Modernism and Postmodernism - fragment analysis on "Lolita" by Vladimir Nabokov

Essay by madalina22University, Bachelor's March 2007

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"I am trying to describe these things not to relieve them in my present boundless misery, but to sort out the portion of hell and the portion of heaven in that strange, awful, maddening world - nymphet love. The beastly and beautiful merged at one point, and it is that borderline I would like to fix, and I feel I fail to do so utterly."( L, Nabokov, 124)Nabokov tries to explain his use of language from a modernist approach: language is complex , Humbert describes in great detail his feelings and thoughts, the struggle inside him between the "monster" and the "gentleman".

The "nymphet" seen as a modernist feature is a form of art, as well as his love for her, which is not physical love but mainly a love for beauty and innocence.

There is a focus on the inner world, the world seen through his eyes. Humbert is a typical modern character: sensitive, an artist.

He tries to let the reader understand his mind, he is completely aware of his alienation with the world and he tries to separate and define the positive and the negative in him.

The novel is an innovation, beginning with the theme, treating another kind of love, a hidden love and an outcast. Humbert is the outcast type in the view of the society.

"A common motif in modernism is that of an alienated individual--a dysfunctional individual trying in vain to make sense of a predominantly urban and fragmented society". (A.-ML)" The existentialist 'subject' of modernity, is no longer a clearly defined individual, but a 'schizophrenic', multiple character."(HKU).

Humbert is a complex character in a continuous attempt to prove himself as being a good person, to let the reader know that despite his hidden problems he is capable of reasoning...