Reading literature is like taking a journey, as the text becomes a visual image in the mind. Great literature, as Jonathan Culler would describe, is fiction as an integration of language that is also self-reflective. So what could an ancient BCE play have in common with a post-modern novel published in the mid 1950s? While the plot and era are certainly different The Cloud and Lolita do share some commonality. Most readers would analyze the two novels on the surface level and claim that the two novels share nothing in common. One story is about debt and the Gods and the other is a novel about a perverted man who takes interest in a child. However, the two pieces of literature are interconnected. The unity is formed by how the story is told, …show more content…
Every time he want to the readers to reconsider their position he calls out --- “my reader”, “unbiased reader”, “benevolent reader”, and “learned reader”, he uses this as a tactic to undermine his readers intelligence. Humbert wants his reader to question their own morality by providing his background and reasons behind his actions. Humbert displaces his responsibility for his action on Lolita, whom is anything more than a child. However, Humbert begs to differ by claiming that Lolita is in fact not a child, yet instead she is a nymphet and his actions are legal and justifiable. “Between the age limits of nine and fourteen there occur maidens who... this is all very interesting, and I daresay you see me already frothing at the mouth in a fit; but no, I am not; I am just winking happy thoughts into a little tiddle cup.” It is with this language that Humbert challenges what the reader knowledge. He even backs his claim with a “law” “let me remind my reader, the passage of the Children and Young Person Act in 1933, the term “girl-child” is defined as “a girl who is over eight but under fourteen years “ Humbert is so convinced that his actions are justifiable that he builds a defense to convince his