Motifs In Alice In Wonderland

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Madness and Mirrors: Symbols in Alice Books Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, mostly known as Alice in Wonderland, is a novel that written by Lewis Caroll and published in 1865, and it’s sequel Through the Looking-Glass was published in 1871. The first book mainly deals with the adventures of a girl named Alice, which includes idiosyncratic creatures that can talk, fantastic elements, bizarre events and marvelous occasions throughout the book. The sequel also includes some of the characters from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, but still it mirrors the image of the first book. Even if these novels are commonly accepted as books for children, the themes in it and the intense usage of symbolism and imagery makes them more than just children novels. The series of actions and the whole dream-like stream in first book started when Alice went down the rabbit hole. When the first Wonderland character, the White Rabbit, appeared in the story it appealed the attention of Alice and she followed it to the rabbit hole. According to Jung’s concept of unconsciousness, meaning of the colour of the Rabbit symbolises not just purity, innocence and light, but also symbolises timelessness, death, terror and supernatural. So basically, even the Rabbit itself with its watch and waistcoat, is a sign that starts the adventure. But since Alice could not help following it and her falling down through the rabbit hole leads her to Wonderland, the Rabbit also can be seen as the symbol of curiosity and an invitation for a quest. Her downfall through the rabbit hole, as being a one-way bridge between two different worlds, takes her away from real world. As she starts talking through her everlasting fall, the distancing from reality can be seen in her own word... ... middle of paper ... ...Since his theory is quite related to Alice’s adventures in Looking-Glass, it can be said that every occasion in Looking-Glass, especially the chess game, aims to reach consciousness. Also, the Mirror-reality in Through the Looking-Glass is described as “underside of consciousness” by Otten (After Innocence: Visions of the Fall in Modern Literature, 155) and as “Wonderland is a dream, the Looking-Glass is self-consciousness.” by Empson. (156) On this basis, the paralysed unity between Wonderland and Looking-Glass can be seen related to consciousness. So, obviously, both Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass are related to higher concepts than being just fantasy tales. The intense usage of wordplays and symbols makes Alice books convenient to further analysing and because of that they are more important and complex than children fiction novels.

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