8. Katydid- Any of several large, usuaally green, American long-horned greasshopper, the males of which produce a characteristic song.
I got the swine flu and broke my toe, that's why I haven't been in class lately.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Apperently Playboy is publishing an excerpt of The Original of Laura that we have mentioned a few times in class. From my reading I found that Playboy named Nabokov one of the most important people in sex.(www.nowpublic.com)
Playboy.com also has a very interesting interview with Nabokov from 1964 talking about Lolita and a variety of other topics. I tried to copy and paste it on to here, but it didn't work. The interview is interesting because it gives more insight into the mind and perspective of Nabokov.
In the interview he was asked if he ever regretted writing Lolita. His answer was quite compelling. "She was like the composition ofe a beautiful puzzle-its composition and its solution at the same time, since one is a mirror view of the other, depending on the way you look. Of course she completely eclipsed my other works-at least those i wrote in English: The Real Life of Sebastian Knight, Bend Sinister, my short stories, my book of recollections; but I cannnot grudge her this. This is a queer, tender charm about the mythical nymphet." In this answer, I see his confidence in his choice to write such a book, his interest in duality(as we have discussed in class), and his understanding of the impact and power of the topic of this book on a variety of readers. The interview really helps give some insight on what he is about. I thought it was interesting that considering the rarity of Nabokov giving interviews that he did one with Playboy of all magazines. Bit of irony considering the topic of Lolita
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Some word's I never knew before this book
1.
Waxwing-It's genus name is Bombycilla. (My bird knowledge is very limited) The common name waxwing is because of the tips to some of the wing feathers and in the Bohemian and Cedar Waxwings, these tips look like sealing wax, and that's where they get their common name. (http://www.wikipedia.com/)
2. Torquated- Having or wearing a torque, or neck chain.(www.dictionary.com)
3. Stillicide- A continual falling or succession of drops; rain water falling from the eaves.(www.dictionary.com)
4. Solarium- A glass-enclosed room, porch, or the like, exposed to the sun's rays, as at a seaside hotel or for convalescents in a hospital.
5. Iridule- It is single i.e. not a double rainbow, like the "Twinned Iris" of the previous line, fairly rarely seen and most attractive.(www.wordie.org) It was quoted from Nabokov's wife as the definition.
6. Lemniscate- A plane curvegenerated by the locus of the pointat which a variable tangent to a rectangular hyperbola insect a perpendicular from the center to the tangent.(www.dictionary.com)
7. Seraph- One of the celestial beings hovering above God's throne in Isaiah's vision.
Waxwing-It's genus name is Bombycilla. (My bird knowledge is very limited) The common name waxwing is because of the tips to some of the wing feathers and in the Bohemian and Cedar Waxwings, these tips look like sealing wax, and that's where they get their common name. (http://www.wikipedia.com/)2. Torquated- Having or wearing a torque, or neck chain.(www.dictionary.com)
3. Stillicide- A continual falling or succession of drops; rain water falling from the eaves.(www.dictionary.com)
4. Solarium- A glass-enclosed room, porch, or the like, exposed to the sun's rays, as at a seaside hotel or for convalescents in a hospital.
5. Iridule- It is single i.e. not a double rainbow, like the "Twinned Iris" of the previous line, fairly rarely seen and most attractive.(www.wordie.org) It was quoted from Nabokov's wife as the definition.
6. Lemniscate- A plane curvegenerated by the locus of the pointat which a variable tangent to a rectangular hyperbola insect a perpendicular from the center to the tangent.(www.dictionary.com)
7. Seraph- One of the celestial beings hovering above God's throne in Isaiah's vision.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Pale, Fire WOW
So i finished Pale, Fire. This has been one of the strangest, unique, interesting as well as difficult books I've ever had the opportunity to read. I found myself reading some parts as fast as I could. Not to get through it, but I think it was a mix of wanting to know what was going to happen next as well as feeling the passion of the character before i even realized it. I have a new found respect for Nabokov and his ability to create some pretty weird people. I am also learning more about the fact that he puts continual themes in his stories. I have noticed the themes of butterfly, a dislike of Freud, "reality" in several contexts, and the importance of memory. The one i literally grinned at was the Lolita reference. As we all know, Nabokov wrote a smaller version of Lolita before the novel, but I like the hint in Pale, Fire to the novel that would follow. I admit, I don't always notice the references to previous historical literature, but I'm working on it. I was very blow away by this book and was very thankful i understood most of it.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Tawnia Wilson (Eastman)
LIT 431
10-12-09
The two words I am going to write about are Enchanted Hunters, which is the first
hotel Humbert and Lolita ever stayed in. I find this to be both an ironic and disturbing
because Humbert seems to see himself in this role in his pursuit of his desires. In reality,
there was nothing enchanted about Humbert”s hunt for the perfect moment to take Lolita
as his forever. He tried to make it seem as if his relationship with Lolita was enchanted
but he hunted her like prey through manipulation, bribery, drugs, and lies. He wanted her
and could not take the chance that she wouldn’t feel the same in return. In an ironic twist,
not until it was too late did he realize he was the hunter becoming the hunted by Quilty.
They both did everything they could to get Lolita and Quilty proved to be the better
hunter in the end by taking her out from under Humbert.
The words used to introduce the hotel to the story, as well as the circumstances
Humbert and Lolita find themselves in when coming to it have a very negative feeling,
which hunting can correlate with, as well as words related to enchantment. These serve as
pre-cursors of bad things to come. “We did not see any traffic light-in fact, The Park was
as black as the sins it concealed-but soon after falling under the smooth spell of a nicely
graded skill.”(117) The word sin is an excellent hint of Humbert’s intent and possibly
what subconsciously he as well as the readers might think of the act being fulfilled. The
word spell shows what he wants to cover up the reality of his choices. He wants to
enchant us with a spell in hopes to justify that what he is doing is not that bad.
Further down the page, more negative and mystical words come up. “A row of parked
cars, like pigs at a trough, seemed at first sight to forbid access: but then by magic, a
formidable convertible… came into motion.”(117) The words “pigs at a trough”
symbolizes the fact that they are at a dirty place to do considerably dirty things. It seems
to me as if Humbert’s subconscious is coming through when he brings up these kinds of
words. He knows deep down that what he is doing is bad, but he can’t help himself.
When he uses words that are similar to enchanted they are meant to serve as a hopeful
smokescreen to cover up the reality of his filthy intent. In his mind, if what he is doing is
enchanted, magical, and spellbinding, then there isn’t anything wrong with it.
Quilty, Humbert’s doppelganger, is quite the manipulative hunter himself. His play
that Lolita is in has virtually the same name as the hotel itself. The play’s name serves as a
reminder of the hotel and a way of Quilty saying, “I know what you did.” Much like the
character she plays, Lolita is an enchanter that hypnotizes both Humbert and Quilty. They
both want the same thing out of their enchanted prey, but with slightly different
approaches and intent. Humbert is hoping to find what he had with the Annabel of his
youth, regardless of his own age. Quilty’s intent is more obviously vulgar while Humbert
keeps the illusion that Lolita is an enchanting fantasy.
In conclusion, the words enchanted hunters take on a life of their own in the story.
They are two words that interpret a lot of what Lolita is about. They represent what
Lolita, Humbert, and Quilty’s intersecting fates are all about. As much as Humbert would
like to justify his actions as fanciful and magical, the fact is he is just like Quilty in his hunt
to satisfy his urges within a smaller, weaker prey.
LIT 431
10-12-09
The two words I am going to write about are Enchanted Hunters, which is the first
hotel Humbert and Lolita ever stayed in. I find this to be both an ironic and disturbing
because Humbert seems to see himself in this role in his pursuit of his desires. In reality,
there was nothing enchanted about Humbert”s hunt for the perfect moment to take Lolita
as his forever. He tried to make it seem as if his relationship with Lolita was enchanted
but he hunted her like prey through manipulation, bribery, drugs, and lies. He wanted her
and could not take the chance that she wouldn’t feel the same in return. In an ironic twist,
not until it was too late did he realize he was the hunter becoming the hunted by Quilty.
They both did everything they could to get Lolita and Quilty proved to be the better
hunter in the end by taking her out from under Humbert.
The words used to introduce the hotel to the story, as well as the circumstances
Humbert and Lolita find themselves in when coming to it have a very negative feeling,
which hunting can correlate with, as well as words related to enchantment. These serve as
pre-cursors of bad things to come. “We did not see any traffic light-in fact, The Park was
as black as the sins it concealed-but soon after falling under the smooth spell of a nicely
graded skill.”(117) The word sin is an excellent hint of Humbert’s intent and possibly
what subconsciously he as well as the readers might think of the act being fulfilled. The
word spell shows what he wants to cover up the reality of his choices. He wants to
enchant us with a spell in hopes to justify that what he is doing is not that bad.
Further down the page, more negative and mystical words come up. “A row of parked
cars, like pigs at a trough, seemed at first sight to forbid access: but then by magic, a
formidable convertible… came into motion.”(117) The words “pigs at a trough”
symbolizes the fact that they are at a dirty place to do considerably dirty things. It seems
to me as if Humbert’s subconscious is coming through when he brings up these kinds of
words. He knows deep down that what he is doing is bad, but he can’t help himself.
When he uses words that are similar to enchanted they are meant to serve as a hopeful
smokescreen to cover up the reality of his filthy intent. In his mind, if what he is doing is
enchanted, magical, and spellbinding, then there isn’t anything wrong with it.
Quilty, Humbert’s doppelganger, is quite the manipulative hunter himself. His play
that Lolita is in has virtually the same name as the hotel itself. The play’s name serves as a
reminder of the hotel and a way of Quilty saying, “I know what you did.” Much like the
character she plays, Lolita is an enchanter that hypnotizes both Humbert and Quilty. They
both want the same thing out of their enchanted prey, but with slightly different
approaches and intent. Humbert is hoping to find what he had with the Annabel of his
youth, regardless of his own age. Quilty’s intent is more obviously vulgar while Humbert
keeps the illusion that Lolita is an enchanting fantasy.
In conclusion, the words enchanted hunters take on a life of their own in the story.
They are two words that interpret a lot of what Lolita is about. They represent what
Lolita, Humbert, and Quilty’s intersecting fates are all about. As much as Humbert would
like to justify his actions as fanciful and magical, the fact is he is just like Quilty in his hunt
to satisfy his urges within a smaller, weaker prey.
Pale, Fire
This is one of the most confusing, interesting, intriguing books I have read. There are several things that annoy me about Kinbote I will break it down to the top six as best as i can.
1. He has attention deficit disorder big time. One minute it's Zembla, the next John and Sybil, while also himself, and maybe just maybe a little description about the poem. He is all over the place in his tellings.
2.I'm not sure the exact word, but basically i get a loser, pathetic, either clueless or in major denial vibe from him. His descriptions about interactions with John and Sybil as well as others, he seems totally oblivious that people seem to think he's nuts, bothersome, etc. But with Nabokov it's hard to determine if it's actual cluelessness or denial of lunacy.
3. wich leads me to my next point. In class I remember us talking about something to the affect of not trusting Nabokov. I don't trust him or Kimbote at all. Kimbote seriously kooky(reminds me of Humbert in ways) When he supposedly copies down parts of poem that were in the margins and scratched out and so on, I can't help but get the feeling that he wrote it. He makes me very suspicious and i don't really believe much of what he's saying.
4.His disrespect of Hazel's death is very disturbing. If he was just a normal healthy fan of Shade, he would have respect for anything or anyone Shade cared about, particularily a dead loved one.
5. The narcissism is crazy big. When i read the poem, I felt warm, sad, that i could relate in some ways, connected. Reading Kimbote's "commentary" is very annoying how he realtes everything to him and his Zembla when the poem doesn't feel in any way connected to him when reading it. Being so insanely full of himself is a bit sad and desperate feeling.
6. Spying on Shade so obsessively is very scary. Constantly looking to see if his light is on, the detailed descriptions of peeping through his windows and his distaste of anyone else connected to Shade. Nowadays, these kind of things are usually pretexts to psycho serial killers. Freaky stuff
1. He has attention deficit disorder big time. One minute it's Zembla, the next John and Sybil, while also himself, and maybe just maybe a little description about the poem. He is all over the place in his tellings.
2.I'm not sure the exact word, but basically i get a loser, pathetic, either clueless or in major denial vibe from him. His descriptions about interactions with John and Sybil as well as others, he seems totally oblivious that people seem to think he's nuts, bothersome, etc. But with Nabokov it's hard to determine if it's actual cluelessness or denial of lunacy.
3. wich leads me to my next point. In class I remember us talking about something to the affect of not trusting Nabokov. I don't trust him or Kimbote at all. Kimbote seriously kooky(reminds me of Humbert in ways) When he supposedly copies down parts of poem that were in the margins and scratched out and so on, I can't help but get the feeling that he wrote it. He makes me very suspicious and i don't really believe much of what he's saying.
4.His disrespect of Hazel's death is very disturbing. If he was just a normal healthy fan of Shade, he would have respect for anything or anyone Shade cared about, particularily a dead loved one.
5. The narcissism is crazy big. When i read the poem, I felt warm, sad, that i could relate in some ways, connected. Reading Kimbote's "commentary" is very annoying how he realtes everything to him and his Zembla when the poem doesn't feel in any way connected to him when reading it. Being so insanely full of himself is a bit sad and desperate feeling.
6. Spying on Shade so obsessively is very scary. Constantly looking to see if his light is on, the detailed descriptions of peeping through his windows and his distaste of anyone else connected to Shade. Nowadays, these kind of things are usually pretexts to psycho serial killers. Freaky stuff
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
definitions of big words
I thought it might be helpful to write out a few definitions of some big words i know i was unfamiliar with and I have a feeling others are as well.
Speak, Memory. p258-inanition-to be exhausted or lethargic, sometimes from starvation
inauspicious-unfavorable, ill-omened
diaphanous-very sheer or light, translucent
A part in speak, memory was very relatable to me and my frustrations with trying to read and fully understand Nabokov's work. Page 221 "It did not occur to me that far from a veil, those poor words were so opaque that, in fact, they formed a wall." I don't know if it's my lack of patience or lack of comprehension but when the writing gets to specific or to far off into left field, my mind starts to wonder because i don't understand what's happening, but I'm trying though. i feel a dull wall of ache on the inside of my forehead that makes it hard for me to focus.
Speak, Memory. p258-inanition-to be exhausted or lethargic, sometimes from starvation
inauspicious-unfavorable, ill-omened
diaphanous-very sheer or light, translucent
A part in speak, memory was very relatable to me and my frustrations with trying to read and fully understand Nabokov's work. Page 221 "It did not occur to me that far from a veil, those poor words were so opaque that, in fact, they formed a wall." I don't know if it's my lack of patience or lack of comprehension but when the writing gets to specific or to far off into left field, my mind starts to wonder because i don't understand what's happening, but I'm trying though. i feel a dull wall of ache on the inside of my forehead that makes it hard for me to focus.
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