Language and Media Practices Prevalent in 1984 and Lolita: Contemporary Problems Require Literary Solutions
Open Access
Author:
Chan, Emma
Area of Honors:
English
Degree:
Bachelor of Arts
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Lisa Ruth Sternlieb, Thesis Supervisor Claire Mary Colebrook, Thesis Honors Advisor
Keywords:
lolita 1984 mass media english communications
Abstract:
Classics in literature classrooms remain prevalent to this day. This is found especially in the books 1984 by George Orwell and Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov. Both novels explore the real implications of past and present media practices to control entities such as the news, the public. or a nation. Propaganda and disinformation strategies similar to those used by the Party in 1984 have been used in past elections and regimes. Narrative control and the issue of morality in media and entertainment align very similarly to the themes in Lolita utilized by Humbert Humbert. The more things have changed and time has passed, the more things stay the same. The two novels remain classics well into the 21st century through the rise of mass media and the digital age.
