Good Readers, Good Writers: Discussion Topic 8

I had a wonderful reaction to this essay. I found it refreshing and vivid and most importantly, interesting. I think that because I liked it so much, I had an emotional reaction to Good Readers and Good Writers. Nabokov showed me in this essay that not all essays and lectures have to be boring. They can be just as interesting as a story and they can have as much detail as a fictional novel. He really made me appreciate essays and pay attention to the words and the story they were trying to tell. Nabokov made me imagine that I was in the room while he was lecturing, which Why Read the Classics? did not make me imagine.

I really enjoyed this essay and his writing. I really believe I enjoyed it so much because it wasn't dull. I don't have the patience to sit through reading a boring book or essay about one topic or another. Nabokov put just enough detail in his essay to make me imagine being there, but not enough to overwhelm me with extra things that have no purpose. I think Mark Twain's Life on the Mississippi was the most detailed book I have read thusfar, and I disliked it immensly. Too much detail can be a bad thing like that novel shows. I appreciate Vladimir Nabokov because he made his essay interesting, but not too detailed. 

Nabokov, Vladimir. "Good Readers and Good Writers." Lecture

Good Readers, Good Writers: Discussion Topic 7

I think that Vladimir Nabokov has extreme authority over his writing. He uses examples that flow, and he makes his words help his idea, not hinder the ideas with wordy, dull statements. Nabokov uses vivid pictures that help his audience see his point. By the end of this essay, you see where he is coming from, and there is very little opposition because his points are made so well. He commands his words, not the other way around, which I consider extreme authority. Nabokov makes his words tell a story, and even though this essay isn't a story, you find it just as interesting as your favorite book.

Nabokov has authority over his writing all through this essay. You can practically hear how he talks when he puts the words together. He commands them to make his point and practically take you in the classroom where he is lecturing at one college or another. I find this very interesting. I was able to read this essay and completely concentrate on it, even with noise in the background. Essays are not my favorite things to read, but with his use of words, it made it interesting for me, which I think shows much authority as a writer. I think that to write like Nabokov should be a writer's goal.

Nabokov, Vladimir. "Good Readers and Good Writers." Lecture

Good Readers, Good Writers: Discussion Topic 6

Nabokov has a long, drawn out introduction in my opinion. It is not like in Why Read the Classics? where Calvino launches into his arguments and ideas with one smooth sentence. No, Nabokov uses a good two paragraphs to actually start getting into his points. I don't necessarily mind this, because I think it kind of prepares me for what I am about to read, and to get in the correct mind set to actually appreciate this essay. I appreciated this essay more than Calvino's Why Read the Classics? I think I liked it better because Vladimir Nabokov's ideas are better stated, and then they are repeated, so by the time you come to the end of the essay, those certain ideas are drilled into your mind.

I think what characterizes the conclusion is using an example of an old folk tale we have all heard, about the boy who cried wolf. We can all relate to this story because it has been told to us since we were small. He makes his last final point using the boy who cried wolf. The final idea he used to make his point was this, "The magic of art was in the shadow of the wolf that he deliberately invented, his dream of the wolf; then the story of his tricks made a good story. When he perished at last, the story about him acquired a good lesson in the dark around the campfire. But he was the little magician. He was the inventor." (Nabokov 4)

Nabokov, Vladimir. "Good Readers and Good Writers." Lecture

Good Readers, Good Writers: Discussion Topic 5

Good Readers, Good Writers is organized in long paragraphs of Nabokov making his points. I think that this essay is organized chronologically also. I believe this because Nabokov is giving us steps how to be good readers which will make us good writers. For example, in the first page, he introduces his idea, in the second page, he talks to his students about what we must focus on, and by the fourth and fifth page, Nabokov is telling us what we need to do, in order to appreciate a novel. By the end of this essay, he repeats the steps, paints us a picture, and then we are done. He has shown us how to be a good reader. All that we have to do now is practice.

I also think that this is organized logically. Nabokov is trying to persuade us to read the correct way and to enjoy the book. He makes examples of what not to do, which is how the average person reads, then shows us the proper way to appreciate a novel. Nabokov is persuading us to read his essay, and then to use this in our everyday reading and life.

Nabokov, Vladimir. "Good Readers and Good Writers." Lecture

Good Readers, Good Writers: Discussion Topic 4

There were actually quite a few passages that caught my attention in Good Readers, Good Writers. One passage that particularly stuck out at me was one of the questions Nabokov brought up, can we really learn about history from these novels? No. The part of the paragraph that really stuck out at me was this, "Cane we rely on Jane Austen's picture of landowning England with baronets and landscaped grounds when all she knew was a clergyman's parlor?" (Nabokov 1) This really stuck out at me, because in my previous blogs, I said that we could learn about the older days from these books, but now I don't really know if  we can trust what goes on in these novels.

Another passage that stuck out at me was when Nabokov talks about being a reader. He says that we can not really read a book, that we can only reread it. He says that the first time we read the book, we only read the print, which isn't really reading. We don't paint the picture the author is trying to get us to imagine the first time we read. Nabokov says, "In reading a book, we must have time to acquaint ourselves with it. We have no physical organ that takes in the whole picture and then can enjoy its details." (Nabokov 2) I totally agree with this statement. I read The Picture of Dorian Gray for the first time this summer and I found it immensly dull, probably because I couldn't see what was happening. I didn't have the proper picture.

Nabokov, Vladimir. "Good Readers and Good Writers." Lecture

Good Readers, Good Writers: Discussion Topic 3

In Good Readers, Good Writers, there are a few rhetorical devices used. One device that I think was used was the device Antithesis, which is defined as, "Establishing a clear, contrasting relationship between two ideas by joining them together or juxtaposing them, often in parallel structure. Human beings are inveterate systematizers and categorizers, so the mind has a natural love for antithesis, which creates a definite and systematic relationship between ideas." (Harris 2) An example of Nobokov using antithesis is, when he talks about the author being an artist and painting a picture, but we don't look at it as an artist, we look at the novel as a regular person using their imagination to recreate the picture.

Another rhetorical device that was used was Amplification, which is defined as, "Involving repeating a word or expression while adding more detail to it, in order to emphasize what might otherwise be passed over. In other words, amplification allows you to call attention to, emphasize, and expand a word or idea to make sure the reader realizes its importance or centrality in the discussion." (Harris 3)Nabokov uses amplification many time to make his point. First he says we need to be detached, then we must stay detached and use our imagination, and then we must take these to and lose our emotional connection, and this pattern continues all throughout the essay.

Harris, Robert. "A Handbook of Rhetorical Devices." VirtualSalt. 5 Jan. 2010. Web. 20 Aug. 2011. http://virtualsalt.com/rhetoric2.

Nabokov, Vladimir. "Good Readers and Good Writers." Lecture

Good Readers, Good Writers: Discussion Topic 2

In Good Readers, Good Writers, Nabokov makes some interesting points which almost are the opposite of the other essay that we had to read, Why Read the Classics? I think that his tone in this essay is more informative than emotional. In Why Read The Classics? Italo Calvino seemed to put a lot of emotion into his writing, seeming as if he was attached to what he was saying. He pointed out emotional connections to the classics, which is what Good Readers, Good Writers tells us exactly not to do. Calvino seems more interested in sharing what he thinks than informing his readers about what the classics are actually about.

Vladimir Nabokov writes Good Readers, Good Writers for a reason, to inform. His tone during this essay is relatively mild, and he is just trying to teach us how to be better readers to be better writers. He has no emotional connection, just shares what should happen to become a good reader. His writing is detached, and aloof, and I think that he does this for a reason. Nabokov tells us as readers to be detached and aloof, and I think he writes like this so that way, with this essay, we have no choice but to be detached and have no emotional connection.

Nabokov, Vladimir. "Good Readers and Good Writers." Lecture