Essay about Humbert the Pedophile - 1965 Words

Humbert the Pedophile Lolita, the novel by Vladimir Nabokov, tells the story of Humbert Humbert, who is a perfect example of a pedophile. Although the character Humbert Humbert describes his feelings toward the twelve year old Lolita as love, in actuality, it is obsessive lust. Nabokov does an excellent job displaying the characteristics of pedophilia through this character. Reading Lolita makes us conscious of the need to be more aware that pedophilia is alive and well in our society today. In developing this point, I will examine pedophilia and its clinical characteristics as they relate to Humbert Humbert and our society. While America sits smugly in front of its televisions and computers, somewhere a pedophile fantasizes about†¦show more content†¦Some argue, the reality is that the overwhelming majority of offenders have a psychiatric illness, and to argue that sexual offenses are symptoms of some diagnostic category, only provides them with an excuse to minimize their responsibility for their own behavior. (Briggs 15). Others maintain that there are genetic and developmental factors which contribute to pedophilia being a disorder, although this theory has not yet been proven. The American Psychiatric Association has declared that pedophilia is no longer thought of as a mental disorder. In early studies, (DSM-III-R), pedophilia was characterized as a disorder if the person acted out on the urges, or was markedly distressed by them (Medinger 2). Nowadays, the diagnostic description is that pedophilia is a disorder if the offender is mentally impaired, agitated, or experiencing guilt as a result of what he is doing. In other words, a pedophile can play all he wants until he becomes irrational about it. Outwardly, the pedophile may, in todays society, seem to be a perfectly normal human being. Pedophilia, like homosexuality and transvestitism, is just a sexual preference (APA). There does not seem to be any one single factor involved in forming the sexual preference for children. There may be many different causes for pedophilia. One theory is emotional congruence, a theory based on the idea that they (pedophiles) relate to children because theyShow MoreRelatedLolita3026 Words   |  13 PagesA Love Story: Or Is It? â€Å"Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins, my sin, my soul† (Nabokov 9). Quoted from Vladimir Nabokov’s novel Lolita, Humbert Humbert briefly describes his sensibilities towards his love Lolita. I’ve italicized love for the reason that this book is perceived often as not a true American love story but as a pedophile’s lust. The reasoning for the italicization is because I wanted to emphasis on the point that this book offers more than that of a pedophile’s love. Nabokov’sRead MorePower Of Language In Lolita816 Words   |  4 Pages Vladimir Nabokov’s, Lolita, is a transgressive novella following the pedophilic protagonists- Humbert Humbert- as he ventures to fulfill a longed sexual gratification while creating a falsified romance through increasingly immoral endeavors. Throughout the controversial plot, Lolita’s centers around the inhumanity rooted in perversity, excusing unhealthy obsession in the name of romantic love, and the submission the reader must undergo to the narrator and their ability to falsify story. First personRead MoreLolita Through a Marxist-Feminist Lens: Lolita by Vladimir Nobokov1182 Words   |  5 Pagesnovels narrator, Humbert Humbert, and the novels namesake, Lolita, as an extended metaphor to showcase the systems inherent exploitive nature in a way that shocks the reader out of their false consciousness, by making the former a man in the position of power - a repulsive, manipulative pedophile — and the latter a young female victim — as well as a spoiled, vapid, unruly child. Each is to the other nothing more than a commodity — Lolita being the perfect consumer and Humbert Humbert being a man ofRead More Kubrick Lives Essay1157 Words   |  5 Pagesplanning a heist, each with their own agenda. In Lolita, Humbert Humbert is an English â€Å"gentleman†, oh and also a pedophile. A Clockwork Orange’s Alex is a young, violent, uncaring product of society. The thing that Kubrick does, however, is play with the audience’s morals and emotions. He attempts, sometimes successfully, to get you to empathize and sympathize with these miscreants of society. We feel sorry at some point for poor Humbert as his Lolita, the love of his life, is taken away from himRead MoreEssay on A Look at Victimization in Lolita.2123 Words   |  9 Pagescomplex story of passion, obsession, and manipulation. In the forward, Psychologist John Ray, Jr., introduces the story; Lolita, or the Confession of a White Widowed Male,(Nabokov, Vladmir Lolita, 3) as written by a middle-aged European pedophile named Humbert Humbert. The essentials of this title immediately strike you as controversial considering that a lolita is a promiscuous young girl and a confession is an admission of ones sins. Hum is viewed as the victimizer by others, but views himself asRead MoreLolita by Vladimir Nabokov1620 Words   |  6 Pages the main character Humbert Humbert writes a memoir of the rape, incest, and murder he becomes involved in. Throughout the nov el the chaos is swept under a carpet that consists of manipulative and linguistic trickery. Instantly in the foreword, the author opens up calling the novel Lolita the â€Å"Confession of a White Widowed Male† as an attempt to highlight Humbert’s good side, being a husband, rather than explaining why the novel is named after a girl Humbert raped. Humbert addresses Dolores asRead MoreLolita (Film and Novel Compari1379 Words   |  6 PagesLolita is one of the most unconventional literary classics of the century. Lolita is a twelve-year-old girl, who is desired by the European intellectual Humbert Humbert. As the narrator of the story, Humbert chronicles his abnormal childhood, adolescent experiences, and an adventure in a booming American as a European tourist and pedophile. But it is key to realize his first heartbreak as a boy manifests into his desires for nymphets. This point is made clear in both the novel and movie. I willRead MoreLove in Lolita1323 Words   |  6 Pagesa mad pedophile, with, as Humbert himself admits, a fancy prose style. Nabokovs innovative construction, in fact, highlights both of these aspects as it reinforces and helps develop the novels main theme: the relationship between art and experience. By allowing Humbert to narrate the details of his life with Lolita, Nabokov illustrates the difficulties inherent in an attempt to order experience through art. As he tries to project an ideal vision of his relationship with Lolita, Humbert manipulatesRead MoreVladimir Nabokovs Lolita Essay2090 Words   |  9 Pagesreason for its staying power, is Humbert Humberts striking, complex, and enchanting prose. Humbert diverts the reader from his ugly actions, as a pedophile, with his pretty words. He goes beyond ordinary prettiness; his constant wordplay and verbal games force the reader to concentrate on language rather than on him. With his ability of enchanting words and wordplay, he develops the ability to freeze time and in turn freeze Lolita in her â€Å"nymphet† state. When Humbert describes Lolita playing tennisRead MoreVladimir Nabokovs Lolita Essay1368 Words   |  6 Pagesthe characterization of protagonist Humbert Humbert proves it to be just as appropriate as other literature. Critics support Lolita’s censorship because they believe protagonist Humbert Humbert’s approval of pedophilia goes unnoticed, even though it is immoral. Critics regard Humbert as an unreliable narrator as he is writing from a jail cell with nothing to do but make excuses for himself. In this way, he paints Dolores Haze, the twelve-year old with whom Humbert is romantically and sexually involved