Vladimir Nabokov 's Short Stories

Short stories of the nineteenth century are synonymous with Guy de Maupassant who is a master of irony, plot twists and satire. He is still considered to be one of the greatest short-story writers of all time and a champion of the realist approach to writing. Maupassant was born in Normandy, near Dieppe, on 5th August, 1850, to well-off parents who, however, didn’t get along well and eventually separated in 1863. The separation of his parents caused Maupassant to receive two very different kinds of upbringings. His debauched father, Gustave de Maupassant, saw no trouble in engaging his son in a similar life of titillation whereas his mother, Laure Le Poitevin, introduced him to English and Italian literary classics. He received his early education from his mother and later at a Lyceum. He began studying law in Paris at the age of nineteen which was cut short by the Franco-Prussian war of 1870, when he enrolled in the army. After his discharge and a period of unrest, Maupassant finally settled down with a stable job in Civil Service in Paris in 1872. The ennui of his work was comforted by outdoor activities that include excursions in the countryside, canoe trips down the Seine, and even by women, often prostitutes. The first stage symptoms of syphilis appeared in 1877 and it would eventually kill him within the next fifteen years.

Anton Chekhov (1860 -1904) was a Russian physician, writer and playwright, renowned for his short stories in fact , he is considered among the pioneers of the short story .It may be surprising to many that he also wrote mystery stories early in the career under a pseudo name Antosha Chekonte. His book of mystery stories "A Night in the Cemetery : And Other stories of Crime and Suspense " contains more than 40 such stories(2).These stories may be the result of his experiences , when he accompanied the local police on criminal investigation and performed autopsies as a physician(3).

“Symbols and Signs,” a short story written by Vladimir Nabokov, revolves around a Jewish couple from Minsk, Russia, who has a son with a mental disability called “referential mania.” It was their son’s birthday when several unfortunate events, including their son’s recent suicide attempt, prevented them from visiting him and from giving him the birthday present that they prepared for him. As they got back home, they eventually decided to bring him home and the story ended with three telephone calls, the first two being wrong numbers and the third phone call remained unanswered. This close reading would focus on the plot, the characters, and the symbols used, in showing how people have different perceptions of reality.

In this essay I will discuss both the similarities and contrast between the two stories, “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin and “The Verb to Kill” by Luisa Valenzuela. I will be analyzing the subject of delusions between the two stories. After reading both stories numerous times and carefully reviewing it, I strongly feel with good reason that Luisa Valenzuela story, “The Verb to Kill” serves as a stronger model for the subject of delusions. Throughout this essay, I will explain my reasoning behind my judgment, using examples from the story to backup my statements and conclusions.

Dostoevsky’s Underground Man is quite possibly the most interesting anti-hero in all of literature. His unique worldview has both shocked and puzzled readers since the novella’s publication. One of his key characteristics is his tendency towards paradox, especially concerning doubt, shame, and spitefulness. These paradoxes seem to reflect his era, of which he is often critical to the point of exhaustion. Other features of the Underground Man’s psyche mirror the nineteenth century as well. For example, his anomie is a result of his life as a clerk in (then) modern Saint Petersburg. The Underground Man’s true self may be shrouded by mystery, but it is clear that he is either telling us that he lives in all of us through our experiences with alienation, or that if we were anywhere near as self-aware as he is, we would live underground as well.

In Fyodor Dostoevsky’s psychological novel, Crime and Punishment, the suffering and isolation of the late nineteenth century Russia becomes reality. As a young man who has left his studies in the university, Raskolnikov finds himself wallowing in poverty and self-pity.

Alienation is defined as; isolation from a group or an activity to which one should belong or in which one should be involved, but the definition can change depending on a person’s experience. Alienation can come across in many different feeling’s such as powerlessness – helpless and ineffectual, meaninglessness – having no significance, normlessness – lack of social norms, cultural estrangement and social isolation. In the three chosen texts; “Enter Without So Much As Knocking” by Bruce Dawe, “Capitalism and Alienation” by Danielle Pioli and “ Be My Brother” by Geneueve Clay, alienation is forced upon the characters by external forces.

One July day in St. Petersburg, a poor young man slips out of his apartment and goes out. He is Rodion Romanych Raskolnikov, a former student, and he is preoccupied with something. He arrives at the apartment of Alyona Ivanovna, a pawnbroker, where he is attempting a trial of the unknown deed obsessing him.

A man of many talents, Vladimir Nabokov is known not only for his controversial work Lolita, he was also an avid lepidopterist – in particular, butterflies. There is no doubt that when penning Lolita’s character, Nabokov imprinted several butterfly characteristics on her. This essay however does not seek to investigate the parallels between Lolita and the metamorphosis of a butterfly. Rather, it takes the road less travelled and examines the parallels between Nabokov and Humbert Humbert, not as a pervert, but as a scientist.

From the very first word of this extraordinary piece of literature, the thoughts and transgressions of Raskolnikov penetrates the heart and mind of the reader with exceptional insight, skillfully constructed suspense plots and a dynamic, autonomous hero. It is true to state that 'Crime and Punishment' had a profound influence on the modern intellectual climate, sparking off a wave of existentialist writings, and it is not difficult to discover why. The intricate and enthralling exploration, carried out by Raskolnikov, of conflicting

The morals and themes expressed in a short story are what give the story meaning and importance. Based on the themes of many of the short stories included in this collection, it is clear that not only are many of the morals agreeable to wide audiences, but it is also proof that people from all over the world hold many similar thoughts and values.

For most people, when reading a book that has to do with someone murdering two old women in cold blood, the thought of that character being the protagonist is certainly not what comes to mind. However, that is not the case when Rodion Raskolnikov is the subject of discussion. Fyodor Dostoyevsky explores his main character’s dual personality in several ways throughout the novel, making it an integral part emphasizing on how Dostoyevsky managed to create a protagonist in which most readers sympathize with, whereas in almost all other novels, that particular character would be categorized as an antagonist, and that is certainly something that catches the eye of the reader. Dostoyevsky extends us the opportunity to dive into Raskolnikov’s mind and thoughts, giving us a point of view of “Crime” and “Punishment” through both, a cold-hearted murderer’s eyes, and the eyes of the opposing soft hearted, guilt filled, internally agonizing human being.

Throughout literature, the theme of alienation has held various personas that have been viewed in different ways. Since the 1980s the rate of adults who consider themselves isolated has doubled (Morning Shift). Learning this led me to believe that an isolated individual like Bartleby and the Underground Man are more relatable to us now. Alienation can be romanticised to an extent due to the mysteriousness a character can hold because he is an unknown. Humans find that which they cannot have the most appealing whether it be a candy bar, or allow interaction with an individual. Two of the biggest examples of alienation I have seen thus far is Bartleby and the Underground Man. Both quite odd in their own ways, but isolated nonetheless, and both by choice. Even though the two characters had their similarities they were also quite different. For example, the Underground Man while isolated at least made attempts throughout his lifetime to not be. Bartleby, however, slowly became more and more isolated as the story went on.

He believes that alienation is a phenomenon of consciousness, involving an inherent disassociation of man as subject and object. It is interesting to note that while Marx discusses four aspects of “alienation” – alienation from the object produced; alienation from one’s work process itself; alienation from one’s work; alienation from one’s fellow men, the Freudians hold that it is society that creates an emaciating effect upon man’s raw energy. Erich Fromm, like Hegel, explained “alienation” more than a sociological phenomenon. He discussed four main ways in which a person can experience alienation: from nature, from others, from society, and from the self. While discussing the concept of alienation, Karen Horney talks about ‘real self’. Her main focus is on understanding the psychic processes which ensue when a person loses touch with his ‘real self’ or is self-alienated. In Durkheim’s phraseology, “alienation” as the consequence of a state of “anomie” exists when people believe that there is a breakdown of societal behavioral norms, and the cultural

Russian Realist drama represents a notable shift from the earlier literary periods, for it displays everyday life in the 19th-century Russia in all its complexity. Moreover, it offers various levels of analyzing a certain play, for it intertwines elements of both Sentimentalism and Romanticism, but adds more to them by incorporating naturalism and violence, thus giving the readers’, i.e. the spectators’ the opportunity to fully understand the life in Russia at the time. All these elements are displayed in Ostrovsky’s play The Storm, Sukhovo-Kobylin’s The Death of Tarelkin, and Tolstoy’s The Power of Darkness.