ity of different perspectives, Wittgenstein used the example of a figure which looks like a duck in certain contexts and like a rabbit in other contexts. This relativity of visual perception applies to the world of language as well. Thus, in order to understand the meaning of a particular expression, a person must first understand the exact context in which the expression is used. Wittgenstein's way of phrasing this concept is to claim that the meaning of a specific word "refers to a point of time and to a way of using the word."
In applying the ideas of Wittgenstein to the analysis of the use of language in Lolita, one must first acknowledge that the novel's narrator, Humbert Humbert, is somewhat unreliable as a source for objective truth. He is a madman and a murderer, and he is constantly plagued by obsessive thoughts and "nympholepsy." Because of these factors, Humbert has his own unique language-game for expressing his viewpoints to his reader. In the words of one reviewer, "the book is in part a game the narrator is playing against us (touch
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