Customer center

We are a boutique essay service, not a mass production custom writing factory. Let us create a perfect paper for you today!

Example research essay topic: Point Of View Literary History - 1,072 words

NOTE: Free essay sample provided on this page should be used for references or sample purposes only. The sample essay is available to anyone, so any direct quoting without mentioning the source will be considered plagiarism by schools, colleges and universities that use plagiarism detection software. To get a completely brand-new, plagiarism-free essay, please use our essay writing service.
One click instant price quote

Nabokov's Pnin is a novel that incorporates all of its interior and exterior ideas into its story, or in the words of Brian Stonehill is a self-conscious novel. Stonehill explains that the essential key that separates a self-conscious novel from one which is not involves four ideas: the author of the novel, the reader of the novel, the literary history behind the novel, and the real world relevance of the novel. Stonehill explains that in a novel which is not self-conscious these ideas remain exterior and are only involved from a distance. In other words: the author is invisible, the reader of the novel isnt recognized within the novel itself, the literary history of the novel is simply alluded to, and the novel is very fictional based, having very little relevance to real world issues. Stonehill describes a self-conscious to involve these four ideas in quite a different way.

He explains these ideas as approaches to literature. Each of these approaches implies, of course, a different assumption about what a work of literature essentially is: whether it is a revealing expression of its authors subconscious; a verbal machine constructed so as to create a specific effect upon its reader; an artifact which is, at least partially, determined by and determining a tradition; or, a representation of a political, social, sexual, racial, or economic reality (Stonehill 4). Stonehill explains that in a subconscious novel these four ideas are inside the novel itself. He explains that the topics that might arise from these ideas such as the authors subconscious, effects on the reader, the actual history of the literature, and real world issues such as politics, sociality, sexuality, race, and economy, are all discussed within the novel as opposed to being alluded to. Nabokov's Pnin, through the lens of Stonehill's perspectives on the self-conscious novel, will be the focus of this essay. When analyzing Pnin, it is important to realize that, although there are many different stories occurring within Pnin's life that seem to take over the story, the actual story Nabokov writes is about the life and the struggle of one individual man, Pnin.

The story encapsulates the adversity one individual man faces every single day of his existence. Throughout the story it may seem to some that the protagonist of the story may change, however it is just Nabokov's way of increasing the complexity of the story of Pnin's life. It is important to realize that just because the different sides of a character are presented; it doesnt mean that the character is actually changing. Stonehill mentions this concept of the story revolving around itself as a result of increasing complexity is present in a self-conscious novel when he says, The self-conscious text dramatizes and encapsulates its own context (5). Stonehill's Repertoire of Reflexivity is involved in his concept of the self-conscious novel, and there are five categories of significance: narrations, style, structure, characterization, and themes; and under these categories are specific characteristics. Although these characteristics are very essential in individualizing each self-conscious novel it is very important to understand that, in Stonehill's opinion, these characteristics do not form a rule book that an author must follow for his novel to be deemed self-conscious.

Stonehill states this very idea when he says, these features, along with the others to be added to the list, are not criteria that a novel must meet in order to be deemed self-conscious, but are rather resources at the disposal of the self-conscious novelist, to be adopted or discarded as the novelist sees fit (20). Under the category of narrations, Nabokov's Pnin possesses a few characteristics featured in the Repertoire of Reflexivity; the first being, the narrator visibly engaged in the act of composition; meaning, the reader can very clearly see that the author is writing or creating and not just telling a story of a friends life. Stonehill explains this by saying, In a self-conscious novel, however, the narrator is visibly engaged in the invention of his narrative (19). In chapter one of Pnin, the narrator claims to be a friend, through use of phrases such as my dear friend, poor friend, and my Pnin.

The reader can recognize that the narrator is entangled in the story; this, of course, is not discovered until the very end, and nevertheless he is a part of the story of Pnin's life. The reader can therefore understand the position of the narrator because he is very open with his language and point of view. With this in mind, the reader can also realize that the narrator is telling the story from his point of view, or from the way he sees and interprets events. Stonehill also explains that a self-conscious novel contains authorial intrusions (19) throughout the story, which is very much the case in Pnin because Nabokov enters his own name in chapter three of the story. Because of the simple fact that Nabokov uses his own name, the reader can imply that the author is not completely outside of the story. The second characteristic, under the category of narrations, that Pnin possesses is, abrupt transitions between scenes.

In Nabokov's novel, the chapters are each different from one another; however, this is true because it was published chapter by chapter. Therefore, each and every chapter tells a story of its own and is self-sufficient. So, because the novel consists of one story jumping to the next, the transitions from one scene or chapter to the next are very abrupt or even nonexistent. Stonehill mentions that The novel may sporadically encourage the reader to believe in the world it has constructed, but it misses no opportunity to remind him or her that this world elsewhere is not one that he or she lives in (10). This idea is very present in Pnin, especially when the story develops very nicely into a many individual situations occurring that seem very much like real life situations. However, as soon as the reader begins to believe in the situations occurring in the story as possibilities in his life, the narrator has a way of fictionalizing the situation and succeeds in putting the reader in his place, which is outside and away from the world in which the story is taking place.

Under the categories of style and structure, Nabokov's Pnin possesses a few characteristics that are also featured in the Repertoire of Reflexivity. The first characteristic involves the manipulation of language and t...


Free research essays on topics related to: literary history, one individual, conscious, real world, point of view

Research essay sample on Point Of View Literary History

Writing service prices per page

  • $18.85 - in 14 days
  • $19.95 - in 3 days
  • $23.95 - within 48 hours
  • $26.95 - within 24 hours
  • $29.95 - within 12 hours
  • $34.95 - within 6 hours
  • $39.95 - within 3 hours
  • Calculate total price

Our guarantee

  • 100% money back guarantee
  • plagiarism-free authentic works
  • completely confidential service
  • timely revisions until completely satisfied
  • 24/7 customer support
  • payments protected by PayPal

Secure payment

With EssayChief you get

  • Strict plagiarism detection regulations
  • 300+ words per page
  • Times New Roman font 12 pts, double-spaced
  • FREE abstract, outline, bibliography
  • Money back guarantee for missed deadline
  • Round-the-clock customer support
  • Complete anonymity of all our clients
  • Custom essays
  • Writing service

EssayChief can handle your

  • essays, term papers
  • book and movie reports
  • Power Point presentations
  • annotated bibliographies
  • theses, dissertations
  • exam preparations
  • editing and proofreading of your texts
  • academic ghostwriting of any kind

Free essay samples

Browse essays by topic:

Stay with EssayChief! We offer 10% discount to all our return customers. Once you place your order you will receive an email with the password. You can use this password for unlimited period and you can share it with your friends!

Academic ghostwriting

About us

© 2002-2024 EssayChief.com