This story is all about Enid and her teenage journey – one of loneliness, isolation and disdain. Enid is lost after she graduates from High School. She makes no plans for college, she doesn’t worry about getting married, and she may worry about a career – but not right now. Enid feels like she is stuck in a realm of stupid, shallow phonies. Because of this, she develops a personal style that is practically a rebuke to others. Enid is so intelligent, so ironically wrapped around and inside of herself, that most of the people she encounters have no clue who she is or what her message might be.
This story demonstrates how difficult it is to be yourself in a world where individualism is often shunned. For example, Enid wears a punk look in order to mock the styles of punks, but most people merely think she is two decades out of style. Like in The Color Purple, Enid’s friend Rebecca offers her a source of strength, courage and understanding. Both she and Rebecca are intelligent and apart from the mainstream world of pretty, mindless girls. When Rebecca gets on with her life, Enid is lost again among the thrift shops, malls, and video stores. Nevertheless, Enid will meet Seymour, a fellow spirit, and together they discover one can find a soul mate – even in shallow, stupid world.
The first part of Lolita is very interesting because it is in the first half where we see the fixation Humbert has for “Lolitas”, a fixation that borders on pedophilia but one whose origins are from an artistic or aesthetic appreciation. This part of the story is important because it sets up the relationship that will ultimately be responsible for the deaths of Lolita, her mother and Humbert.
Another interesting aspect of Lolita is that despite its controversial subject matter, there is almost nothing in the story that could be considered pornographic or viewed as erotica. All of Humbert
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