An Adventure in Wonderland
Lets take an adventure into a Wonderland filled with strange creatures, an overruling queen, and the most ridiculous situations. Alice, a seven year old girl who lives in a wealthy home in England, is the main character who leads us on a journey to Wonderland. Alices life is nothing unusual until one day she follows a white rabbit down a rabbit hole and her whole life turns upside down. In Alices Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, one meets Alice who reveals the imagination, experience, and memories of being a child, while acknowledging the confusion of life and internal struggle of finding an identity.
Lewis Carroll name is even considered nonsense it is the reversal of his Christian name Charles Lutwidge (after Latinization).He was a mathematician and very puzzling man which helped with the absurdity of the meaning of the book. Much of the "nonsense" in Alice has to do with transpositions, either of mathematical scale (as in the scene where Alice multiplies incorrectly) or in the scrambled verse parodies (for example, the Father William poem). (Senna) Carrolls choice of fairy-tale elements was just one indication of Carrolls writing was different than any other approach early writers for children took. The character of Alice does not represent any similarities of a modern child at the time. This indicates the impact this little girl had on Carroll and what she must of influenced. His work was not intended to be written, but instead was the source of entertainment of three little girls. The theme was centered around the pain of growing up, and Carroll knowing the complexities of growing up and seeing the girls he developed this novel. The poem at the beginning of the book is an account of how the three Lidell sisters helped Carroll form this imaginative tale. The three girls were the daughters of Reverend Henry George Liddell, a Dean of Christ Church. On April 25, 1856 he meets Alice Liddell and eventually develops her into the main character. A boating trip is how the story forms , and after showing the work to another writer, Carroll was influenced to publish the novel. To add the finishing touches he researched natural history for the animals presented in the book, and then had the book examined by other childrenparticularly the MacDonald children. He added his own illustrations but approached John Tenniel to illustrate the book for publication, telling him that the story had been well liked by children. At the age of four, Alice asked questions that even puzzled Lewis Carroll himself. It was this confusion many believe that Carrolls novel began to slowly form. Not only did she help him develop this imaginative novel, but was Carrolls friend for several years (Literature and Its Times 29). Many however believe the book was a result of the influence of opium. The Caterpillar, eating the mushroom, and drinking out of a bottle questions the use of opium. In Manchester, according to one account, five out of six working-class families used it habitually (Wohl 34-35). The use of opium would explain some of the absurdity of Carrolls book. By understanding the background of Lewis Carroll a reader can understand the motives behind the novel itself, and what influenced Carroll the most.
Alice, a troubled girl who is caught up in the madness of Wonderland, is scared and worried about if she will ever return home. Alice, as she is falling down the rabbit hole, sees many bizarre things, but when she comes upon a bottle that says drink me(Carroll 23) ,she is so curious she feels as if she must drink it. Then suddenly she drops to a microscopic size and worries if she will ever be the right size again. Changing sizes all the time, its hard for Alice to answer the simple question of who she is, in which life is nothing but a confusing, absurd situation. Carroll portrays the difficult changes for Alice as if one is going through adolescence or puberty. In her encounters, we see the charmingly pathetic ingnue a child whose only purpose is to escape the afflictions around her. By implication, there is the view that a child's perception of the world is the only sane one. Conversely, to grow and mature leads to inevitable corruption, to sexuality, emotionalism, and adult hypocrisy (Senna). Alice starts to realize the difficult Wonderland is to navigate around. Which is why many critics consider Wonderland to be the path to maturity for Alice. As a reader you understand Alices trouble that she faces and start to see the whole picture of the book which is complexity of maturity. Carroll depicts the challenging question of identity. she undergoes what modern psychologists would term an identity crisis (Levin 182). By exhibiting Alices sister thinking back to her childhood, Carroll presents to the reader the significance and meaning of childhood memories. Although Alice tries to apply her knowledge to understand the absurd situations she has encountered she finds herself to be more confused. I don't believe there's an atom of meaning in it (Carroll 114). Carroll depicts that the excess of learning for a child is unnecessary because of their wild imagination. Alice tries too hard and over thinks much of what is said to her. Alice faces riddles and questions that have no meaning, but she soon figures out that they are not ones she can solve. Alice must learn to adapt to the rules of this Wonderland. The novel focuses on Alices struggle to fit into Wonderland. Carroll depicts to the reader that world of a child is dangerous if one does not know the rules. Alices sister soon remembers her childhood memories when Alice explains her absurd dream. With this depiction, one notices the cherished memories of being a child and its true meaning. Carroll portrays the happiness of Alices sister as she remembers her past memories of being a kid, and a reader notices the happiness of childhood. As a creative and imaginative time that one can always remember. Alice experiences ridiculous situations which depict that life is like a confusing puzzle. The fact that it is a dream explains the abnormalities throughout the novel. With the problems and riddles she faces, Alice soon discovers she is no longer at home.
Alice confronts many characters in which serve as an obstacle course to her rather than actual help. With this obstacle course Alice develops her identity and matures. When the White Rabbit mistakes her for a servant, Alice questions her social class in Wonderland. Alice loses her politeness when the other characters continue act rudely . Until the end Alice maintains her politeness as much as possible. She learns to adjust to her surroundings and the mad people in Wonderland. With the constant questions of who Alice is, she starts to realize she does not really know who she is and feels as if she has become mad like the creatures of Wonderland. Alice must choose whether to abide by her logical learning ways or adjust to the ridiculous rules of Wonderland. Alice constantly struggles, which effects her overall perception of Wonderland. Alice becomes absorbed in the madness, and many of the characters claim she has become mad also. Alice then meets the Mad Hatter who also makes her aware that she cannot solve the problems she has been confronted with. The Mad Hatter gives Alice riddles in which he has no clue what the answer is and portrays the idea of madness through Wonderland. They are some of the most argumentative of the creatures Alice meets in Wonderland, and their strange remarks show Carroll's talent for word games and logical puzzles. The Duchess confuses Alice for she believes that everything has a moral behind it, but when she explained the morals behind certain things Alice seemed only to get more frustrated, as Carroll writes, So many out-of-the-way things had happened lately, that Alice had begun to think that very few things indeed were really impossible (Carroll 23). The Duchess states everythings got a moral, if only you can find it (Carroll 106), which makes Alice consider that everything just may have a lesson behind it. Alice tries to keep her composure as best as she can through this part of the novel. Duchesss words make Alice start to develop as a mature adult and helps develop her identity making her an overall better person. It also displays the negative effects one can experience if you become an unpleasant person. For example the child's transformation into a pig when Alice meets the Duchess(the pig being a symbol for an unpleasant person) is played on for it's full value as a metaphor.The Queen of Hearts is the one character Alice truly fears. The Queen of Hearts seems to be Alices major conflict in the book. It is not till she meets the Gryphon that she learns the Queen never really executes anyone. This makes Alice feel more brave, and when the case of the stolen tarts occurs, Alice stands up against the Queen of Hearts leading her to the freedom from Wonderland.With this image of an obviously unjust case, Carroll exploits the justice system, commenting on the unfairness that involves a tyranny type of government (such as the one in Victorian England when the novel was written).
Alice soon starts to realize that she is not alone in Wonderland, and some characters act as a guide for her. The Cheshire cat plays a big role in depicting to Alice that she is no longer with sane people. With the Cheshire cats constant grin and unanswerable riddles, Alice discovers that Wonderland is truly for the mad. The Cheshire cat helps Alice discover the rules of Wonderland and is the only character who listens to Alice. The Cheshire cat remains calm and with a grin even with all the madness that surrounds him. While the Cheshire cat remains calm in the book, the White Rabbit races around in almost panic. Hes the timekeeper, always running on a schedule and looking at his watch. In some ways, the White Rabbit acts as a guide for Alice to discover Wonderland. The White Rabbit led Alice to the Wonderland, and is constantly seen throughout the novel when Alice seems to be completely lost. While as helpful as the White Rabbit is, the Caterpillar although rude and impolite serves as an aid to Alice also. He helps her with her size changes and discovering herself. With his help Alice learns how to cope with her changes. With the help of these characters Alice is led into maturity, and the developing of her identity.
Alices struggles in life are found in the book as symbols, which initially represent her as confused, searching for an identity and finally reaching her place in life. The mushroom represents the challenge of mastering size for Alice. In order to get to her original height she must try different bites of the mushroom. It also depicts the difficulties of puberty and the changes that one goes through. Alice is frustrated, she eventually learns to cope and reach the end of wonderland. As the mushroom represents Alices path to maturity, the garden seems almost as Alices last destination before she exits Wonderland. It serves as the entrance to maturity and portrayed the garden as an example of Carrolls paradoxical duality (Kelly 2). A recurring theme is Alice's desire to see the garden. Wonderland is in this way similar to dreams with an unfulfilled desire. But the garden itself merely structures Alice's journey: after each new adventure, she presses on toward the garden, but its the incidents along the way that form her into a wiser person.Through Alices difficult journey she discovers tasks that change her perspective, and bring her to the end of her journey. In the case of the stolen tarts, Alice asserts herself against the queen and wins, as she suddenly wakes up from her ridiculous dream. When Alice leaves she grows to the size of a giant and then finally wakes up from her dream. This is the final step of maturity for Alice. Alice conquers Wonderland in that she overpowered everyone else and became a stronger, more mature person in the end. This represents the final stage of adulthood and the difficulties one must master to reach maturity. Wonderland represents the journey one must face in order to reach adulthood. This is the journey she must take, although she does not know why she is experiencing this absurd dream. Alice finally learns the meaning of her dreams. She realizes the difficulties of becoming an adult. One of the difficulties in becoming an adult is acknowledging that death is constantly an underlying factor and it appears in the first chapter when Alice falls down the rabbit hole wondering if she will live or if she will perish. As a child the idea of death is hidden to many including Alice, and many do not realize the dangers of it until the one finally is matured. With the constant threats the Queen exhibits Alice starts to realize that her life may be in danger in Wonderland. With these combining elements of symbolism one sees the pathway Alice must travel to reach what many consider to be maturity.
Carroll fills the novel with nonsense and absurd situations which Alice must learn to conquer. Alice has to go through several changes, including physical and emotional ones that she must overcome in order to find the end of her so-called maze. For Alice the most important underlying factor is growing up and establishing herself and identity. Although Alice does not realize the purpose of her adventure she learns a lot from her journey. In Lewis Carrolls work Alice Adventures in Wonderland, one sees the importance of childhood and the inner strain Alice must face in order to discover the true importance of Wonderland. Alice continued on her adventure in which she learned to overcome her fears, ignore impossible to solve situations, understand life and its complexity, and finally give her sister a reason to remember her childhood days.
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