Search for Free 150,000+ Essays

Find more results for this search now!
CLICK the BUTTON to the RIGHT!

Need a Brand New Custom Essay Now?  click here

Pnin : A Formalist Approach Towards a Life Lesson

Uploaded by Paul98 on Feb 06, 2017

Pablo Lopez
Mrs. Huntley
AP English Literature, Period 6
02 December 2016
Pnin: A Formalistic Approach Towards a Life Lesson
“Everyone I know, goes away In the end”, meaningful yet simple lyrics from Johnny Cash’s Hurt. A song written upon a period of his life where he swore the moon didn’t hang as high as it used to. The truth is, everyone will get hurt one day, and all will pass away. The question now is deciding how people wish to go out, either occupying a happy, sad, or regretful life. This recurring theme has been imbued through countless novels and plays, but no work has analyzed the meaning more in depth than the novel Pnin by Vladimir Nabokov. Vladimir being born in 1899 had access to countless inspirations when writing Pnin, but being the Russian literary genius he his, decided to isolate his work within the text and use pure imagination. Many see no problem in his style of writing for the belief that it is not what influences a novel that defines it but what comes out of it. The aim for this piece of writing is to utilize the critical theory titled formalism or otherwise known as new criticism, focusing on the structure of the text and its use of rhetorical devices such as satire, flashback, and point of view, to unravel and expand on the novel’s profound theme: Love between friends and family brings happiness, not the desire to chase after this world’s picture of joy which demands wealth, success, and popularity.
Pnin is a novel worth relating to, filled with high hopes and humor, yet embodied in tragedy. The novel goes through the mid 1900s by the life of an average fellow named Pnin, a 52 year old Russian refugee in America teaching literature at Waindell College. He has no proper english articulation nor customs, yet in his mind he is perfect and the rest of the world must conform. As Vladimir mentions “If his Russian was music, his English was murder”. Picture the classical fictional character Mr. Beans, except Pnin enjoys researching, studying, and talking about literature. Ultimately it is all he has left. His ex-wife Liza fooled him into thinking they would live happily in America but it turned out months after arrival she married a man named Eric Wind. She had a son with him which she named Victor. However, it became clear Eric was more interested in...

Sign In Now to Read Entire Essay

Not a Member?   Create Your FREE Account »

Comments / Reviews

read full essay >>

Already a Member?   Login Now >

This essay and THOUSANDS of
other essays are FREE at eCheat.

Uploaded by:   Paul98

Date:   02/06/2017

Category:   Literature

Length:   12 pages (2,627 words)

Views:   1614

Report this Essay Save Essay
Professionally written essays on this topic:

Pnin : A Formalist Approach Towards a Life Lesson

View more professionally written essays on this topic »