arguement for or against Nabokov's view of " Good Readers and Writers" and two comments

9/7/08
I agree and disagree with Nabokov and his point of view, of what a good reader and writer is. I do agree that a good reader should have imagination, memory and a dictionary. A reader without an imagination would not be able to connect with the story. A reader without a memory would not remember important details in the beginning of a story that later may help understand or explain a certain event that takes place. A good reader should also have a dictionary handy , because there's nothing worse then reading a story and coming across a word that you don't know. If you don't know the word , you don't know what the author is trying to say and wont receive the correct message. I don't necessarily agree that a good reader should have an artistic sense. I also agree that a reader should not judge a book before they attempt to read it. If they do judge a book they may miss out. Just because one person doesn't like a certain book ,it doesn't mean another person wont enjoy it.

I don't agree with Nabokov on what a good piece of literature is. He believes that all good literature should have three facets magic, story and a lesson. A story should have some magic, because without a bit of magic , the person reading it wont be able to connect her/him self with the story. The piece of literature should have a story , one that the reader will enjoy , learn something new or be taken to a new place. But I don't agree that all good literature should have a lesson. There doesn't always have to be a lesson. Sometimes readers just want to forget about there problems and lives and be taken to a completely different world. It can be a in a love story or a horror story. For example harry potter doesn't have a real lesson but people still thing its a great book. Last of all I don't agree that just because Nabokov thinks a certain piece of literature is good or bad ,that it is. Its up to the reader to decide , everyone has different opinions and different taste.