Childhood Contradictions
1. Memories from my childhood are scarce and cloudy at best. Everything is distorted and it always seems like everyone is bigger than you, in more ways than one. From what I do remember, a major player in my development as a child was the overwhelming feeling of confusion. More times than not, I was confused by at least one of many things (authority, my own identity, physical, mental and emotional changes, etc). A child's confusion is due to the massive series of contradictions that is childhood itself. In Lewis Carroll's novels Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass , the meaning of childhood and what it is to be a child and literally live in a child's world takes on an entirely different meaning than ever before. Similarly, the computer game based on the novels, American McGee's Alice , gives an interesting perspective on the concept of childhood and the struggle to maturity.
2. The slew of contradictions in both of Lewis' novels is something that cannot be ignored, even by the most rudimentary of readers. The entire concept of the novels themselves is providing text which, in all honesty, seems to be complete nonsense and providing that nonsense with sense . This theory of sense from nonsense is clearly developed in Chapter 2 of Through the Looking Glass . In this chapter, titled “The Garden of Live Flowers,” Alice remarks to the flowers, “Aren't you sometimes frightened at being planted out here, with nobody to take care of you?” (Gray 121). In response to this remark, the Rose points out that “there's the tree in the middle” (Gray 122) as if that is supposed to give any sort of rational explanation for their feeling of security. When Alice asks what sort of protection a tree could provide, the Rose tells her that if any danger comes along the tree can bark. Now, this is an entirely ridiculous concept to begin with. The idea of inanimate objects having the ability to produce sound is complete nonsense to any rational person. However, the flowers give the tree's ability to bark and their ability to talk seemingly rational explanations. According to the Daisy, the tree “says ‘Bough-Wough!' That's why branches are called boughs!” (Gray 122). In response to the question about the flowers' proficiency at language, the Rose tells Alice that “in most gardens, they make the beds too soft - so that the flowers are always asleep” (Gray 122) and their flower bed is noticeably hard by comparison.
In Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life, Annette Lareau discussed the extensive amount of research she conducted employing observational and interview techniques. She collected data on the middle class, working class, and poor families. She was trying to understand the impact of a child’s early parental guidance on the child’s life. She was able to conduct this research with 12 families, all of whom had fourth graders. She gathered enough information to conclude the major differences in the parenting styles of each type of family, which was directly correlated to socioeconomic status. Annette Lareau opens her book with two chapters to give the reader an idea on what the examples she gives will detail.
On May 1940, German forced invaded France; by June 14th German troops successfully marched into Paris. The French government did not give into exile but rather signed an armistice agreement that allowed Germans to divide France into two parts: occupied zones and unoccupied zones. The French government was located in Vichy, France; leaders were subordinate to the German’s rule. Between September 1940 and June 1942, the German occupation of France caused the Vichy Government to pass many Anti- Jewish laws: including expanding the category of who is a Jew, forbidding free negotiation of Jewish-owned capital, confiscating radios in Jewish possession, executing and deporting Jewish members of the resistance movement, establishing a curfew, forbidding a change of residence, ordering all Jews to wear a yellow badge ( Star of David) and prohibiting access to public area. The role of the Vichy government during occupation left a lingering feeling of disloyalty of the government for the citizens of France.
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 ”.
Standing in the front of the mirror every day, people see themselves gradually become an adult from a little boy or a little girl. In “Childhood Dreams”, Jennifer Yee describes a story that her father and she used to spend a lot of happy time in the amusement park together, riding carousels and so on, but now she felt lost and uncertain about her life. The reason why the author felt she was smothered by the real world was probably because she found out that as growing older, life became more complex, and she did not have as much time as she used to have to enjoy life in the childhood, and therefore felt quite depressed about the way she was.
In John Connolly’s novel, The Book of Lost Things, he writes, “for in every adult there dwells the child that was, and in every child there lies the adult that will be”. Does one’s childhood truly have an effect on the person one someday becomes? In Jeannette Walls’ memoir The Glass Castle and Khaled Hosseini’s novel The Kite Runner, this question is tackled through the recounting of Jeannette and Amir’s childhoods from the perspectives of their older, more developed selves. In the novels, an emphasis is placed on the dynamics of the relationships Jeannette and Amir have with their fathers while growing up, and the effects that these relations have on the people they each become. The environment to which they are both exposed as children is also described, and proves to have an influence on the characteristics of Jeannette and Amir’s adult personalities. Finally, through the journeys of other people in Jeannette and Amir’s lives, it is demonstrated that the sustainment of traumatic experiences as a child also has a large influence on the development of one’s character while become an adult. Therefore, through the analysis of the effects of these factors on various characters’ development, it is proven that the experiences and realities that one endures as a child ultimately shape one’s identity in the future.
...lt before. The power to control his look and personality through the potion he had created. Similarly MLB players wanted to power their performance by taking these illegal steroids. Jekyll and the many MLB players who were caught with the biogenesis case had a big opportunity to achieve advancements in their field and their willingness to succeed also led to their downfall.
“Motivation is the process whereby goal-orientated activity is instigated and sustained” (Schunk, Pintrich & Meece, 2008. As cited in Eggen & Kauchak, 2010, p.284). Motivation comes in many forms and can be divided into two broad categories - extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. Extrinsic motivators are external factors which can motivate a student; rewards are an example of this. An issue with extrinsic motivators is that the desire for the learner to participate often lessens, once the rewards are withdrawn (McCullers, 1987). On the other hand intrinsic motivation comes from within - learning for the joy of it - where the desire to learn leads to a higher level of knowledge, and is a reward in itself. Kohn (1996, p.285) states that research suggests, “Rewards actually decrease interest in intrinsically motivating tasks, therefore sending the wrong message about learning” (as cited in Eggen & Kauchak, 2010a)
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.
While reading Kolb 's Learning Styles Model and Experiential Learning Theory, I have identified myself as an accommodating learner. At first I was somewhat surprised, but the more I read about the learning styles, particularly after I completed Kolb’s Learning Style Inventory it made more sense. I have a very hands-on style, which matches perfectly with my enjoyment of performing tests to find the root cause of behavior that I’m investigating. However, sometimes I rush to make decisions on the impulse of having the task at hand finished, failing to analyze all the options that are available. Another element of the accommodate learning style that identifies me is the fact that I enjoy a good challenge. I found very interesting to solve difficult
Hence one of the practices of the Learning Styles Inventory is to let the learner to build developmental purposes for increasing their competence in the under-represented styles: for example, somebody who is a poor activist may deliberately plan to carry out further activities to absorb from. Styles Inventory is to form teams of people who as a group exhibit all of the four styles in a composed way (Gallagher K., 2013 p. 23-24).
To determine the best way I learn, I carried out two different learning styles questionnaires online. One may find that they are not always categorised in a specific type rather they may have more than one learning preference. Firstly, the most commonly used Neil Fleming’s VARK model. Fleming believes that there are four different types of learner: Visual, Auditory, Reading/writing and Kinesthetic learners. The second model I tried out was Soloman-Felder Learning Styles and Strategies.
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 ...
In the eyes of a child, there is joy, there is laughter. But as time ages us, as soon as we flowered and became grown-ups the child inside us all fades that we forget that once, we were a child.
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 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.