Blog post #4: Responding and Reflecting- Edward Eaton

While reading Lolita I learned many different lessons through thinking and reflecting about the text. When reading, I drew comparisons to titles we read in our English class that helped me clarify how the author created very complex situations that add depth and thinking to the story. By reflecting and drawing parallels to other texts, I was able to create an interpretation of the author’s thoughts and theme of the story, while also growing as a reader.

In many stories, there is a very stereotypical male protagonist who stops at nothing to win over the woman of his dreams, who is typically very attractive and feminine. In Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov, The author puts a very interesting and taboo twist on this typical story line. He communicates the idea that men will typically commit desperate acts to achieve their dream girl (or man). However, Lolita differs in that the actions of the main character only end up in corrupting the girl he was trying to win over and results in tragic losses and deaths for both characters. By challenging the typical "heroic man wins over sweet girl," plot by adding morally ambiguous main characters and a tragic ending, Nabokov allows the novel to ascend to a whole new level of complexity. Ultimately, through these plot elements, the author communicates the theme that men should not always pursue their dream girl, because it may harm themselves and the girls they are pursuing.

In addition, I compared the protagonist of this book to others I’ve read to interpret how plot elements affect the storyline. During class, I read a book about a morally ambiguous character who visits the nun in the hospital. The main idea of the story was that you could not label characters as good or bad, but rather try to judge them based on their motives by interpretation of the text. In Lolita, Vladimir paints his main character as morally ambiguous. On one hand, readers are easily able to label Humbert as a sick and twisted predator who violates weaker and younger females for sexual gratification. On the other hand, Humbert characterizes himself as a victim of heartbreak, who can only achieve true happiness by finding the same love he felt as a teenager by finding a partner that mimics his former 13 year old lover. In addition it is hard to label Humbert’s victim, Lolita, as a victim, because she occasionally eggs him on to do sexual things to her. Overall this creates a very complex addition to the book that makes reader’s question true motives and leaves many ideas for interpretation. I can’t wait to see how I interpret the novel as I continue reading.