A Study On The Narrative Strategies In Lolita

Lolita, the novel which the Russian American author Vladimir Nabokov published in 1955,provoked controversy for its content. However, with its gorgeous and beautiful language, superbnarrative techniques, and the pungent ridicule and defiant gesture of its writer, the novel is favoredand respected by many literary critics, and it has also brought Nabokov a worldwide reputation.This thesis is composed of introduction, body and conclusion. The introduction part consistsof chapterâ… and chapterâ…¡. Chapter I briefly introduces the status of Lolita in the history ofAmerican literature, the author's narrative aesthetics, the characteristics of narrative in Lolita, andthe four research orientations of domestic scholars on Lolita. Combined with the history of thedevelopment of narratology, Chapter II gives a brief introduction of the important concepts such asnarrative, narrative mode, narrative structure, which will be applied in the systematic analysis ofthe narrative strategies in Lolita in the body part.The main body is divided into two chapters. Chapterâ…¢focuses on the analysis of thecomposition of narrative in Lolita including three elements: theme, character and event. Lolita haslong been put on the cloak of erotic novels, but its connotation of the theme is very profound. As tocharacters, Nabokov deliberately lets Lolita's narrative voice restrained and even ignored throughthe mouth of the unreliable narrator Humbert. Meanwhile, as a hidden line, Quilty links the fate ofcharacters and the development of the story together. In the description of the event, there are a lotof wordplay and coincidences which make the whole text show the characteristics of fiction andcontradiction. Chapterâ…£explores the complex focalization strategy and the employment ofnarrative point of view in Lolita. This chapter also analyzes the controlling schemes of narrative toexplore its nonlinear narrative structure.As a conclusion, Chapterâ…¤summarizes the narrative strategies in Lolita, and gives ananalysis of the aesthetics effects which these narrative strategies have caused.