The thesis in “Good Readers and Good Writers” was not stated outright and is implicit. It is simply interwoven into the writing, and as you read through the essay, starts to come out and reveal itself as Nabokov connects all his ideas together. The thesis is simply a series of rules on how to go about being a good reader and writer. Once the essay is finished, the thesis is clear. It is this: A good reader should look at a book like a work of art, should be open to it as if it was something brand new to them, should be imaginative and should attempt to connect with the author while reading the book. A good writer should be a storyteller, a teacher, and an enchanter. These two sentences are the outline for the story and are woven and cleverly placed amongst Nabokov’s work.
The thesis is placed in different points in the essay. The first sentence of the thesis can be found in the beginning paragraphs. It says in paragraph two that a reader should look at a book like a work of art and treat it as “something brand new” (Nabokov par. 2) Later on, Nabokov gives a quiz and then answers it by saying that “the good reader is one who has imagination, memory, a dictionary, and some artistic sense” (Nabokov par. 9) He also says that there should be an “artistic harmonious balance between the reader’s mind and the author’s mind” (Nabokov par. 14) This is revealing his opinion that the reader should try and connect with the author in what they are saying.
The second part of the thesis, the one of writers, is seen in paragraph 19. He says, “A major writer combines theses three—storyteller, teacher, and enchanter—but it is the enchanter in him that predominates and makes him a major writer.”
Nabokov, Vladimir. “Good Readers and Good Writers”. Lectures on Literatures. 1948. Lecture. PDF file.
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