On the contrary, he was perhaps too wary, too persistently on the lookout for diabolical pitfalls, too painfully on the alert lest his erratic surroundings (unpredictable America) inveigle him into some bit of preposterous oversight. It was the world that was absent-minded and it was Pnin whose business it was to set it straight.
Here, it becomes apparent that Pnin views America as an erratic and unpredictable land. This unpredictability is dangerous, as it upsets the balance of the universe and makes it very difficult for plans to go according to plan. In this way, this passage helps us to understand Pnin’s view of America. He seems to view it as some sort of elaborate trap, that has been set up primarily to ensnare, entangle, and trick him. Pnin dislikes the way (he feels) American attempts to trick its inhabitants. Given Pnin’s need to set the world right, America is a dangerously treacherous place, as it is unpredictable and unforgivable.
"Say, I was there as a child exactly the same year," said pleased Joan. "My father went to Turkey on a government mission and took us along. We might have met! I remember the word for water. And there was a rose garden—" "Water in Turkish is 'su,'" said Pnin, a linguist by necessity, and went on with his fascinating past: Completed university education in Prague.
It goes without saying that language is an integral part of this story and of Pnin’s journey. This passage highlights the irony of Pnin’s own endeavors. In this situation, Pnin has a genuine opportunity to connect with another person—Joan, in this case. Given his isolation and sadness, one would think that Pnin would be desperate for another human connection. And here, he finds one, when Joan points out that they were at school at the same time. And yet, Pnin’s obsession with language prevents this genuine connection from going any further. Once again, language is positioned as a barrier that hinders Pnin. He is too focused on extrapolating the Turkish word for water that he fails to notice the connection he shares with Joan. In short, this passage exemplifies how language once again gets in the way of Pnin’s progress and pursuit of connection.
From then on to the end of the voyage that had turned from green and silver to a uniform gray, Pnin busied himself overtly with his English-language manuals, and although immutably meek with Liza, tried to see her as little as he could without awakening her suspicions.
Prior to this quotation, Pnin discovered that Liza is using him solely as a means to an end. To Liza, Pnin is simply a one-way ticket to America. In this passage, we discover that this realization seriously bothered Pnin and hurts him. Prior to this passage, Pnin genuinely believed that he had been welcomed into a family—that he was going to be parent, a father. Now, with this realization from Liza, this realization has come to a crashing halt. Pnin has essentially been abandoned by his own family. This realization is deeply disturbing to him sends him into an isolation-based tizzy. To escape from his difficult feelings, he buries himself in his English manuals, hoping for any distraction.
Pnin, his head on his arm, started to beat the table with his loosely clenched fist. "I haf nofing," wailed Pnin between loud, damp sniffs, "I haf nofing left, nofing, nofing!"
In this passage, we are reminded of Pnin’s heartache and anguish. After his discouraging meeting with Liza, Pnin goes on a desperate search for whiskey. He hopes to remedy his heartache and sorrow through alcohol. When he cannot find any whiskey, however, Pnin loses his nerve. He begins to sob and calls out that he has nothing. This “nothing” is likely two-fold. It most certainly refers to the loss of his family and happiness, given the recent revelation with Liza and Eric. He feels that, now his family has abandoned him, he as nothing left. The “nothing” also likely refers to the lack of whiskey—or rather, the lack of something that can temporarily relieve his sorrows. Given that he cannot even find alcohol to numb his senses, Pnin feels like he has nothing in his life.
