How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Section.Paragraph)
Quote #1
He was beloved not for any essential ability but for those unforgettable digressions of his, when he would remove his glasses to beam at the past while massaging the lenses of the present. Nostalgic excursions in broken English. Autobiographical tidbits. (1.5)
It seems that Pnin spends an awful lot of time thinking about his past. Why do you think he can't let go? Also, isn't it interesting that the narrator implies Pnin requires some kind of special corrective lenses in order to force his eyes to see the present? We think so.
Quote #2
Directing his memory, with all the lights on and all the masks of the mind a-miming, toward the days of his fervid and receptive youth (in a brilliant cosmos that seemed all the fresher for having been abolished by one blow of history), Pnin would get drunk on his private wines as he produced sample after sample of what his listeners politely surmised was Russian humor. (1.6)
Look at the words used to describe the past in this quote. Fervid, a brilliant cosmos, private wines. The way the narrator describes it the past seems way more awesome than the present. Is it?
Quote #3
Isabel's adolescence had gone with her, or, if not, had been eradicated by her mother, but traces of the girl's childhood somehow had been allowed to remain… (2.2.16)
Why would Joan, Isabel's mom, destroy all traces of her adolescence but keep her childhood? Remember that Isabel's parents can't seem to deal with her marriage, and want her to come home even if that means a divorce. Pretty telling, if you ask us.