Lolit-BLAH

For this week in Lit and Media studies we were to read the Book Lolita by Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov, and talk about the book and "Morality". With that in mind i looked up the definition of Morality online, and came up with this Definition.








Morality: 

Conformity to the rules of right conduct; moral  or virtuousconduct. 

or  

Principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong or good and bad behavior.


I'm not sure how to approach this. This topic is frought with Opinions. What is right, what is wrong, what is moral, what is immoral? lately these lines have been very blurred. however after being exposed to this book i can safely say that i feel there is not much about 

Humbert's actions that are at all moral. i don't want to get into a huge discussion about are his intentions or actions really immoral   or are they just set forth by and oppressive culture that restrains real love? i really don't feel like getting into that fruitless discussion with anyone that might try to raise that point. Everything about the way the main character talks, his thought process, the way he speaks drips with pedophilia. (also id like to point out that i was listenign to the audio book, so it was actually Jeremy Irons reading the book. That's right SCAR from Lion King was reading Lolita to me)  Early on in the book he takes advantage of Lolita (in a "minor" way, not sure if this is the first time, there were so many) and thinks to himself, "I felt proud of myself. I had stolen the honey of a spasm without impairing the morals of a minor. Absolutely no harm done." That is a sign of no remorse. an unapologetic pedophile.

He continually describes their interactions in the most sensual way. which even in the context of a normal relationship would be pretty creepy. There is a moment right before he gets the letter from Charlotte confessing her love for him, when Lolita is away and he jump on her bed smelling the fabric for just a slight hint of her scent. Even in the context of a "normal" relationship that is a bit too obsessive. He even goes far enough to figure a way to pleasure himself without her knowing (or does she?) "focusing my lust and rocking slightly under my newspaper, I felt that my perception of her, if properly concentrated upon might be sufficient to have me attain a beggar's bliss immediately." His morals appalled me even before he took Lolita and went on the run. He married Charlotte Haze, Just to be able to stay in the house with Lolita. He does come to love her in a tiny way but that is soon replaced with the notion of killing her! 

Charlotte wants to send Lolita away and in a fit of selfishness thinks of a way to kill her so as to have Lolita all to himself (which eventually he gets, somewhat). He even goes as far as to describe the idea of drowning her in great detail. being brazen enough to do it while some people are watching from afar and being able to pay it off as an accident. While reading it, i actually forgot that he was just voicing his thoughts, and i thought he was actually doing it. Humbert does have morals about other things in life, he seem to abhor what the world has become and the moral it forces on him. He is hyper cynical when traveling with Lolita about the tourist traps and terrible motels. He seems to have a heightened sense of personal morality. as though his morals are right and the world is wrong. he detests the world for labeling him as a sex crazed maniac on one hand, but on the other hand he calls himself a monster. (whether he feels that way or is simply saying that for the "jury" im not sure) overall with his character i find a distinct lack of a correct moral compass. and overall the book smells of immorality  even seeing the writer of the book makes me just a bit antsy. I felt so uncomfortable listening to the book on tape. There were points where i really enjoyed his flowery descriptions of his passions, emotions, and senses, but it continually kept crashing down when i realized hes talking about an underage girl. Honesty, I felt slightly off after finishing.

Update: (10/3/12)

I have to say that this book still frustrates, confuses, and irritates me. In class we discussed the topic of love in Lolita, and whether or not Humbert actually love Lolita, and whether lolita loves Humbert. In class my teacher persuaded me that love was in the book, at least the type of love that we celebrate in movies, in that replace Humbert's object of affection with say blonde women in their early 20's and we would be celebrating his passion for his girl. But because it is a 12 year old girl we instantly write off the possibility of love because the object of his affection is of a perverse nature. And i began to buy into that notion. that maybe Nabokov was writing a story of love, but an awkward and wrong one. but after reading more i am not convinced that there is no real love in Lolita, only lust and unhealthy passion.

Humbert does not treat Lolita in the way that lovers should treat each other  hes manipulative, selfish, and self serving. Keeping her only to himself, pulling the "father" card often. Pleasuring himself to other girls (and im relatively sure that he had her pleasure him while looking at other nymphettes, though i could be remembering incorrectly). There was little semblance of a caring relationship that i could see. Morals have little to no place in this book. Not a single character in this book had a single redeeming quality. I could look for a deeper meaning, and attempt to find some semblance of morality and a sense of "true" love hidden among the pages, but i have no motivation to. In the end all i can say about this book if i was telling a friend about it would be this:

Lolita is a book that is written extremely well. When reading it you WIll be carried away. you can feel every sensation, live every emotion. But the story is perverse, and dies a bit in the middle. and in the end you will read a story that will not leave you with anything redeeming. You wont be changed, you wont learn anything about life. In the end you will be left with a beautifully written sad story of a pedophile whos perverse passion, jealousy, and selfishness ruined all of the lives around him, and got away with everything.

Magical Screenplay!

Dissolve To:

Exterior Backyard –Sunset

With the sun setting behind the Adirondacks, the characters group together at the bottom of the lawn, Preparing to test their magic abilities.

PENNY,     Fellow Brakebills student, and a very adept magician, who discovered the passage to Fillory.  Steps to the forefront of the group and raises his hands.

PENNY

All right Everybody! Stand back, this could get a bit dangerous

JANET PULCHINSKY,  A bit more wild then the rest of the group, a bit brash at times, tows the line of being very insecure sometimes but very strong the next. 

ELIOT WAUGH,   Has a slight alcohol dependency problem, kind of seen as the leader of the group.

QUENTIN COLDWATER,   A big fan of the "Fillory and Further" book series, he desires to be adventurous, and Is always for looking for something more then what he currently has. He is Socially awkward and find getting along with his classmates a bit difficult and tiring at times.

JOSH HOBERMAN,     a bit overweight, and the clown of the group of main characters. A social butterfly but not very adept at magic. Quipps in sarcastically from his sitting perch about 15 feet away while sipping on a shared bottle of schnapps.

JOSH

(with an aire of slight sarcasm)

Really? I mean how much further back do we need to be? I mean from my vantage point I can barely see you as it is.

JOSH hand the bottle of Schapps to Eliot.

PENNY

(start with a bit of irritation towards Josh, then transition to nervous anticipation)

Just so you’re standing back at a safe distance. Alright guys are you ready for this? Ok, ok, Fire in the hole!

ALICE,    A very talented young magician in the same year as Quentin. She has a natural talent for the magic arts. She gathers up 3 wine bottles and places them on a lawn table around 20 feet away.  Penny and the group, adjusts them as if she is at a carnival, and returns to a safe distance.

PENNY Winds up and begins the incantation. As his hand begin to glow. At the end of the incantation PENNY extends his arm and with a flick of his wrist 3 small projectiles fly out and shatters the 3 wine bottles.

Penny grins as everyone applauds.

JOSH

(Clapping louder then the rest)

Damn that was cool!

PENNY

We call it “Magic Missile”. I think its got a nice ring to it.

JOSH

Magic Missile Baby! That some strait up Dungeons and Dragons Shit! Aww man!

PENNY knowingly nods with a smirk on his face.

PENNY

We actually bases some of this on old D&D spells. For being a work of fantasy and a game they sure got a lot of the practical thinking in those books.

QUENTIN looks around at everyone around him in quiet worry and concern obviously troubled about what he has just seen.

QUENTIN

You guys see what happening here right? Were slowly crossing the line. Isn’t that black magic? God, I hope were not going to have to use that.

JOSH

Oh, come on Quentina. Were not looking for trouble, we just want to be able to make it run home to momma if it find us, with some Dungeons and Dragons Magic Mothatfuckkahs!

Everyone gathers more closely to PENNY except QUENTIN, who stayed seated some 10 feet away on the grass, as they all watched him ready to show off another magic trick.

The Sun begins to Set as it got very quiet, it seemed as if the whoel world was qieting down in anticipation of PENNY’s Next move.

PENNY

(tieing the earflaps of his russina hat with a string)

here goes nothing… I hope this works

JANET

Just do it already! I’m freezing my ass off

PENNY winds up as if throwing the final pitch at the world series, as violet light begins emanating from his hands making his bones visible under his skin. Shouting the incantation she throws a fierce over arm pitch. A small orange spark flies out and grows to the size of a beach ball and strikes its intended target, a tree some 25 feet away engulfing it in flames.

PENNY

(turning around breathless and proud)

Fireball!

The tree burned as if it was a bonfire as the group looked on in quiet amazement.

Fade to Black

I really enjoyed Kurtz character. I love the often talked about but seldom seen mystery character. Theres an air of mystery about him. a Savant in his own time. a man that is a legend in his own right. Hes powerful in the company successful in everything he does, and is also skilled in the art of music and fine arts. i really enjoyed the arc of the storytelling of his character (not sure that the right term). He goes from a man that everyone talks about, respects, and admires, but is then revealed to be in a much darker troubled place then anyone would have ever expected.

For me that fall from grace, as it were, is a very interesting concept. It makes for an interesting character. I always thought he went crazy. but that is not necessarily the case. Could he have gone crazy? or was he just a product of the incredible and disturbing situation he was put in? Did the pressure change him? make him something he never was meant to be? or did it bring out something that was always dormant inside of him? I love asking questions like this. when under intense pressure from external forces, what happens to a man? does he fall back upon his core beliefs, and character? or can he break and become a monster? and if he does break, is it revealing a darker part of himself? or is it simply a necessary evil to survive? it always makes me wonder just a little what i would do under an immense amount of pressure. How would i react? would i stay the same man? or could i crack in some way? i hope an pray i can and will be strong.

Wizard of Oz, or WIzard of Odd?

The Wizard of Oz has never been something that i really ever had strong feelings for. i had seen the movie years ago and read little snippets here and there but never really delved into the story or really watched the movie. but after doing both i want to get back into it right away. With such a fun cast of characters. Beyond the differences in the book, (aka not toto  being bacd subplot, no Ms. Gulch, and the fact that in the book everything was real) i think i prefer the movie. It has a timeless charm to it.its a golden classic. The book does too but in all fairness and honesty im probably more partial to the movie then the book because i saw the movei first and it was key in forming my opinion of the story from the starting point.

I was surprised to see it again in class after not having seen it in a while. i remember thinking it was just alright, kind of boring. but while watching it in class i felt myself being truly drawn in for the first time, even though i had seen it before. there is an innocence to Judy Garlands performance as Dorothy. And one thing i appreciated in the movie was the inclusion of the farmhands which mirrored the characters she would meet in Oz. and as far as the ending of the movie basically telling us the viewer that it was all a dream, i have always thought of it as reality. As though it really happened but she just wrote it off as a dream. I always assumed that just because she said it was a dream wasn't necessarily the final truth of the matter. I feel like the movie streamlined the story, got rid of some nonessentials and added some flair of its own. however, an argument can be easily made that it is not the pure representation of the original fairy tale for "modern (in the 1930's) Children". All in all i can say that i really enjoy both, but given the choice i will watch the timeless movie classic over reading the book. but i'm pretty partial to film as it goes anyways.