Peter's Choice of Reading Material

[Philly_SWAT]

Some of you may have seen in general discussion that I posted a thread asking "Does anyone know who this is"? It seemed unlikely that anyone would know, but I figure that it never hurts to ask. Well, due to some crack investigative work by krakenslayer and his girlfriend, the mystery was solved, it is Vladimir Nabokov, known primarily as a novelist, as well as writer about chess problems and entomology, specifically dealing with butterflies. This pic is a screen capture from Dawn of the Dead. It has been flipped to show the author's face right side up. (It was upside down in the film). We see this book on-screen for literally one second. It is laying on Peter's bed as he is taking off his jewelry and throwing it down, preparing for the biker raid. While the inclusion of this book could simply be a case of "find a book to have on the bed, we can show money being used as a bookmark to show how unimportant it is now", with no thought as to what book, what the book should mean to the character, etc., that explanation is no fun. So I would be curious as to what people choose to believe about Peter's character in light of knowing what material he was reading. Unfortunately, we can not see the title, so it could be any book by Nabokov, but the most likely case would be that it is "Lolita" the famous story about the narrator, Humbert Humbert, becoming obsessed with a 12-year-old girl named Dolores Haze. After its publication, Lolita attained a classic status, becoming one of the best known and most controversial examples of 20th century literature. The name "Lolita" has entered pop culture to describe a sexually precocious young girl. It is considered by literary experts to be one of the most important novels of the 20th century. So what do you think Peter was reading, and why? I will state the case for the 5 choices in the poll. 1. Reading about butterflies - as an active fellow who enjoys the outdoors, most of Peter's life now is spent cooped up in a mall with legions of the undead slapping at the doors. The only semblance of the outdoors he can enjoy in playing raquetball by himself against a wall up on the roof, something he doesnt find that satisfying. So he reads a book about butterflies, marvels in their natural beauty, and dreams of a normal life in a normal world, where he can live life to the fullest in the great outdoors, seeing all nature has to offer. 2. Reading about chess problems - as a highly intelligent person, and one who always seems to have a plan and stay one step ahead of the zombie problem, Peter always enjoyed things that tested his brain. Now in the mall, there is nothing stimulating to do. The video games suck, his best buddy is dead, and Fran and Flyboy dont exactly have the sharpest knives in the drawer. So Peter escapes the every day hum-drum of a zombie outbreak by studying chess problems from one of the great minds of the 20th century. 3. Reading to ease his sexual frustration - as a tall, tough fellow, no doubt he was quite the ladies man prior to the outbreak. Perhaps this explains his intimate knowledge of performing abortions. Now thanks to the world being overrun with the undead, he is stuck in a mall with only one woman ,who is pregnant with the other guys child. Common courtesy, as well as a desire to not cause a rift with Flyboy (who as inept as he may be, does help with Peter's chance of survival) keeps him from putting the moves on Fran. So he reads sexually charged materials, in order to fuel his imagination when he goes to the "reading room". 4. Peter is a pervert - As capable a leader as there can be, Peter was a closet sexual predator. There were a couple of incidents in his past, but being a fellow police officer, he had help in sweeping these problems under the rug. Now trapped in a mall where the only young girls around are those that are dead, and want to rip his throat out with their bare teeth, the only outlet Peter has to deal with these inner feelings is to search the mall book shops for the most depraved sexual material he can find. 5. Peter enjoys great literature - An obviously intelligent man, Peter has enjoyed fine literature his whole life. While he is definitely not happy that throngs of flesh eaters are keeping him a prisoner in a tomb of consumerism, as a fellow who always tries to make the best of any situation, Peter is taking the time to catch up on some great literature that he never had time for back in the days of "normal" life.

[Mr.G]

Perhaps this explains his intimate knowledge of performing abortions. Am I going to hell for laughing at this?

[MaximusIncredulous]

I could picture Peter reading Poems and Problems. On the other hand, maybe he needed something more stimulating and read Lolita. Then again the picture seen on the book matches the one seen for the book Dar (The Gift) in this picture: which would be fitting since Nabokov considered that work his farewell to the world he was leaving behind, just like Peter. Not a guarantee since that picture may have been recycled for his other books.

[Philly_SWAT]

I could picture Peter reading Poems and Problems. On the other hand, maybe he needed something more stimulating and read Lolita. Then again the picture seen on the book matches the one seen for the book Dar (The Gift) in this picture: which would be fitting since Nabokov considered that work his farewell to the world he was leaving behind, just like Peter. Not a guarantee since that picture may have been recycled for his other books. Where is that pic from? Yes it looks like the same pic, but that one appears on the inside of the book, not the back cover, unless it is upside down next to another book with no cover.

[MaximusIncredulous]

Where is that pic from? Yes it looks like the same pic, but that one appears on the inside of the book, not the back cover, unless it is upside down next to another book with no cover. Wikipedia. The book pictured might be the Russian original before it was translated to English in 1963.

[Philly_SWAT]

Wikipedia. The book pictured might be the Russian original before it was translated to English in 1963. Ah...I thought maybe it was a pic of the workspace at your house, and I was gonna say DUDE why didnt you mention this before!

[MaximusIncredulous]

Ah...I thought maybe it was a pic of the workspace at your house, and I was gonna say DUDE why didnt you mention this before! I wish. Unfortunately finding the name of the author eluded me when I tried searching for it. Good job tracking it down.

[EvilNed]

I think he reads football schedules.

[Philly_SWAT]

I think he reads football schedules. I figured you might.... I was gonna include that as an option in the poll, but it seemed irrelevant to the book on the bed. But the book certainly filmed the frame with life. It would have been a more boring shot if there was nothing on the bed.

[sandrock74]

Heck, maybe he was just taking random books from the malls bookstore to read at night as he fell asleep. Thats what I would do! Or maybe he's just a pervert.

[MoonSylver]

Heck, maybe he was just taking random books from the malls bookstore to read at night as he fell asleep. Thats what I would do! That was my guess. If it was Lolita, maybe he'd heard of it, & figured "Huh, maybe I'll check it out." after all, he's bored & gonna have PLENTY of time to read.

[AcesandEights]

I was waiting for this post, Philly, and by gum I was not disappointed. I voted for Lolita. It's Nabakov's iconic work and probably spoke to some of the pent up frustration Peter was feeling. I seem to recall a ton of conversation about the finer, deeper points Nabakov was trying touch upon and many of them could no doubt be applicable, as there was literally so many theories.

[MikePizzoff]

Yes it looks like the same pic, but that one appears on the inside of the book, not the back cover You keep saying the authors picture is on the back cover of the book. Clearly that's the front of the book?

[krakenslayer]

You keep saying the authors picture is on the back cover of the book. Clearly that's the front of the book? No Philly's right it's the back of the book. For whatever reason Romero flipped the negative for the scenes in the bedroom, so left became right (probably to help him place a room, that wasn't really in the same location, into the survivor's hideout - i.e. have them enter/exit from a door corresponding to where we saw them go... if that makes any sense), and the book is flipped too. It would be very odd if that was the front of the book - how many books have you read with a big picture of the author's face and no title? Lolita, incidentally, was shocking for the time but is not all that explicit by today's standards. Sure, you probably wouldn't get away with writing an intellectual novel about a bordering-on-paedophile relationship in our era of moral panic, but what sex there is in Lolita is largely implied or consists of sexual dialogue between characters rather than detailed anatomical descriptions or anything. So I doubt Peter would find much gratification in it.

[Trin]

He flipped the scene in the movie to make the rooms work out.... or... He was trying to establish that this world - this alternate universe - is really a different one from the real one - and a different one from Night where everything is NOT flipped.