Child Sex Offense in Lolita by Nabokov and Living Dead Girl by Scott - Book Report/Review Example

Analysis of Child Sex Offense in Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov is a novel about a pedophile by the name Humbert, who gets attracted to his step daughter whose name was Dolores. Dolores was only 12 years old at the time she meets Humbert. Dolores’ mother is not aware of Humbert’s attraction to her daughter at first and eventually knows about it when she comes across his dairy. Unfortunately, for Dolores, her mother dies before doing anything about Humbert’s obsession so she remains under the care of Humbert, who entices her into having sexual intercourse with him. When Dolores learns about her mother’s death, Humbert tries to get Dolores’ mind off her mother’s death by taking her for a trip all over North America. We had been everywhere. We had really seen nothing. And I catch myself thinking today that our long journey had only defiled with a sinuous trail of slime the lovely, trustful, dreamy, enormous country that by then, in retrospect, was no more to us than a collection of dog-eared maps, ruined tour books, old tires, and her sobs in the night — every night, every night — the moment I feigned sleep (Nabokov 144) Eventually, a child pornographic video producer kidnaps Dolores. Humbert only gets to hear from her five years later when she was already married. Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott is a novel about a girl whose name is Alice. Alice is kidnapped by a pedophile by the name Ray. She lives with ray for five years during which she is raped on a daily basis. During the period, Ray struggled to give the public that their relationship was a father-daughter relationship. When Alice is sent to find her own replacement, she settles for a young girl whose name was Lucy but later warns her to run away making Ray furious enough to strangle her. Jake, who is Lucy’s brother, shoots Ray and saves Alice’s life. Vladimir Nabokov shows a gentle form of child sex offense while Scott chooses to show the extent to which pedophiles can be heartless and ruthless. Looking at the two novels, it is evident to every critical reader that a number of common themes come out. Precisely, the two authors bring to light and emphasis clearly on child sex abuse. In both cases, it is noticeable that there are two adults that are sexually attracted to underage girls. In the case of Lolita, Humbert agrees to marry Charlotte Haze so that he will be able to stay close to Dolores whom he later nicknamed Lola. Alice, on the other side, is abducted by Ray and kept while being sexually abused for the period of more than five years during which the two of the lived together. In both cases, the victims are naïve, and their naivety is what the two men take advantage of. For instance, Dolores would have questioned Humbert’s intentions at the time when he picked her from the camp and took her to a motel instead of taking her home. Ray also takes advantage of the fact that Alice was naïve especially at the time of the abduction. Men who are pedophile often use this as a tactic. This is probably the primary reason why most countries prohibit even consented sex involving underage children. Analytically therefore, their nativity is what is capitalized on. From the theme of child sex offenses, it can also be noted that in both cases the victims were forced to adhere to what the men in question wanted because they were scared. In order to make sure that their victims do not tell of their immoral behaviors, pedophile men usually issue threats. For Alice’s case, Ray had threatened that he will kill her if in any case she tried doing anything that would bring him trouble. Dolores was also told by Humbert that if in any case she told the authorities about what was going on between them, then she would become a ward of the state. According to Humbert, this would make her loss all her cloths and belonging (Nabokov 89). Due to the instilled fear, the victims decided that they would keep silent. This can explain why in both cases, it would be easier for people to think that the offenders and victims had father-daughter relationships. The most conspicuous difference between these novels is the fact that in Lolita is in most cases with Humbert consensually. Through the novel, it comes out clear that the relationship between Humbert and Dolores was not really a bad one. When Dolores went missing, it was not about wanting to run away. The main reason as to why Dolores went missing is that she had been kidnapped by a pornography producer who wanted to use her for his pornographic video. The nature of the relationship between Lolita and Humbert can further be supported by the fact that even when Dolores was having financial problems she still thought of Humbert as someone she could turn to. The letter that she wrote to her informing him about her problems clearly explains this fact. The kind of farewell that Dolores gives Humbert when he was leaving after bringing her the money shows that Dolores had never considered Humbert to be a monster. Basically, it can be said that Dolores considered Humbert to be like a parent to her. From a critical point of view, the type of relationship that Dolores and Humbert have cannot be the same as that between Alice and Ray. In fact, before the incident of abduction Alice did not know anything about Ray. She just had to keep playing by his rules because of the fear of what would happen if she did not. As for Alice, she was afraid that if she did something that Ray did not like or something that would put him in trouble then he would do something to harm her or even kill her. On the other hand, Dolores avoided reporting whatever she was going through because she believed that she will lead a more miserable life if that happen (Nabokov 101). If Jake would not have killed Ray then Ray would have probably strangled her to death. This is something that could not have happened to Dolores. The fact that Humbert goes ahead and decides to kill the pornographic video producer who had abducted her show the level to which he had cared for Dolores. He even goes ahead and wishes her well in her marriage despite the fact that he would have wished to go with her. That husband of yours, I hope, will always treat you well, because otherwise my specter shall come at him, like black smoke, like a demented giant, and pull him apart nerve by nerve (Nabokov 178) As for Ray, it was all about sexual satisfaction, and that is the reason he would replace the girls in every five years with younger ones. Looking at Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov, the author tries to bring to light the fact that in most cases, child sex offense usually involves people whom the victims know. For instance, in this case it was easier for Humbert to string Lolita, along because he was her step-father. When Humbert goes to pick from the park, Lolita readily agrees because she knows that she can trust him. For a reader, it can be comprehended that this happened so easily because Humbert was not a stranger. Another notable thing is the fact that before Humbert goes to rent Charlotte Haze’s he had already been admitted at a mental institution due to pedophile tendencies. However, the alarming thing is that he was still allowed to live under the same roof with an underage girl. If in any case Charlotte Haze knew this about Humbert’s past, then there is very minimal possibility that she would have let him live in their house. The use of stylistic devices is evident throughout the work. The book makes good use of suspense with every part leaving the readers with the hunger of knowing what happens next. When Humbert goes to pick Lolita from the camp, it will be normal that in this instance you will start trying to imagine what will happen next. Reading through the book, the urge of knowing the manner in which Lolita will react when he comes to pick her is uncontrollable. The other depiction of suspense is when Lolita disappears. It is normal for a reader to want to know whether or not Humbert and Lolita will be re-united. The other question that arises from this stage is the manner in which both Humbert and Lolita will react at the moment they will reunite. This is what keeps the readers reading so that they can find out what will eventually take place. The proper presentation of themes coupled by good characterization makes the Vladimir Nabokov’s work thrilling. Its combination of carefully chosen syntax and visualization has been able to bring out the theme on child sex offense, and the manner in which they usually take place. In comparison to Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott, this book can be said to show more of child sex when it involves people who are close to the victims. However, both novels show that naivety and the power of fears are the most used weapons by pedophiles. Conclusively, despite the fact that the two works tell a story that is somewhat sad, the authors, through their writing skills, manage to keep the stories interesting to the reader through proper use of literary styles. These novels have both thematic and stylistic differences. Vladimir Nabokov makes use of the novel to show the extent to which pedophiles can go so that they can be able to satisfy their sexual desires for young girls. The only difference in this case is that Humbert was able to care about Dolores and her wellbeing. Even at the worst parts of their coexistence, there was never any time when he actually mistreated her by physically assaulting her or raping her. This is a characteristic that is not common amongst pedophiles. Work cited Nabokov, Vladimir V. Lolita. London: Penguin, 2000. Print. Read More