Summaries: key concepts and applications

Nabokov:

Ch. 4 "My English Education":

In the fourth chapter of Nabokov's book, he discusses his upbringing and the English governess who took care of him when he was a small child. The particular qualities of Britain seemed to all have been within this one governess and it instilled in Nabokov and his other family members a form of Anglophilia. They came to appreciate other British things either because she introduced it to them or because, being British, they reminded the family of the governess which then gave it a positive connotation. There are British articles all over the house and a decidedly British influence on the children, so much so that Vladimir learned English before Russian.

Ch. 5 "Mademoiselle O":

Following the departure of the British governess, the Nabokov children had a French nanny who they called "Mademoiselle." She looked after them for several years and this exposure to French culture further removed the children from the culture of their own nationality and instead instilled in them more of an international perspective. Unlike the British nanny, the French one does not seem particularly warm or loving, but her voice which the two boys are obsessed with makes up for these deficits.

Ch. 6 "Butterflies":

This chapter talks about the author's interests in butterflies and how he came to start collecting them. Throughout his life, Nabokov had lepidoptery as his favorite pastime and means of relaxing. Part of the reason he enjoys his hobby so much is that it gives him time to be alone and to think.

Simic:

1) The narrator and a group of others go to a building which might be an abandoned factory or an abandoned prison.

2) No one can see their reflection in a rock but beyond the obvious it might mean that no one sees his or her true self.

3) An artifact washes up on shore. It happens to be a doll's head but might be anything which had once meant the world to an innocent young person who has either lost it or thrown it away after it lost its significance.

4) The character Margaret is writing a recipe, but there is symbolism in great amounts. She is cooking saint, but a man is in the other room and he is referenced as saint. The author sits outside under and apple tree. These are all allusions to Christianity and both sainthood and the Creation.

5) Nietzsche and the Amazon rainforest are compared to one another because both are unknowable and confusing to the explorer.

6) Russians and Americans/British people were at the end of the Cold War when this was written. Both sides attributed horrendous atrocities to the other. This is likely what is being referenced here.

7) People are often misguided by their religious beliefs. Many enact violence or at least support violence if it is in the name of their religion.

8) A farmer has hung himself in the barn and his wife cries over him. The farm has either not been profitable or the work is too hard and so he committed suicide.

9) A girl lets go her caged pet birds because she can no longer afford to take care of them.

10) The narrator's friend has gone crazy after his wife ran off with his brother. He still talks to her and brings her roses as if she were home. At the same time, the narrator feels that he or she is nothing because they do not even have the memory of a love like that.