slaves escape servitude, including a younger slave girl named Eliza who ran away to Canada to prevent her owners from separating her and her son. The reference to this story in this section of the novel might also be foreshadowing to the possibility of Lolita trying to escape Humbert or it could just be alluding to the fact that Humbert and Lolita are traveling across the country and avoiding discovery of their secret relationship in order to remain together.

These examples of literary devices are used to persuade the readers to see Humbert's point of view and reasons or justifications for what he is doing. This demonstrates the author's attempt to manipulate the readers into believing that he is not as guilty in the situation as he seemed and again shows that his character is biased towards his own arguments and points of view and is unable to admit or own up to all of his mistakes for reasons that may have to do with the fact that he feels immense guilt for the situation, or that he does not want to entirely ruin his pride or deposition.

Section 1: Introduction- Analysis of Characterization and Literary Devices

Introduction (plot detail + setting):  

The novel's foreword is written by a fictional doctor, John Ray. It explains the seriousness of the story that is to follow. The doctor warns the reader about the egregious situation but also confesses that the literary style and wording of the perverted author was ornate and beautiful and he believes that the book will become popular among scholars in the psychiatry field and teach people about the importance of structure and support in childhood development.

The novel takes place from 1947-1952 initially in France and then in the U.S. It introduces to us a boy of 13 in a fervent romance with another girl his age. It describes how that relationship and the death of his young love lead to an unlikely infatuation and eventually a relationship when he got older between himself and a much younger girl that reminded him of his first love.

The novel written from the point of view of the miscreant enables the audience to observe how the main character justifies what he does and how he deals with the constant knowledge that what he is doing is wrong. We discover in this section that he has been put in jail and is writing to inform the readers or the public in general of his story and to try and lament to them about how his situation progressed and was caused by external factors. Throughout this sections we see his apparent guilt for the situation but also his explanation of how it was not his fault and his belief that he didn't do anything entirely appalling. His hypocritical views lead the reader to confusion in analyzing the true disposition of the character, which I expect will be clarified in the next sections of the book.

Characters and Continuation of Plot Developments:

Humbert Humbert- is the narrator of the story and also what could be observed as the protagonist in the story even though the audience would justify his acts and desires as immoral and repulsive. He is a middle aged European intellectual with a perverted obsession for what he calls "nymphets", or girls aged nine to fourteen. He falls in love with young Lolita and seduces her into thinking she loves him in order to get her to do the things he envisions.

Annabel- Humbert's childhood lover who died leaving Humbert alone to relish over the memory of her. The memory of Annabel haunts him until he meets Lolita, who he believes is the reincarnation of Annabel's spirit and mien.

Dolores (Lolita) Haze- a twelve year old, gregarious, young girl who Humbert falls in love with while staying with Mrs. Haze. As the story progresses Lolita finds herself falling in love with the man who seduced her vulnerable self. Besides her promiscuous relationship with Humbert, she is a completely normal girl, preoccupied with pop culture and the normal activities of American school girls of the time.

Charlotte Haze- The mother of Lolita and caretaker of Humbert while he stays with them. She secretly fancies Humbert which prevents her from seeing the obvious truth of her daughters and Humbert's perverse relationship, which she believes to be simply friendly and innocent. Throughout this section she tries to maintain a ostentatious nature in her middle class lifestyle and tries to appear sophisticated to Humbert, which we see does not appeal to Humbert even in the slightest. We also see that her relationship with her daughter is distant and uninvolved.

Valeria- Humbert's first wife who he marries as an attempt to rid himself of his desire for young girls and hopes will suppress his longing. However, he does not develop any great interest in her and sees her as simply something that he can have when he wants. Eventually Valeria leaves Humbert for another man and Humbert moves to the U.S to find a new job and get his mind off of things. However underlying this all he ventures into America in search of prettier young girls he can observe.

Important Literary Devices:

Although the topic of the novel is rather sordid, the writing style the author uses is rather sophisticated. The expressive style and wording of what the character is writing helps develop a better image of him, and his intelligence and cunningness makes his character almost amiable to the reader. Imagery is used frequently to show the detail of the surroundings and even the inner thoughts of the main character's view of people or things.

Another device the author used in this novel was the point of view. As the main character tells his story he shifts from saying "I" to he or referring to himself as Humbert Humbert as if he were separate from the perverted person whose life he is describing. In one specific part of the novel he describes himself as if he were a spider and calls himself "Humbert the Wounded Spider" and describes a scene where it seems as if he has woven a web connected to each person in the house so that he can envision where and what they are doing at all times (51). This I believe is symbolic for the relationships he has developed amongst each of the people in the house. He concludes this scene by adding a realization that what he had thought to have been the the web that he had thought he had created between him and the others in the house was only imaginary, and adds that he is the victim in the situation being "wounded" and lonely. This creates a sense of ambiguity and makes the reader feel like Humbert does not feel any guilt for what he did. He also shifts his view on how he feels about his past actions which shows he might be emotionally conflicted himself. For example he says that his actions are "degrading and dangerous desires"(26). He later goes on to say that there was "absolutely no harm done" in his relationship with Lolita (61). He also said that he "intended to protect the purity of her", however this contradicts any sensical solution a personal can make because while he did not actually rape her thus far, he has certainly damaged her mental state and composure permanently and probably affected her impression of her childhood that will stay with her for the rest of her life. He describes his own life and tragedy that led him into personal anguish and that he believed caused his strange and unconventional fascination and uses this as another justification to why he did the things he did. He also makes frequent allusions to characters in the Bible, religious or historical figures, or even people of other cultures who he believes have committed crimes similar to his own, however he does not realize that these people lived in a time period or culture where marriages between a man and a much younger woman were considered more acceptable, and should not be related to his situation where it is considered inappropriate and deemed immoral. This proves that while he feels responsible he also feels that he is not the monster people are making him out to be and had reasons or events that led him to doing what he did.

Possible Themes and Symbolism:

Alienation leads to rebellious characters- Lolita was ignored by her mother which made her want to act out against her mother's demands and against the moral standards of society. Humbert lost the love of his life and was forced to continue life alone, confused, and without social guidance. These to characters both grew up not knowing rights from wrongs or the consequences of their actions which made them do questionable and unethical things.

Symbolism of Butterflies and Fairies- Humbert describes girls as "pale", "fragile", "silky", or in a fairy-like manner. He describes them like butterflies or fairies, as things that he views as beautiful but delicate. He describes himself almost like a predator who preys upon these alluring creatures and destroys the beautiful qualities or memories they had and replaces them with vulgar and disconsolate images.

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