My Thoughts on Lolita

Reading Lolita reminds me of the first time I tried to read "Crime and Punishment." It started out as a fun, fast read that I was happily enjoying. However I suddenly found that the more I read the more I began to think and feel like the main character within the novel. This is distressing with regards to both Lolita and C & P. With Crime and Punishment I found feeling depressed, thinking peculair thoughts, and I eventually had to put the book down for awhile because I just couldn't take it anymore. With Lolita my experience was a little different. While I did have the constant narration of my actions going on within my head the narration was more eloquent than slightly deranged. I found my conversation to become significantly more intelligent. I was craving gin (I made that last one up.) Still though while reading Lolita I became a completely different person. Fourtunatly this person was not so strange and depressed that I had to take a break from the novel. I must say that I really loved the work and I think that I might try to read more Nebukov over the break and see if I can not try to sound a little bit smarter to impress my parents.

As far as the subject matter is concerned I have already stated my opinion. I also aggree with Carly that the story is almost to phenomenal to make the subject all that believeable. I would also like to make one more point and that would be: I am sure that we have all read a few novels about the Holocaust and that does not mean that we aggree with the Holocaust only that sometimes it makes the novels more interesting. Or at least it is only a disturbing background for a great narrative.

One final point. I really feel sorry for Humbert Humbert. His worship of Lolita, who is in my opinion just a spoiled little girl, leaves him powerless and catering to her every whim. She can get whatever she wants from him. It seems to me that he is also unwilling to force himself upon her. I do not recall a moment in which Lolita says firmly, "No, I will not do that." Instead Humbert must beg her or buy her things but he never, except for one scene hits her. His only threat is that if they are seperated she will have to go to an orphanage in circumstances that she would find unbearable. Don't get me wrong I do think that Humbert Humbert ruins Lolita's life but I think that she also ruins his. She is his life whereas he is just a nuissance that she is trying to get rid. I would aggree with Dr. Sexson that this is really a very sad story. Both Humbert and Lo never really get anywhere in life and neither does any other character in the novel. No one ever has an uplifting change in their life they just simply miserably exist and then die.

F