American Culture and Vladimir Nabukov's 'Lolita'

Essay from the year 2015 in the subject Didactics - English - Literature, Works, grade: 95.00, Fordham University (Rose Hill), course: Texts and Context: Banned Books, language: English, abstract: This essay looks into the complex nature of the character of Humbert as well as the nature of American Culture in regards to Vladimir Nabukov's novel 'Lolita'. Vladamir Nabokov's novel 'Lolita' is well known around the literary world as one of the most controversial and provocative novels of the twentieth century. It is also one of the Russian writer's finest works despite its many negative criticisms and widespread banning. The book published in 1955, pushed the boundaries of what was deemed as socially acceptable in a post war America and took a frightening look inside the mind of a pedophile. Many readers turned away from the book entirely because of its dark subject matter while others struggled finding any sort of meaning or literary value for the same reason. I would argue that this is an unfortunate occurrence primarily due to American Cultures inability to suspend their own moral convictions, even when it is necessary to do so. 'Lolita' is a masterful work of literature that requires this suspension in order to fully appreciate its literary value.