Making Sense Out of Nonsense (Analysis of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland)
" 'Never imagine yourself not to be otherwise than what it might appear to others that what you were or might have been was not otherwise than what you had been would have appeared to them to be otherwise' "(Carroll 89). Carroll here conveys the message to not try to show yourself deeper than what your surface suggests. Did he follow in the footsteps of that philosophy in his renowned work Alice's Adventures in Wonderland? In this work, Lewis Carroll, the pen name used by Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, devises a seemingly nonsensical plot that weaves through the various adventures of young Alice through her dreamland, contending with all sorts of odd characters on the way (Cohen 125). Although childish nonsense on the surface, these characters in Lewis Carroll's imaginative story Alice's Adventures in Wonderland reflect personality types in an adult society. The most obvious yet false interpretation of Alice is that she represented Alice Liddell. As the pretty dark-haired daughter of the dean of Christ Church where Lewis Carroll attended, typically shy Alice Liddell quickly began to view Carroll as a friend and mentor (Hudson 266; "Introduction to Lewis Carroll" 105). Carroll related the original
Carroll's Dreamchild as Seen Through the Critics(1971). Rpt. in World Cohen, Morton N. Lewis Carroll. New York: Vintage Books, 1995. Frey, Charles and John Griffith. "Lewis Carroll: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland." Hubbell, George Shelton. "The Sanity of Wonderland." The Sewanee Review(1927): Carroll portrays Alice in a strikingly different light as the rest of the characters in Wonderland, as "the rational being in a mad world" (Hudson 268). "Alice is faced with a world of adults who behave like children", an exaggeration of our familiar adult society (Kelly 79; Hubbell 109). As Charles Frey put it, "The animals...are masks for roles and attitudes of humans in a society based upon competitiveness and pride." (648). "The Queen turned crimson with fury, and, after glaring at her for a moment like a wild beast, began screaming 'Off with her head! Off with her---'" (Carroll 80). The Queen of Hearts here proves herself very high-strung and hot-tempered, quick to let anything and everything infuriate her, much like many impatient power-hungry adults in society. In commenting on the book, Alice's Adventure's in Wonderland, critics agree that the art of Lewis Carroll "is so well concealed...that we may fail to realize just how carefully the stories are organized." (Hudson 268). The book is jam-packed with problems relating to logic that only an adult could fully appreciate. Lewis Carroll addressed the concept of time, the usage of words, the function of names, and the confusion associated with personal identity, each a subject that continually perplexes adults of all personalities and roles today (Holmes 642). Only the analytical, scientific brain of Lewis Carroll could piece these subjects together into a story appreciated by and modeled after adults, yet still entertaining to children. Derek Hudson observed that "Lewis Carroll's knowledge of math and logic...provided an essential element in his literary achievements." (264). He utilized his assets by emplo
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Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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