Pnin Themes

There is just no way around it. Whether verbal, signed, or written, language is just how we communicate. So if, like Pnin, your skills are less than optimal, the world is going to look like a much...

Home is where the heart is. There's no place like home. If you happen to have some ruby slippers, you can even kick your heels together three times to get there. We have all these phrases for home...

What is there to say about love that hasn't been said by every rock, pop, and rap star there has ever been? You know the deal. It's mushy, squishy, and full of pink floating hearts. Or at least tha...

It's just a fact that things die. Most depictions of death are sad and sentimental. Those loved ones are lost forever. However, in Pnin, they're never too far from the present. Sure, Pnin has to ha...

People tend to see the past through rose-colored glasses. After all, everything was better when you were younger, right? Well, things are no different in Pnin. Pnin constantly looks back at his pas...

What is othering? It's basically looking at someone and thinking that they are not like you and people in your group. Often, this ends up with feeling those people (the others) are somehow inferior...

So who gets to determine what and who is American? Well, besides the American government, we mean. Do you need to know how to make the perfect apple pie? Or should you be able to recite all of the...

Humans are social creatures, so isolation is basically the worst thing ever. There is a reason why solitary confinement is considered cruel and unusual torture. Unfortunately for Pnin, he is isolat...