My reaction to Nabokov's essay is a logical one. Although I do agree with Nabokov on all the points made in his lecture, it is hard to feel strongly about the subject, which is simply instructions on how to effectively read literature. I don't think that Nabokov was trying to appeal to his audience emotionally in this piece because he is just trying to inform them so they can improve their reading skills. He actually discourages readers from any emotional identification in literature and says himself, "we ought to remain a little aloof" when reading anything.
Although overall this is not an emotional essay, it provoked in me a sense of appreciation for the truth and beauty of the writing. Nabokov includes some beautiful descriptions and metaphors in his lecture that surprised me because I didn't expect an essay to be so detailed. For example, he described an author's work as a "castle of cards" that eventually turn into "a castle of beautiful steel and glass." The content of the essay was also surprising to me. Nabokov says in his essay that we should have a specific method of looking at a work of literature if we want to fully appreciate it. He says not to identify emotionally with the characters, which I thought was surprising because usually this is what a student is taught to do. I also always figured that a reader should view a book with his or her own method of viewing it; I wouldn't have thought there was a specific way to look at it. Although I was surprised at these things, I still strongly agree with Nabokov's method of reading that he expresses in this lecture.
Nabokov, Vladimir. "Good Readers and Good Writers." Lecture. 1948. Lectures on Literature. Print.
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