People tend to see the past through rose-colored glasses. After all, everything was better when you were younger, right? Well, things are no different in Pnin. Pnin constantly looks back at his past as the best period in his life. At times, his focus on the past is so obsessive that it almost seems like the present doesn't even exist. Even though most of us would probably agree that it's nice to be nostalgic once in a while, in Pnin, some of the characters seem to live more in their rosy memories than in the present unfolding before them.
Questions About Memory and the Past
- What impact does the knowledge of Pnin's past have on our understanding of his character? How would you see him if you knew nothing about it? How do you think the other characters see him?
- Why do you think Nabokov constantly allows the past to intrude into the present in Pnin? Why not just set the book in the past? Or why not just focus on the present? What effect do these intrusions of the past have on your understanding of the novel?
- Pnin is not the only character with a past in Pnin. What do you know about the other characters pasts? How important are they to their characters? Are they as obsessed with it as Pnin is?
Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.
Memories and the past are more important than the present in Pnin.
Memories in the past are uncertain and changeable in Pnin.