Lewis Carroll's Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
Philosophy – a subject that had driven people insane for as long as humans know their history. All the time people try to find a meaning, and later controvert it. For example, critics view a novel by Lewis Carroll Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, as a quest for maturity story, Carroll’s view on Victorian Society and even existential meaning on life. All of those interpretations come from philosophical “drive” of the critics. The truth is that anyone can point a finger at the book and come up with their own “deep” meaning of the story, but if one looks at facts, well known, and obvious things – it is clear that the story is simply a children tale intended for entertainment and nothing more.
Of course there is no sure way to prove that Carroll did not intend any deeper meaning into the story, after all, he was a mathematician and a man of great knowledge of children (19th Century Literature Criticism 105), but lets take a look at the most obvious fact – the time, place and audience of the original story of Alice in Wonderland. Here are the words of Lewis Carroll as he recalls that day: Full many a year has slipped away, since that “golden afternoon” that gave thee birth, but I can call it up almost as clearly as if it were yesterday – the cloudless blue above, the watery mirror below, the boat drifting idly on its way, the tinkle of the drops that fell from the oars, as they waved so sleepily to and fro, and (the one bright gleam of life in all the slumberous scene) the three eager faces, hungry for news of fairyland, and who would not he say ‘nay’ to: from whose lips ‘Tell us a story, please,’ had all the stern immutability of Fate!
The “three eager faces” Carro...
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Works Cited:
Carroll, Lewis. Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland & Through The Looking-Glass Signet Classic New York, NY 1960.
Cohen, Morton. Lewis Carroll: A Biography Alfred A. Knopf New York, NY 1996.
England in Literature: MacBeth Edition: Teacher’s Supplement Chapter 8, “Alice in Wonderland” 144-146. Scott Foresman & Co. 1973.
Gattegno, Jean. Lewis Carroll: Fragments of a Looking-Glass “Alice” and “A Carroll Chronology” 4-27. Thomas Y. Crowell Co. 1973 New York, NY.
Hudson, Derek. Lewis Carroll “Alice” 124-149. Folcroft Library Editions 1976.
Kelly, Richard. Lewis Carroll “Alice” 78-97. U of Tenn. Twayne Publishers, G. K. Hall & Co. Boston, Mass 1977.
Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism, Vol. 2 “Lewis Carroll (1832-1898)” 105-121.
Rackin, Donald. Alice’s Journey to the End of Night 132-143 MLA 1966.
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is a story about a little girl who comes into contact with unpredictable, illogical, basically mad world of Wonderland by following the White Rabbit into a huge rabbit – hole. Everything she experiences there challenges her perception and questions common sense. This extraordinary world is inhabited with peculiar, mystical and anthropomorphic creatures that constantly assault Alice which makes her to question her fundamental beliefs and suffer an identity crisis. Nevertheless, as she woke up from “such a curious dream” she could not help but think “as well she might, what a wonderful dream it had been ”.
Although water is not the most prominent image used by Carroll in the “Alice” stories, water adds a lot of meaning. This image aptly reflects Alice’s growth in the stories. All the other images in the stories, such as the Mad-Hatter, the White Queen, and the steps in the “Journey of the Hero” are easily recognized and likely to be over-analyzed. However, few have the significance that water has in the “Alice” stories.
Lewis Carroll, world renowned author, known most for his tale of literary nonsense published almost a century and a half ago, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Several conditions of Carroll’s life molded and shaped his writing. Evidence from Carroll’s book, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland ,one can conclude that Carroll has engraved moments from his life, people around him ,as well as his beliefs and love of logic into his story, considering these are the things that Alice Liddell would recognize.
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is a book full of mystery, confusion, and chaos. However, beneath the surface of the story lies rich commentary on Victorian England society and the maturation process of a young girl. Carroll provides criticism on various aspects of society including the nonsensical legal system, the class system, and politics. This criticism is entwined with Alice’s relatable journey of becoming a just adult who is willing to stand up for herself, others, and the truth. “The importance of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland as a radical breakthrough in the history of children’s literature can hardly be over-estimated.”
...bsp; Alice in Wonderland, the work of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, better known as Lewis Carroll, has been the enduring tale of one girl’s journey into a world of whimsy and imagination because of the multi-layered meaning that exists within. The story was written for the enjoyment of all children, but as Carroll once wrote himself, "we (adults) are but older children, dear."(499). Inspired by a dear, close child-friend of his by the name of Alice Liddell, the Alice of Alice in Wonderland has been the mediator between childhood and adulthood, and staying innocent and becoming experienced for over a hundred years. One of the most noticeable and famous facets of the story is the many changes in size that Alice undergoes, a phenomenon of evolution that was brought to the forefront of scientific and everyday Victorian life by the revolutionary thinker and naturalist Darwin.
Carroll, Lewis. Alice in Wonderland . 3rd. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2013. Print.
Alice Liddell would recall this event as “that golden afternoon,” for during the trip Carroll began the outlines of the story that would become Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.5 Alice encouraged Carroll to write the story down, which he eventually did, giving Alice a handcrafted copy. Carroll also showed the story to friends and was encouraged to seek publication, which he finally accomplished with the now familiar illustrations by Sir John Tiennel (Figs. 2, 3, and 21). The book was published in 1865, three years after its initiation during an afternoon of boating .
Alice in Wonderland is a timeless and classic novel that has been rewritten and reinterpreted by authors many different times. Alice in Wonderland is put into the category of “Golden Age Children’s Literature” and is a novel with an enormous amount of value. With each new retelling of Alice in Wonderland new illustrations in the novel comes along. These new illustrations tell a lot about the culture of the artist and what their beliefs are. When Carroll wrote Alice in Wonderland I am sure he did not expect Alice’s story to become such a key aspect of Golden Age Children’s Literature. Two editions of Alice in Wonderland that deserve to be studied are the Norton’s Critical Edition and the edition illustrated by Blanche McManus published in
“’But I don't want to go among mad people,' said Alice. 'Oh, you can't help that,' said the cat. 'We're all mad here.'” quoted by a very creative and imaginative author, Lewis Carroll, author of the hit Alice novels. This short novel was written by an extremely upright, ultra conservative man in which his unique character and many experiences had a great influence in the creation of Through the Looking Glass. Of all of Carroll’s works, Alice’s Through the Looking Glass, has a unique way of expressing adventures and stating the events in which occur throughout the whole novel making the novel standout in the category of whimsical, nonsense literature. The novel includes 12 chapters in which every new chapter brings you into different exotic settings introducing you to many peculiar characters involving the only and only Alice, the Tweedledum twins, Red Queen, White King, Humpty Dumpty Walrus and Carpenter. Meeting these characters brought her to finally achieving what her destination had been since the start; she finally became her normal size, making it into the garden. The events and settings involved with Through the Looking Glass make it a very fictional, imaginative novel. Carroll's imagination takes readers with Alice into where she finds the Looking-Glass House. Using the game of chess as the setting of his novel, he fills the novel with situations and puzzles from the ordinary to the extraordinary; including silly characters and adventures in which may be nonsensical, using the game of chess as the setting.
Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland follows the story of young Alice trapped in the world of Wonderland after falling down through a rabbit-hole. The rabbit-hole which is filled with bookshelves, maps, and other objects foreshadows the set of rules, the ones Alice is normally accustomed to, will be defied in Wonderland. This conflict between her world and Wonderland becomes evident shortly after her arrival as evinced by chaos in “Pool of Tears” and Alice brings up the main theme of the book “was I the same when I got up this morning? I almost think I can remember feeling a little different. But if I am not the same, the next question is who am I?” (Carroll 18). After Alice fails to resolve her identity crisis using her friends, Alice says “Who am I, then? Tell me that first, and then, if I like being that person, I’ll come up: if not, I’ll stay down here til I’m somebody else” (Carroll 19). Hence in the beginning, Alice is showing her dependency on others to define her identity. Nevertheless when her name is called as a witness in chapter 12, Alice replies “HERE!” without any signs of hesitation (Carroll 103). Close examination of the plot in Alice in Wonderland reveals that experiential learning involving sizes leads Alice to think logically and rationally. Alice then attempts to explore Wonderland analytically and becomes more independent as the outcome. With these qualities, Alice resolves her identity crisis by recognizing Wonderland is nothing but a dream created by her mind.
Lewis Carroll’s novels Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass take us through a journey Alice has while she is asleep. The Alice books are considered by some to be light and humorous while others believe that these books are heavy and sober. According to Martin Gardner, those who claim these books are heavy and sober have visions of “the monstrous mindlessness of the universe”. As people go through life, there are going to be ups and downs. There is no way to tell what will happen and how it will affect a person. It is through these experiences that one learns to go forward and continue through life. What Lewis Carroll is trying to get across is how a child views the world adults live in as they grow to live in it. Alice
Carroll, Lewis. Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There. New York: The modern Library, 2002. Print
One of the main purposes for writing Alice in Wonderland was not only to show the difficulties of communication between children and adults. In this story, almost every adult Alice talked to did not understand her. At times she messed up what they were saying completely as well, which many times stick true to real life circumstances. This book shows that kids and adults are on completely separate pages on an everlasting story. Carroll points out that sometimes children, like Alice, have a hard time dealing with the transition from childhood to adulthood, 'growing up.' Alice in Wonderland is just a complicated way of showing this fact. Lewis Carroll's ways with words is confusing, entertaining, serious, and highly unique all at the same time. And it's safe to say that it would be difficult to replicate such and imaginative technique ever again (Long 72).
Alice tries to come to terms with Wonderland as she grows and figures out more about herself than she ever has before. In both the book and 1951 movie Alice is a young girl, possibly a pre teen, who goes on a journey of a lifetime. I would say that this journey is one that many young adults go on in one way or another and when they come to the end they discover what they are really made of and all of the things that they can accomplish if they really put their minds to it. “One day Alice came to a fork in the road and saw a Cheshire cat in a tree. “Which road do I take?”
Alice in Wonderland belongs to the nonsense genre, and even if most of what happens to Alice is quite illogical, the main character is not. “The Alice books are, above all, about growing up” (Kincaid, page 93); indeed, Alice starts her journey as a scared little girl, however, at the end of what we discover to be just a dream, she has entered the adolescence phase with a new way to approach the mentally exhausting and queer Wonderland. It is important to consider the whole story when analyzing the growth of the character, because the meaning of an event or a sentence is more likely to mean what it truly looks like rather than an explanation regarding subconscious and Freudian interpretations. Morton states “that the books should possess any unity of purpose seems on the surface unlikely” (Morton, page 509), but it’s better to consider the disconnected narrative and the main character separately, since the girl doesn’t belong to Wonderland, which is, as Morton says, with no intrinsic unity. Whereas, there are a few key turning points where it is possible to see how Alice is changing, something that is visible throughout her journey. Carroll wants to tell the story of a girl who has to become braver in order to contend with challenges like the pool made by her own tears, or assertive characters, like the Queen.