Lolita: the meaning behind the art

Every time we would speak those famous opening lines my mouth would move to the melodic written words LO-LEE-TA. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think that is the only way to speak, think or here the name. I felt like I was connected to the text because my mouth was reacting to the words Nabokov wrote... it was a feeling that was more unique than any other text that I had read before. I mean don't get me wrong, I have responded emotionally and mentally to a text before, but never physically, it was kinda crazy, and still as I'm writing this I feel my mouth moving to speak the immortal name " Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. Lo. Lee. Ta"

I then added the envelope which is addressed to us as readers, and included inside there is a note card which has the last lines of Lolita scribbled on it...which I like because I feel like that is exactly what he had intended, his books as personal letters addressed to all of his various readers.

Lolita

Pale Fire

Transparent Things

Speak Memory

Light Of My Curiosity

Well My first impression upon reading Lolita was that it was an immensely enjoy able read, and it really gave me an insight into the type of man that Nabokov was through his identity as a writer, but all the while I couldn't help but feel as though I was missing something, and I think that feeling was more telling than I had thought. I walked into class after the first reading of Lolita, and I had a child like excitement to share my discoveries with the class as if we were 2nd grade all over again and it was show-and-tell time...Well I wasn't the only one who had things to show and tell, Dr. Sexson then brought up the Jared's blog in which revealed his discoveries of us as characters in the story that will never cease to exists, thane the class bobbed and weaved though all of one another discoveries and questions, it felt like we all were gaining substantial ground, but at the same time I felt as though the rug was being pulled out from underneath me. Normally this kind of feeling would make me uncomfortable and give me the feeling that can only be described as unpleasant, but alas these feeling were unfamiliar to me, and I actually enjoyed them. It was the feeling of trekking out into unknown territory(and good god that doesn't even hold a candle to reading Nabokov) while at the same time knowing that what you'll discover there will change, push, stretch, and delight you...I'm very excited for where V.D. is leading us, and this is only the beginning.

Speak Memory as Spoken To Me.

"The green one, by a mere whirl of the wrist, could be made to produce a ruffled tree, or the eddy left by a submerged crocodile. The blue one drew a simple line across the page -- and the horizon of all seas was there. The brown one was always broken, and so was the red, but sometimes, just after it had snapped, one could still make it serve by holding it so that the loose tip was propped, none too securely, by a jutting splinter. . . . The white one alone, that lanky albino among pencils, kept its original length, or at least did so until I discovered that, far from being a fraud leaving no mark on the page, it was the ideal implement since I could imagine whatever I wished while I scrawled".

This quote just about knocked me off my ass...WOW.
What I guess I find so phenomenal about this quote is that it is something that I have experience my entire life in regards to creating. There are all of these different aspects in which help you tread along your path of creating just as colors work perfectly to assist you in conjuring up that one crocodile, or ocean horizon line, but the white one is limitless in assistance. With that one white paintbrush your imagination can experience its full unleashed potential. There is freedom by being given the gift of creation without limits. I think this is very reflective in Nabokov work, he is able to write and give meaning to his work as if there were no limits prohibiting his natural creative flow, and in my opinion he really breaks through any limits that might come between him and his connection to his work. I have always had a hard time being able to conjure up the creativity that is in my mind, I feel as though there is so much to express, but I don't know how to fit it into a format that makes sense to everyone. This is just one of many ways in which Nabokov inspires me. He is able to create these master pieces in forms and styles that fit no style I have ever experienced.To me he is the shining example of why English is so enjoyable. I am going to be an English teacher and he has given me hope that I can actually offer my student interesting,engaging, and life altering texts.