During his life, Nabokov was a voracious learner, a terrible student, and a celebrated teacher, so it's no wonder that his life story has a lot of different things to say about the theme of education. In "Speak, Memory," education isn't just about the way our narrator learns, but also all of the people who help make it happen. Because of this, thinking about education opens up the text to differing opinions and backgrounds, new applications of long-ago lessons, and the ways in which scholarship can teach us about identity.
Questions About Education
- Vladimir's father is invested in exposing his son to all sort of teachers and kinds of learning. Why do you think this is?
- Which one of Vladimir's tutors seems most important to the man he will one day become? What evidence is there for this?
- At Cambridge, what do you think prevented Vladimir from being a more invested student?
Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.
Vladimir would not have written this book if not for the diversity and depth of his education.
The Nabokovs' wealth afforded Vladimir an education that ultimately sustained him through life as a poor émigré.