Lewis Carroll: "We're All Mad Here"

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“Contrariwise, if it was so, it might be; and if it were so, it would be; but as it isn't, it ain't. That's logic” (www.brainyquote.com). From his world renowned novel Alice in Wonderland and poems, to his creative work in mathematics, Charles Lutwidge Dodgson - known very well by his pen name Lewis Carroll – has become notorious in the world of literature due to his playful situations and nonsensical rhyme. Carroll’s career became so successful to the point where he is the second most referenced author, next to Shakespeare. Despite his success, many people do not know how much of an importance Lewis Carroll had in his time and ours. The success of Lewis Carroll’s bizarre novel Alice in Wonderland can be described by analyzing Carroll’s life, the criticism of his groundbreaking novel, and discovering the cultural impact that the novel had in its time.

Analyzing Carroll’s work starts with knowing the life of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson. “Charles Lutwidge Dodgson was born on January 27, 1832 in Daresbury, Cheshire, England” (http://www.biography.com/people/lewis-carroll-9239598) to Charles and Frances Lutwidge. “Dodgson was the eldest son in a family of eleven children – Four boys and seven girls” (http://www.biography.com/people/lewis-carroll-9239598). Charles and his family lived in the outskirts of town, so they did not have many people to interact with. Charles did his best to entertain his siblings by creating games and riddles so that they could the make the best of their lonesomeness. “Young Dodgson attended Richmond School, Yorkshire (1844-45), and then he proceeded to Rugby School (1846-50)” (http://www.biography.com/people/lewis-carroll-9239598?page=1).

Lewis Carroll could always relate to children better than adults. I...

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...ce in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll and Tim Burton. The New York Times. The New York Times COmpany, 2012. Web. 26 Jan. 2012. . Criticism

“Lewis Carroll.” Nineteenth-Century Literary Criticism. Ed. Laurie Lanzen Harris. Vol. 2. Detroit, Michigan: Gale Research Company, 1982. 105-123. Print. Criticism

“Lewis Carroll.” Notable British Novelists. Ed. Carl Rollyson. Vol. 1. Pasadena, California : Salem Press, 2001. 139-144. Print.

“Lewis Carroll Biography.” Biography. A+E Television Networks, LLC, 2012. Web. 27 Jan. 2012. .

Stoffel, Stephanie Lovett. Lewis Carroll in Wonderland: The Life and Times of Alice and her Creator. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1997. Print.

Woolf, Jenny. The Mystery of Lewis Carroll. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2010. Print.

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