What characterizes a children's story as a fairytale? Is it the knights in shining armor, the happy ending, or the assumed innocence of the characters and the audience? Authors have long used these factors to reach acclaimed notoriety in the children’s writing world. But when it comes to Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, these characteristics are non-existent. He reveals to us that a fairy tales can defy logic and expectations. The complexity of Carroll’s ingenuity writing Alice in Wonderland has been dubbed an aspect of literary disobedience. The way he utilized childhood curiosity in his book opened our eyes to various perspectives of what’s sane and what isn’t. With his writing skills compared to other writers during his time, Carroll was a misfit to society. He made us realize that everyone has their own viewpoint on how things should work but if a person’s viewpoint differs from another is that considered disobedience? Or how about a caterpillar smoking a hookah in front of a child, does that pass fairy tale standards? Carroll’s word choice to name the first chapter, “Down the Rabbit Hole” shows a disregard for fairy tale norms right off the bat. Going down the rabbit hole is an allusion to consuming hallucinogenic drugs. This shows a break from fairy tale standards. Fairytales are usually innocent and naïve to please the young audience of readers. Carroll ignores the fact that little kids are easily influenced by their surroundings. From my knowledge, that’s why we have to be so cautious with our behavior or when we speak around little ones. Similarly, the protagonist in Pan’s Labyrinth, Ofelia was about the same age as Alice. She experienced the same degree of curiosity as Alice when she chased the ma... ... middle of paper ... ... to be thin and have sexy curves. Alice is led to believe that mice are afraid of cats and dogs. In reality, everyone is aware that cats and mice have an innate hatred for each other not dogs and mice. Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland message to us is that there’s nothing wrong with living free with your own imagination or bend the rules. In my opinion, I believe imagination is important but using it too much can leave you detached from reality Alice in Wonderland is a departure from this. Literature is the province of imagination, and stories, in whatever disguise, are meditations on life. Nowadays stories that were made to instruct children on how to acquire happiness have now been replaced with stories that teach children how to be in control of their life by including diseases, physical anomalies, and death to assure them that there’s nothing to be afraid of.
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...
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.
His writing is easy enough for children to understand but the text itself holds a variety of different themes. Lewis Carroll’s writing style in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is detailed and humorous. He describes every event that Alice endures and the struggles she faces while still having a humorous tone that gives the novel dimension. For example, while describing Alice's entrance to Wonderland, Carroll gives a vivid image of what she saw such as the hallway lined with doors and the different people and animals she saw including the White Rabbit, the Caterpillar, and the chesire cat. Lewis Carroll also has a way of incorporating cleverness into this novel. His use of puns and confusing homophones such as the mouse in the story describing his “long and sad tale” which Alice assumes is about his physical tail and not a
Of course there is no sure way to prove that Carroll did not intend any deeper meaning into the story, after all, he was a mathematician and a man of great knowledge of children (19th Century Literature Criticism 105), but lets take a look at the most obvious fact – the time, place and audience of the original story of Alice in Wonderland. Here are the words of Lewis Carroll as he recalls that day: Full many a year has slipped away, since that “golden afternoon” that gave thee birth, but I can call it up almost as clearly as if it were yesterday – the cloudless blue above, the watery mirror below, the boat drifting idly on its way, the tinkle of the drops that fell from the oars, as they waved so sleepily to and fro, and (the one bright gleam of life in all the slumberous scene) the three eager faces, hungry for news of fairyland, and who would not he say ‘nay’ to: from whose lips ‘Tell us a story, please,’ had all the stern immutability of Fate!
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).
In such a cherished children’s book, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, written in 1865, has caused great commotion in political and social satire. It slowly but surely grew into one of the most adored publications in the Victorian era, expanding into today’s modern age. Lewis Carroll was the pen name utilized by Charles L. Dodgson and has forth created a sequel named Through the Looking Glass, And What Alice Found There composed first in 1871. In short, the text of the story presented with a feminist approach, a corrupt judicial system of Victorian England, the caucus race, and the absence of a childhood, the evolution of species, and Marxism.
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is a story that has been loved and read by different age groups. Lewis Carroll wrote the book in such a way that the reader, young or old, could be trapped into Alice’s world of adventure. The illustrations by John Tenniel help portray the story beautifully. Tenniel put pictures to Carroll’s thoughts exactly. When a student reads Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland for the first time, it is always great if he or she could be introduced to his illustrations. However, it is a good idea for teachers to bring in different portals of Alice to help show how other people may view this little girl’s world. In addition, it will show that even though Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland has been written many years ago, people are still relating to Alice’s character. Overall, it is amazing to see how many different illustrators have portrayed Alice in a totally new and modern way, such Greg Hildebrandt. I decided to use Greg Hildebrandt’s illustrations to assist me in teaching about Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland because he portrays Alice as a much older looking girl. I believe this will help students understand how Alice’s character seemed older than seven years of age. He also depicts some of the characters as more humanlike than cartoon. I believe this will help students picture themselves into Alice’s world. In addition, Hildebrandt helps portray the bizarre story line that many people have come to love.
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)."
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, by Lewis Carrol, is a book about a young girl, Alice, who ventures off into a make-believe world in her dreams. Carroll wrote Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland in 1865. Alice visits Wonderland where she meets many creatures and encounters experiences that are the complete opposite of the life she is used to, but also may have a connection to her life and how she is growing up and the time she is growing up in. Alice being a young child when she has her dream about Wonderland, many of her encounters may represent how she feels as she is growing up and the experiences she may be coming across.
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.
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 ”.
...mes in both cases; however, it is through these experiences that the characters are equipped for situations which are rooted in reality. Both protagonists approach their leap out of fantasy in differing ways. Don Quixote’s death reveals that once fantasies are let go, the person lets go. Alice on the other hand is prompted to cling to her fantasy for the rest of her life. Through this, both Carroll and Cervantes show that fantasy is a vital part of growth and living. Growth is presented as something which does not absolve an individual from their fantasies but rather, embraces them. Fantasy is a medium without which the human race would cease to be ‘human’ because it is true that every man and woman was once a boy and girl living out their fantasies; paradoxically, it is the surrealism of fantasy that allows man to understand himself and his role in the real world.
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 ...
Many of us have read Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland and sympathized with the main character, Alice. The audience wonders why all of the characters in Wonderland are so strange and no one seems to notice but Alice herself. The tale brings a chilling feeling to it’s audience because we wonder what we would do if we were surrounded by nothing but odd circumstances and mad characters. However, if we truly think about the story, is the population of Wonderland mad? Or is it Alice that is different and strange? After all, Alice is in their world not vice versa. With these next few paragraphs we will take an in depth look at Wonderland, it’s population and Alice to determine who is really mad here.
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.