Dear Jansy,

               In my chapter "Nabokov and Comic Art," to which you refer here, I do NOT suggest that the caricatures in Pnin are cruel. This is a complete misrepresentation of my argument. In fact, I suggest just the opposite.

To quote a portion from my chapter's conclusion: "Nabokov's attitude toward comic art does not differ from his view of art in general. Being raised in the family of highly humanistic principles, which were inculcated in him from his very childhood, Nabokov has shown throughout his literary legacy that art, including its comic aspect with all its humor and satire, should always be compassionate and ennobling, but never insensitive, let alone cruel, toward a fellow man."

Sincerely,

Gavriel Shapiro
________________________________________
From: Vladimir Nabokov Forum [NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU] On Behalf Of Jansy [jansy@AETERN.US]
Sent: Sunday, April 04, 2010 10:44 PM
To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
Subject: [NABOKV-L] [NABOKOV-L] Bunnies and Nabokov Cartoons

In "Bugs Bunny, Postmodernism, Sadism, Nabokov, Characterization--Duck Amuck" we read:
"In Duck Amuck (created in 1953), Daffy Duck is exquisitely tortured by his creator. In the course of the film the animator messes with and changes the scenery, interchanges props, replaces the soundtrack, mutes Daffy, and even erases and physically alters Daffy himself. ..Daffy keeps trying to live--and entertain--but he can't maintain any constancy or control of his surroundings, or even his body. The cartoon reminded me of Nabokov's approach to characterization--the way he kept his character under his, or rather God's, thumb. Torture them. Make them uncomfortable. Give them no joy. No freedom. Daffy kept attempting to liberate himself--to be a naturalistic, realistic character, in short, to serve the expectations of the audience--but he was ruthlessly denied such a life."    Cf.litmatters.blogspot.com/.../bugs-bunny-postmodernism-sadism-nabakov.html -  In contrast, concerning Nabokov's rejection of cruelty, Gavriel Shapiro writes about "Pnin" and the cruel caricatures tha!
t could be drawn of this character. He illustrates some pages with adds from the New Yorker and a set of cartoons.
"Nabokov and the Comic" is referenced at: Nabokov at the limits: redrawing critical boundaries  by Lisa Zunshine - 1999 -books.google.com.br/books?isbn=0815328958... More can be found at:Nabokov at Cornell  Gavriel Shapiro - 2003 - Biography & Autobiography - books.google.com.br/books?isbn=0801439094...