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Analysing alice in wonderland
Thesis statement on symbolism in ALice in Wonderland
Analysing alice in wonderland
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Lewis Carroll subtly indicates his attitudes toward children and his understanding if children in several ways. Many of the motifs he uses are the main reason why this story has such an abundance of versions and maintains its popularity. There are many tactics that Carroll uses in his writing that capture and maintain a readers attention, many of which involve his unrealistic situations that his main character finds herself in as well as subtle connections to historical figures. Carroll's use of illustrations, preposterous wordplay, and overall disregard for order has given the world a storyline that has been used many times in different types of media.
There are many childhood fantasy motifs that are listed in module three, which Carroll uses quite well and also appeal to a child audience. The most important motifs to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland are magic, secondary worlds, fantasy objects, and good versus evil (LeGier, 3:4.1). Carroll uses magic at many points of his story, such as with the Cheshire Cat, the baby that transformed into a pig, human-like playing cards, and talking animals. His use of a secondary world is a very direct and obvious motif, and is the main point of the story line. Fantasy objects are fluent throughout the story as well with cakes that make one grow different sizes, potions that do this as well. Good versus evil is not a very large part of this story, but it does have a role to play once the Queen of Hearts is introduced.
Carroll's use of magic is an important aspect to both capturing the attention of children and to this story. LeGier (3:4.1) states that magic is fantasy literature's most basic element, and is incorporated into the other motifs associated because it is part of the setting, pl...
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...erland near the ending because of the conflict that arises over the stolen tarts. The Queen holds a trial to determine who has stolen the tarts in question. After some exchange between the characters regarding who is and is not guilty, the Queen sentences Alice to lose her head. As the playing cards surround her and begin to attack her, her sister wakes her up just in time to essentially save her. Alice changed during her time in Wonderland, because in the beginning she was a shy and polite girl who did not have rude utterances. As the story went on, she began to get more inconsiderate with her word choice and responses to some of the characters. Children would find her audacious words amusing because talking back is a normal part of childhood, but majority of children resist the temptation choosing to be respectful in their conversation with others.
Fantasy objects
Lewis Carroll demonstrates paradoxes within Alice and Wonderland as Alice is tossed within an entirely different world. Yet one of the greatest paradoxes is the transformation of Alice over the course of the novel as well as the transformation of the duchess. Alice begins as an ignorant child; she has difficulties in morphing to the logic and needs of Wonder...
Alice’s failure to understand the “native” culture, and her insistence on imposing her own norms and values ultimately culminates in a life-threatening situation.” (Binova “Underground Alice:” the politics of wonderland). Alice is the colonised in the situation with the Queen of Hearts. When she is introduced to the Queen her evil nature is revealed as she orders “Off with her head!” (Carroll 96). However, she is contrasted to Alice’s good nature while she shouts “Nonsense!” ( Carrol 96). The theme of chaos and confusion is brought forward as they play croquet all at once with noises all around and even in the court where everyone is expected to be civil. Although the Queen, as a character reinforces adulthood, subversion emerges again by Alice standing up for herself at this time. Nearing the end of her dream, she stands up against the Queen at court but it dream ends without a resolution. Maria Lassen-Seger says in ( “Subversion of Authority”: In “Alice’s Adventures of Wonderland”), “the relationship between the child and the adult is an impossible power relation in which the child is marginalised and considered powerless, thus, the adults suggest in their books what a child ought to be, what values and images it should accept.” The Queen at this point in the dream would have been the
Most people know the name Lewis Carroll, and even more know about the taleof a little girl who fell down a rabbit hole straight into the adventure of a lifetime. But not many people know the name Charles Dodgson, the man behind the pseudonym and the one who constructed this wonderland from a summer time boat ride in 1862. Originally written for three friends, the Liddell sisters, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland has inspired philosophers, artists, writers, theologians, and not to mention the general public. The culture in which this piece of art was written has shaped Alice’s dream-like journey from the first false step into an almost never ending fall to the last storm of cards. Dodgson’s enchanting work illustrates mankind’s childlike spirit that 1880s English society tried so hard to ignore.
Abstract: This is an analysis of celtic mythological motifs or themes (usually found Arthurian romances) in the medieval romance Yvain and the victorian classic, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland .}
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 ”.
Why are animal characters so popular in children’s literature? Why do they tend to be either fierce or friendly? How do animal characters impact children’s literature? In Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland, the animal characters are very weird. They were supposed to guide Alice through the traditional fairytale world she has created, but instead they were negative influences on this child. I believe the audience expected that animal characters are supposed to because they are the ones who should be a role model for kids to look up or when they read it. Do the animal characters in Lew Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland disobey the animal characters in traditional fairytales? The animals in Alice argue with her, confuse her, and tell her upsetting stories instead of guiding her through the fairytale world she has created. “Whenever there is authority, there is a natural inclination to disobedience.” by Thomas C. Haliburton. It is related to my thesis because the animal characters in Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland felt that they had authority to disobey the animal characters in other traditional fairytales. This is similar to Del Toro’s Pan Labyrinth because there are main animal characters like fairytales, faun, and paleman. They have the weird physical features. It was really gross to see them. This applied to Lewis Carroll’s book because he used the animals in a weird way. For example, The Cheshire-Cat’s body disappeared but the face was still there. Other example is a mouse walking by Alice. In real life, mouse rarely does that.
Lewis Carroll's use of puns and riddles in Alice in Wonderland help set the theme and tone. He uses word play in the book to show a world of warped reality and massive confusion. He uses such play on words to reveal the underlying theme of growing up', but with such an unusual setting and ridiculous characters, there is need for some deep analyzing to show this theme. The book contains many examples of assonance and alliteration to add humor. Carroll also adds strange diction and extraordinary syntax to support the theme.
The gender roles change from the original to the remake. The original Alice role is defined as a young girl who is able to explore her curiosity, but she is constrained by her feminine characteristics. Alice being a young girl is portrayed as helpless in many situations throughout her journey. The characters of Wonderland offer her assistance, but she remains most times crying by herself. Alice’s character clearly shows the innocence and virtue American society attached to girls roles in the
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.
Although the novel is notorious for its satire and parodies, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland main theme is the transition between childhood and adulthood. Moreover, Alice’s adventures illustrate the perplexing struggle between child and adult mentalities as she explores the curious world of development know as Wonderland. From the beginning in the hallway of doors, Alice stands at an awkward disposition. The hallway contains dozens of doors that are all locked. Alice’s pre-adolescent stage parallels with her position in the hallway. Alice’s position in the hallway represents that she is at a stage stuck between being a child and a young woman. She posses a small golden key to ...
Lewis Carroll's Wonderland is a queer little universe where a not so ordinary girl is faced with the contradicting nature of the fantastic creatures who live there. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is a child's struggle to survive in the condescending world of adults. The conflict between child and adult gives direction to Alice's adventures and controls all the outstanding features of the work- Alice's character, her relationship with other characters, and the dialogue. " Alice in Wonderland is on one hand so nonsensical that children sometimes feel ashamed to have been interested in anything so silly (Masslich 107)."
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.
The characters in Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass are more than whimsical ideas brought to life by Lewis Carroll. These characters, ranging from silly to rude, portray the adults in Alice Liddell’s life. The parental figures in Alice’s reality portrayed in Alice in Wonderland are viewed as unintellectual figures through their behaviors and their interactions with one another.
Here she finds a strange caterpillar on a mushroom smoking a hookah. It doesn’t even matter that the caterpillar talks and questions Alice about her identity, the way he looks should be enough for Alice and the audience to question their sanity. Upon being asked who she is by the caterpillar, Alice has no idea anymore. She is becoming as mad as she believes the inhabitants of Wonderland to be. The caterpillar seems to be able to read Alice’s thoughts now ‘Just as if she had asked it aloud’ - which leads us to believe that Alice is so confused about her identity that perhaps her thoughts aren’t even hers anymore. By the end of this chapter we again see characters leave Alice in anger as she insults the caterpillar on his height and scares the pigeon who believes her to be a serpent. The caterpillar and pigeon both found Alice to be very strange indeed, yet their surroundings were absolutely normal to them - which again shows that Alice is the only odd thing in Wonderland and is able to upset the
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.