ninaseung’s blog

HUMBERT HUMBERT:

The main character of Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov is Humbert Humbert. He has the personality type of a controller due to his inability to respect the emotions of others around him. Humbert is very controlling of Lolita and did whatever it took in order to take advantage of her. Humbert even goes to extremes and uses sleeping pills on her. Humbert said, “I had hoped the drug would work fast. It certainly did.” As Lolita grows into her teenage years, Humbert tries to control most of her life. Humbert said, “Absolutely forbidden were dates, single or double or triple... She might visit a candy bar with her girl friends and there a giggle chat with occasional young males, while I waited in the car at a discreet distance. Humbert does not want Lolita to socialize with others besides him and is unsure of the stability of their relationship. The lack of trust that Humbert holds with Lolita shows his insecurity with the emotions that he has for her.

In order to molest Lolita, Humbert did not care about the psychological burdens that Lolita would have to carry on for the rest of her life; he just wanted to please himself. The lack of sensitivity that Humbert possesses allows him to be categorized as a controller. Humbert also fits into the personality of a controller because he is a great decision maker and he is extremely intelligent. Not only did Humbert write an English novel, he also figured out a way to take advantage of Charlotte Haze in order to gain access to her daughter. After Charlotte’s death, Humbert figures out an ingenious way to acquire Lolita as his daughter with out arising anyone’s suspicious. By pretending that Lolita is his own child, Humbert allows others to think that “[Lolita] is his child, not Harold Haze’s.”

LOLITA:

The character for whom this book is named, Lolita is considered a promoter. Lolita is a very outgoing child who is aware of the attention that Humbert imposes on her and takes advantage of it. Lolita knows how much Humbert needs her and is also able to get an increase on her allowance by manipulating his emotions. Humbert said, “Her weekly allowance, paid to her under condition she fulfill her basic obligations, was twenty-one cents at the start of the Beardsley era and went up to one dollar five before its end.”

            Lolita is able to amass a small fortune off of Humbert by increasing her allowance with the promise of fulfilling her chores. Humbert said, “Only very listlessly did she earn her three pennies or three nickels per day and she proved to be a cruel negotiator whenever it was in her power to deny me.” Using her intelligence, Lolita is able to save the effort that it actually takes to complete her chores by not doing them while still earning an income. Although Lolita is reported to have an I.Q. of 150, she lacks focus as many characters with the personality of promoters do. Miss Prat, Lolita’s headmaster said, “She is attractive, bright though careless. Her marks and getting worse and worse.” Although Lolita has the capacity to perform well in school, she has no desire to. Lolita does not work any harder than necessary. She is unable to take advantage of her intelligence and would rather take the easy road.

Lolita is also aware of the attention that other males impose on her which shows how much she loves attention, a trait of a promoter. Humbert said, “And I also knew that the child, my child, knew he was looking, enjoyed the lechery of his look and was putting on a show of gambol and glee, the vile and beloved slut.” Although most children would be frightened by an older man gawking at them, Lolita absorbs all of the attention that he imposes on her.

Me Talk Pretty One Day

David Sedaris

Although the title of this memoir is some what offbeat, Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris is anything but. The memoir starts off with an explanation for the peculiar title; David Sedaris had a lisp as a child. The whole memoir is comprised of random vignettes that some form a narration.

This memoir is a quick, casual read that takes absolutely no brain power to read. The Library Journal calls it, “[The chapters] are all based on the author's own experiences and are all nicely constructed, cheerful, and absolutely not taxing on the brain.” Due to the structure of Me Talk Pretty One Day, a reader could open the memoir up at any page and understand what is going on.

The vignettes are especially entertaining to read. Most of them are about his family and the quirks that they posses. One of the most enjoyable vignettes is about David’s sister, Amy. In the chapter “Shiner Like a Diamond,” Sedaris wrote, “The last time she was asked out by a successful bachelor, Amy hesitated before saying ‘Thanks for asking, but I’m not really into white guys right now.’ ”

David Sedaris’s random vignettes somehow turn into a miniature story with a plot and an ending. While on the subway, an American tourist mistakenly assumes that he is a pickpocket who does not understand English. In an interview with Michael Sims, David Sedaris has said about the vignette “Picka Pocketoni,” “I could feel the anticlimax. But I didn't want to make up an ending.” David Sedaris understands that memoirs should be as truthful as possible not just created for dramatic moments.

             The hilariously titled vignettes are almost as entertaining to read as the vignettes themselves. A reader can understand the gist of the vignette but values the humor of the title after reading the vignette. One of the vignettes is humorously titled “You Can’t Kill the Rooster.” The vignette is about David Sedaris’s gangster wannabe brother has proclaimed himself “The Rooster.” His foul mouthed brother when threatened says, “Certain motherf***ers think than can f*** with my s***, but you can’t kill the Rooster.” Jonathan Reynolds has said, “Many lines and several of the premises are brilliant, worthy of our best comic essayists… At his best, he makes you laugh out loud, which indeed may be worth the price of admission.”

            I thoroughly enjoyed reading this memoir by David Sedaris. I recommend it to anyone who has trouble concentrating when reading. Due to its structure, this memoir allows the reader to understand the general idea of the book with minimal attention. David Sedaris is an amazing writer and I plan on reading his other memoirs.

The theme of the book Anywhere but Here can be widely accepted by any girl across the nation. Having a controlling mother who would like to live her life through you is not only annoying, but it is unnecessary. Adele August had the dream of becoming a famous actress when she was younger, but failed. Now having a daughter who she deems "cute", Adele sets out to make her daughter famous. Ann, on the other hand, does not wish to become a famous actress, but wants to go to Brown University. Having a controlling mother who does not know how to act her own age is frustrating to Ann. Ann has to grow up in Beverly Hills, a community where she and her mother do not financially fit in. Although they some how manage to live a comfortable lifestyle, it does not come without struggles.

The lack of a father in Ann's life does not affect her relationships with boys, but it does hinder her relationship with her mother. Her mother daydreams a lot about the life that she and her daughter could have if only they found the right man. Adele goes through various relationships that end up badly. The men range from Ann's dentist to Ann's dentist's son's doctor. Ann has to watch her mother go through all of these relationships with the knowledge that her mother is only dreaming.

The only stable relationship in this novel is the relationship between Ann and her grandmother. Her grandmother does not approve of the way that Adele treats Ann and tries to salvage the relationship between the two. Ann's grandmother takes care of Ann when Adele neglects her and Ann appreciates the relationship that the two share.

The contents of The Memory Keeper’s Daughter lack the enthusiasm that the back cover promises. While the idea of a doctor who rejects his Down’s syndrome affected daughter in order to save his family future pain makes a great story line, the actual novel according to Ron Charles of The Washington Post, “has trouble maintaining the electrifying atmosphere of this long opening scene.”

The opening scene is fantastic. Kim Edwards writes with so much detail in her first chapter that her descriptions of the memorable night that David Henry had to deliver his own twins are actually perceptible. While some authors lack the ability to describe powerful moments in a character’s life, Edwards describes that fateful night beautifully. Edwards writes, “A white cloud flew up, glittering, when the door at last swung back, and he scrambled on the floor of the backseat for the ice scraper and brush.” Her sensational descriptions of Dr. Henry’s night actually place you in the scene.

After the opening scene, the story seems to lack momentum. Readers will just skim the rest of the chapters to understand the gist of the story. Other “dramatic” events occur during the rest of the story but they all lack the powerful moment of David’s consequential decision.

This novel is a prime example of a sentimental novel. The novel is directed towards those who sympathize with Norah Henry. David and Norah’s relationship hinders after the birth of her twins. As Norah fills the void left by her daughter with affairs and careers, David immerses himself in photography. In an interview Kim Edwards has said, “[David] acts out of what he believes are good intentions --- the desire to protect Norah from grief and what the medical community in that time and place had deemed best for a child with Down’s syndrome.”

Kim Edwards writes to evoke the compassion within an individual. Her ending scene with Phoebe and Paul captures the relationship that exists between the two even though they are almost complete strangers. Edwards writes, “By her love, yes. And, he realized, awash in the notes, by his own new and strangely uncomplicated love for her.” Although Phoebe was kept a secret from him for over a quarter of a century, Paul has an unexplainable bond with her even known he has not known her long. Edwards parallels the lives of Phoebe and Paul throughout the novel but the relationship that exists at the end shows how the two are not complete strangers but brother and sister. 

Suggested links:

The Memory Keeper's Daughter Official Website

Various Reviews