Parodies of Victorian Lifestyle

1983 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: society in the Victorian era.

Parodies of Victorian Lifestyle in Adventures in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found

"It is no accident that the grotesque style in literature tends to be prevalent in eras marked by radical change and stress. Such was the Victorian period, within which a whirl of social, economic, and religious change took place . . ." (Chang par. 2). This distorted writing can be unquestionably seen in the works of Lewis Carroll, namely his world famous pieces, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There (commonly known as "Alice in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking Glass"). In several instances throughout the Alice books, Carroll mocks Victorian lifestyle. These parodies can be seen in Victorian growth and self-discovery, inventions, education, nutrition and drugs, and social classes.

The Victorian times were that of self-discovery and seeking order in the universe, so naturally it makes sense when Alice is not really sure of who she is. The Caterpillar cannot accept Alice's lack of self-awareness when she states that she is unsure of whom she is.

"Who are you?" said the Caterpillar. This was not an encouraging opening for a conversation. Alice replied, rather shyly, "I -- I hardly know, Sir, just at present -- at least I know who I was when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then." "What do you mean by that?" said the Caterpillar, sternly. "Explain yourself!" "I ca'n't explain myself, I'm afraid, Sir," said Alice, "because I'm not myself you see" (Alice in Wonderland ch. 5).

Alice concurs with several different characters in her two trips to wonderland. "As Alice learns a gre...

... middle of paper ...

...in Alice's Adventures

in Wonderland." The Victorian Web (1995): four paragraphs. On-line. Internet. 18 April 2002.

Available: http://www.landlow.stg.brown.edu/victorian/carroll/polisner.html

Voughon, Wendy. "Victorian Class Prejudices in the Alice Books."

The Victorian Web (1993): one paragraph. On-line. Internet. 18 April 2002.

Available: http://www.landlow.stg.brown.edu/victorian/carroll/aiwl2.html

Weber, Anya. "Food, Drink, and Public Health in the Alice Books."

The Victorian Web (1995): four paragraphs. On- line. Internet. 18 April 2002.

Available: http://www.landlow.stg.brown.edu/victorian/carroll/weber.html

Wong, Susan. "Class in the Garden of Live Flowers"

The Victorian Web (1995): four paragraphs. On- line. Internet. 18 April 2002.

Available: http://www.home.earthlink.net/~ifdean/carroll/wong1.html

Show More
Related

  • The White-Collar Union Organizer and The Frustrated Labor Historians

    2269 Words  | 5 Pages

    The paper will discuss minicases on ‘The White-Collar Union Organizer’ and ‘The Frustrated Labor Historians’ by Arthur A. Sloane and Fred Witney (2010), to understand the issues unions undergo in the marketplace. There is no predetermined statistical number reported of union memberships in this country. However, “the United Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) excludes almost 2 million U.S wages and salary employees, over half of whom are employed in the public sector, who are represented at their workplaces by a union but are not union members. Not being required to join a union as a condition of continued employment, these employees have for a variety of reasons chosen not to do so. Nor do the BLS estimates include union members who are currently unemployed” (Sloane & Witney, 2010, p.5). Given this important information, the examination of these minicases will provide answers to the problems unions face in organizational settings.

    Read More

  • Success of Reconstruction

    765 Words  | 2 Pages

    One of the first goals of Reconstruction was to readmit the Confederate states into the Union, and during the debate in Congress over how to readmit the states, the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments were ratified. The United States had three different presidents between 1865 and 1877, who all had different opinions as to how the actions of readmitting the states should be carried out. President Lincoln devised the Ten Percent Plan in an effort to get the Confederate states to rejoin the Union. In Lincoln's plan, all Confederates, other than high-ranking officials, would be pardoned if they would swear allegiance to the Union and promise to obey its laws. Once ten percent of the people on the 1860 voting lists took the oath of allegiance, the state would be free to form a state government, and would be readmitted to the Union. Many of the Republicans in Congress were angered by this plan, because they believed that it was too lenient. After President Lincoln was assassinated, Andrew Johnson assumed the presidency with a new plan, which became known as Presiden...

    Read More

  • Organized Labor Union of the late 1800s and its Impact Today

    830 Words  | 2 Pages

    The unions of disunion were not only a major detriment to increasing the socio-economic standards of the laborer from 1875 to 1900, but also served to backpedal on the progress laborers had already gained out of respect. Perhaps the cornerstone of the unions’ policies was the fight for the improved working hours, specifically and eight hour work day, and increased wages for the laborer. However, Historical Statistics of the Unites States on Hours and Wages of Industrial Workers from 1875 to 1891 proves that no such improvements truly occurred. In fact, only a nominal 3.3 cent increase in wages from 1875 to 1891 occurred, and while it some may argue that the unions are then successful in achieving some increase in wages it is crucial to realize that this nominal increase came at the cost of hundreds, if not thousands, of laborer lives. Certainly a meager 1% increase in wages does not justify such loss of life, and if it is claimed that it does then that is also to warrant the trusts right to pay their laborers so little, as anyone who condones such little increase at such high costs automatically degrades the value of the life of the worker and thus reinforces the trusts’ right to combat unions. Furthermore, it should be noted that the average price of wages through those sixteen years was a measly 161.8, a decline of 8 whole cents from the starting point. Thus we can see that unions did not really gain 3.3 cents in wages, but rather caused a net loss of 8 cents. To even attempt to claim improvement for the laborer would be a completely ludicrous notion. Unfortunately for the laborer, the unions of disunion’s extent of their plight did not stop at the ruining of the worker’s economic position through the loss of wages, but also thr...

    Read More

  • Nonsense and Justice in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

    724 Words  | 2 Pages

    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 ”.

    Read More

  • The History and Formation of Labor Unions in the Unites States of America

    2390 Words  | 5 Pages

    “I regard my workpeople just as I regard my machinery...When my machines get old and useless, I reject them and get new, and these people are part of my machinery” (Sands 12). A foreman at a textile mill in Fall River, Massachusetts spoke these words in possibly the worst time during American labor history, the Industrial Revolution. During the Industrial Revolution, large numbers of people in the United States flocked to work in factories where they faced long hours, unsanitary and unsafe conditions and poor wages. Labor unions, or groups of organized workers, formed in the United States to ensure workers the right to a safe workplace and a fair wage in the face of capitalistic factory owners seeking wealth. In exchange, union members owe the responsibility to work diligently and to the best of their abilities or face the failure of their company and the loss of their jobs.

    Read More

  • Why Was Louis Riel Innocent

    1178 Words  | 3 Pages

    Louis Riel was a hero and a representative for the Metis people. His ultimate goals was to protect his people and try to obtain the same rights for his Metis people, which were given to the White English in Canada. He represented those who could not represent themselves. . Louis Riel and the Metis people demanded equal rights for each person, but time after time, the government refused to provide them with these rights. After the Rebellion Louis Riel was elected by Manitoba in the House of Commons. Riel went to Ottawa in an attempt to take his seat, but was not allowed because he was threatened that if he was near the house of commons he would be shot by many, I believe that this was the governments fault. The government had the ability to stop the threats, but chose

    Read More

  • Search for Identity in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Oliver Twist

    1771 Words  | 4 Pages

    Alice still abides by the typical Victorian ideals she was taught and becomes a surrogate adult in Wonderland. At home, however, she is still considered just a child and behaves as such. This confusion in the role Alice will play within the social hierarchy i...

    Read More

  • A Child's Struggle in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

    1120 Words  | 3 Pages

    Leach, Elsie "Alice in Wonderland" The Victorian Newsletter (1964) Rpt. in Nineteenth- Century Literature Criticisms. Ed. Laurie Harris. Detroit: Gale Research, 1982. 2: 119.

    Read More

  • Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Caroll

    1035 Words  | 3 Pages

    “’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.

    Read More

  • Alice in Wonderland

    900 Words  | 2 Pages

    Lewis, Carroll. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass. New York: Oxford, 2009. Print.

    Read More

  • The Coming of Age Theme in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll

    2628 Words  | 6 Pages

    Vallone, Lynne. Notes. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There. By Lewis Carroll. New York: The Modern Library Classics, 2002.245-252. Print.

    Read More

  • Commentary on Childhood and Adulthood in Alice in Wonderland

    1397 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Labor Movement

    1809 Words  | 4 Pages

    As the movement evolved from a mob mentality with picketing and random activism, collectivism began to catch on as more formal groups organized and gained recognition in the political arena. Individuals began to realize that there was more power for change in groups that were deeply committed to uniting together under the umbrella of a common cause. In this manner, the first collective bargaining units were formed and expanded. Labor movements have been an ongoing topic of inte...

    Read More

  • Alice In Wonderland And Through The Looking Glass Analysis

    1468 Words  | 3 Pages

    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. Alice’s interactions with the characters of Wonderland reflect her struggles with adults in real life. Naturally curious as she is, Alice asks questions to learn from the adults.

    Read More

  • Alice in Wonderland Critical Analysis

    1762 Words  | 4 Pages

    Richard Morton, (December, 1960). "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking-Glass". Elementary English. 37 (8), pp.509-513

    Read More

More about Parodies of Victorian Lifestyle

Open Document