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.