Work of Literary Merit > Good Books

      When I hear “a work of literary merit”, I immediately think of canon of work. Cannon of work described literary works that were reviewed and criticized by college professors, teachers and others. However, “a work of literary merit” is more than the definition above.

      To me, “a work of literary merit” is considered to be a “classic”, a book that stood the test of time and a book that is considered important in the eyes of English experts. Also, the work will have an importance and a theme that can be related to most of the people around the world. Some common topics of theme are crimes of love, self-sacrificing, disaster and pursue. However, different people have a varied interpretation on “a work of literary merit” due to their personal opinions.

      For my independent reading, I read Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov, and I consider this books as “a work of literary merit”.

     "Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul."

      This is the first line of my independent reading. The summary of the book is revealed in this line. The protagonist in the book, Humbert develops an obsession toward Lolita, a young teenage girls. Although Humbert loves Lolita, their relationship was considered as a sin during the second half of 20^th century, in America, the setting of the book.

    During the twentieth century, there was no other novel like Lolita that explored couples with a large age gap. Thus, the plot of the book was new. The novel was first published in 1955, but it was banned in different countries due to the controversy over the content of pornography within the book. However, the audience who criticized the novel often overlook other elements of the book, such as the desire of the protagonist: his love to Lolita, his will to control her life and his impulses to satisfy his desire. Lolita’s identity and childhood are in the hands of Humbert’s, instead of her own. The story of Lolita and Humbert can be connected to the desire of human, rather it is sexual, materialistic or survival desire. These desires shape the behavior of human, even the behavior is extremely positive or negative.

      From 1955 to 2015, Lolita has stood the test of time, and the public opinion of the book  changes as the society changes as well. Today, it is not rare to see married couple who are ten years or twenty years apart. Moreover, the title of the book appears in the reading list of AP English Literature and Composition, which suggested its literary importance in American education. Thus, Lolita  is considered to be " a work of literary Merit", instead of just a good book.