SEC ASSIGNMENT

Submitted by:
Shivani Kaul
B.A. (Hons) English, 3rd Sem
18/29083
What is censorship?

Censorship has always been present in some form in all societies, and may be simultaneously
viewed as positive or negative by everyone’s respective point of view. Much of the difficulty
that occurs when discussing censorship arises from the fact that there are many types of
censorship operating in different societies and some of these are accepted, or even welcomed, by
majority groups or powerful minorities. Any discussion of censorship in recent history and as a
contemporary practice is complicated by several factors. The term itself can refer to various
types of restriction and control; and it is affected by changing social and political contexts. It is
linked to a series of concepts such as freedom of expression, decency, political correctness, and
the common good, which are also difficult to define and are open to conflicting interpretations.
Indeed, the question of what constitutes censorship has been tackled by many influential thinkers
and whilst their work is immensely valuable and addresses several important aspects of
censorship in the context of both authoritarian states and liberal democracies, it is nevertheless
clear that there is no consensus on the matter.

Provocative and controversial art and in-your-face entertainment put our commitment to free
speech to the test. Why should we oppose censorship when scenes of murder and mayhem
dominate the TV screen, when works of art can be seen as a direct insult to peoples' religious
beliefs, and when much sexually explicit material can be seen as degrading to women? Why not
let the majority's morality and taste dictate what others can look at or listen to?

The answer is simple, and timeless: a free society is based on the principle that each and every
individual has the right to decide what art or entertainment he or she wants -- or does not want --
to receive or create. Once you allow the government to censor someone else, you cede to it the
power to censor you, or something you like. Censorship is like a poisonous gas: a powerful
weapon that can harm you when the wind shifts.

In this research paper I would be using the novel Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov as an example to
explain the relationship between censorship and creativity.

What is Lolita about?

“Lolita” is about a middle-aged professor named Humbert and his obsession with 12-year-
old Dolores Haze. The author’s purpose is to show the twisted and illogical nature of a
pedophile’s mind, as the protagonist feels fully justified in his actions. Humbert confesses
that he has always been attracted to pubescent girls, whom he calls “nymphets,” attributing
his interest to the fact that he never consummated his first love, who was 13 when she died.
He portrays his agenda as a romantic tale of a hero blindly following love.

However, it is clear to the reader that he is grooming Dolores, cementing himself as

someone trustworthy in her mind. Then, he kidnaps her, holding her hostage for three
years. Prohibited from having a social life or going to school, except for a brief int erlude at
a girls’ school in New England, she is forced instead to travel with a manipulative middle -
aged man. Humbert injures her arm, drugs her with the intention of rape, stops her from
using phones and hides her mother’s death from her, threatening that she would most likely
be in an orphanage if it were not for him.

Why was Lolita banned?

Lolita was banned as obscene in France from 1956-1959, in England from 1955-59, Argentina in
1959, and New Zealand in 1960. Though no longer banned, Nabokov’s tale of twisted love
remains a point of contention in literature curricula across the United States, challenged as
recently as 2006 in Marion County public library in Ocala, Florida, for its themes of pedophilia
and incest.

Some sentences worthy of censorship:

Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue taking
a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. Lo. Lee. Ta. –

Leading up to its publication, Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita gave even its author pause as to
whether it should be available to the public. It took some convincing from his wife to publish
the novel, and it was released by a noted pornographic press in France in 1955. Lolita’s
controversial status fueled its success, leading it to the top of best-seller lists across the globe.
However, its subject matter, which was presented to its readers as the memoirs of a deceased
European intellectual who fanatically yearned after a 12 year old girl, proved too obscene for
several authorities and was banned in its first decade of publication in France, England,
Argentina, New Zealand, and South Africa as well as in some American communities. One
review of the novel deemed it “highbrow pornography” adorned with “English vocabulary [that]
would astound the editors of the Oxford Dictionary.” .

Lolita was never officially banned in the United States, although it was banned in France where
it was first published in 1955, and in several other countries. Yet today, although the novel
remains unlikely to be formally censored, the idea of its private or “voluntary” censorship has
gained fresh currency. The cultural impact of Vladimir Nabokov’s 1955 novel “Lolita” is
widespread, inspiring fashion movements and film adaptations alike. Public unde rstanding
of “Lolita” is nebulous; most know of the classic novel involving a young girl and an older
man. However, many people who have not read the book tend to associate the word
“Lolita” with romanticism or sexuality.

Although harshly censored, Nabokov’s masterpiece refused to be unread and earned praise from
scholars, who celebrated its meditation on the psychology of love. Today Lolita enjoys a ban-
free status in conjunction with being known as one of the most-groundbreaking novels of the
20th century.
Bibliography

https://www.aclu.org/other/freedom-expression-arts-and-entertainment

https://prostasia.org/blog/defending-lolita-from-censorship/

http://www.mountholyokenews.com/oped/2018/10/7/lolita-should-not-be-banned-despite-its-
skewed-cultural-impact