Manipulating Lolita

Dianna Shea O’Briant

Banned Books

Lolita Part 2 Ch 1-20

3/23/15

While Humbert Humbert and Lolita travels across United States, Humbert tries keep her entertained with elaborate gifts. Along the way they stop at many hotels. Along with the repetition of names Nabokov also tends to repeat many numbers ‘coincidentally.’  Do these numbers that match up within the story-part of the writing, just a coincidence, or a plot device to add some air of mystery?

While he tries to smother and silence Lolita, he keeps her busy, amused and distracted with gifts, not really noticing (or if she does, not caring) that she is being manipulated. Humbert even goes so far as to say she has no one else left but him

When Humbert starts feeling sad that Lolita acts indifferent towards him, is he relying on his vision of her instead of what she actually is to him? (An actual child that grows and changes, and not a ‘nymphet’ that stays the same porcelain doll that he romanticizes.)

While he is recreating his feeling for Annabel through his manipulation of Lolita, why do you think Lolita stays quiet? She seems knowing of her situation, and yes, she is a curious preteen, but after a point she gets fed up, but one would think that she would reach out for someone.

Finally, do you think that Nabokov is making a point about the American society through his version of a road trip story? From Humbert humbert’s English point of view the landscapes are very boring, and not really what was expected. How does he expect to make Lolita listen to him when he isn’t even interested in what he’s trying to convince her? He seems like he is unknowledgeable on how to manipulate children and is just stabbing into the dark

Even though he is not caught at all, Nobokov seems to be saying something about America’s society and their turning their eyes away from child molestation and pornography as something that “just happens” and “no one really knows”

Along with the explicit descriptions of the sexual encounters, Humbert goes back to trying to convince and influence the “jury” or the readers that he is an innocent man.

Even though they settled down in Beardsley, we can see the Humbert Humbert has the desire for many girls, and that he doesn’t hold back on any girl the age he feels is the most attractive. This reminds me of stories about serial murderers.