Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland is an 1865 novel written by Lewis Carroll. It is a story based around a young girl who falls down a rabbit hole into a fantasy world which is occupied by anthropomorphic creatures. This novel can be seen as a bildungsroman, concerned with the development and maturity of the young character. It concentrates on Alice’s difficulties in order for her to gain self-awareness and self-control that’s needed for adulthood. It may also be viewed as a proto feminist novel, as in the era it was written in feminism was unknown. However Alice can be seen to break out of known stereotypes and rebel against the norms and values given to women of her class. The novel can be viewed as a coming of age story; that focuses on …show more content…
Another example of Alice standing up for herself is when the Queen of Hearts shouts “hold your tongue” Alice rather quickly replies “I won’t” this shows the maturity of Alice being able to stand up for herself and others, refusing to back down like she would have in the beginning showing her way of thinking to be rather childlike at the beginning but towards the end is more an adult way of thinking However not all of the feminists ways we can view Alice in Wonderland are positive as we can see Alice is as oppressed. We can see this as she conforms to the males in the book, following instructions given without hesitation. We can see in particular when Alice meets the caterpillar. The male caterpillar tells Alice to “keep her temper” due to this Alice “swallows he anger the best she could.” This may show how a woman’s anger must be supressed but also can also be viewed as the self-control we must have as adults unable to perhaps become angry as we would have when we were children. Further on Alice criticizes the caterpillar’s height to which he reared “itself upright as it spoke.” This could be seen as the caterpillar trying to intimidate Alice, but also shows that the male in this conversation is
In his analysis of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, Richard Kelly describes Wonderland as a nonsensical place where Alice is “treated rudely, bullied, asked questions with no
Carroll’s use of the chess board is also important in Alice’s transition to adulthood. Her journey across the chess board from being a pawn to reaching the status of Queen represents the growth of being a child to becoming an adult. This emphasis is conveyed primarily in Through the Looking Glass and Carroll conveys this through the encounters that Alice has with the various characters, mainly the Queens and the Kings. The Queen always seems one step ahead of Alice, similar to what a child feels in an “adult” world. Carroll continues to express the tyranny of adulthood through Alice’s encounters and journey. She soon learns that becoming a Queen was not all
Issues concerning her size, identity, and her social exchanges with both Wonderland and its creatures spur and characterize Alice’s development towards becoming a young woman.
The traditional male qualities are overtaken by female characters such as the Queen of Hearts and the Duchess. Also, a male character such as the King of Hearts expresses the traditional female qualities. However, throughout the story, Alice meets characters who support their traditional gender roles such as the White Rabbit and the Pigeon. All in all, Alice learns that although some characters such as the Duchess have reversed cultural gender roles, she still expressed her maternal instinct, prompting Alice to discover the ancient feminine in
In the novel, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, the main character, Alice, undergoes quite a change. During the time the novel was published, parts of the world were in the victorian era. The Queen at the time was Queen Victoria, in which the era was named after. During this era, knowledge, class and reason were greatly valued, and stressed. This time period ended in the year of Queen Victoria’s death. Throughout the novel, there are many ways that show how Alice begins to understand the world in adult terms, matures, and grows.
Alice begins by startling at the sight of the Cat sitting on a tree bough, while the Cat only grins at Alice. As dear Alice asks for advice on which way she ought to continue, the Cat claims, “if you do not know where you want to end up, then surely it does not matter which way you go” (Carroll 49). This simplistic view of decision making plays on the complexity that humans weave into simple decisions of everyday life. Alice’s confusion is spotlighted by this overtly simple take on decisions, and her confusion can then be tied to the absence of a concrete identity. The Cat proceeds to reveal that in Wonderland, “we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad,” and this awareness and acceptance of “the fury” within himself further serves to bold Alice’s insecurity (Carroll 49). Perhaps, if Alice knew who she was to others – and to herself – in Wonderland, she would not deny the madness of Wonderlands creatures, including
Many themes are explored when reading Lewis Carrol’s, Alice in Wonderland. Themes of childhood innocence, child abuse, dream, and others. Reading the story, it was quite clear to see one particular theme portrayed through out the book: child to adult progression. Alice in Wonderland is full of experiences that lead Alice to becoming more of herself and that help her grow up. It’s a story of trial, confusion, understanding, and success. And more confusion. Though others might argue that the story was distinctly made for children just to get joy out of funny words, and odd circumstances, the tale has obvious dynamics that confirm the fact of it being a coming of age story.
This passage is one of the most memorable passages in Alicebecause it so resembles the typical conversation that young girls often have with their dolls at imaginary tea parties. Imitating what their own mothers say to them over and over again – “Don’t speak unless you’re spoken to,” “Don’t shift in your seat while your elders are talking to you,” “You must be a proper young lady” – these young girls try to come to terms with all of the social restrictions that are placed upon them and to
Lewis Carroll's use of puns and riddles in Alice in Wonderland help set the theme and tone. He uses word play in the book to show a world of warped reality and massive confusion. He uses such play on words to reveal the underlying theme of growing up', but with such an unusual setting and ridiculous characters, there is need for some deep analyzing to show this theme. The book contains many examples of assonance and alliteration to add humor. Carroll also adds strange diction and extraordinary syntax to support the theme.
The Victorian Era was a time where not many ethical ideals and moral standards were sustained. Yet, it is also an Era in which modern society uses to make advancements in both humanity, and philosophy. Lewis Carroll, author of Alice in Wonderland, was a novelist who wrote pass his time. He wrote further in the future of the "common" Victorian Era. The ideology he presents in Alice in Wonderland is conducive to an individual attempting to bring attention to the deteriorating mental health and humane conditions in Victorian-Era England. Alice is representative of a normal child in everyday-Victorian England. This child, Alice, has not been exposed to the likes of diversity, but instead solidarity. The type of solidarity that is all too prevalent throughout the Victorian Era, primarily in the upbringing of children during this time. Children in Victorian Era England were taught to be followers of the norms already established by adults, and to ask no questions. These types of parameters placed restraints on children growing-up during this time; not only physical restraints, but also mental restraints, such as their imaginations'. Carroll was no stranger to this ideal or the likes of this concept; In fact, he constructed Alice in The Wonderland with this in mind, to defy the imaginative 'norm' of Victorian-Era England. He created a character that dreamt of falling down a rabbit hole into another universe. This dream or imagination becomes so vivid in his novel that the
'Alice in Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll seems a first a simple fairy tale, but in fact its meaning is a lot more profound. This novel criticizes the way children were brought up during the Victorian era. Carroll presents the readers with the complications these offspring must endure in order to develop their own personalities/egos, as they become adults. For Alice, Wonderland appears to be the perfect place to start this learning adventure. A way to understand her story is by compering it to the world as if being upside-down. Nothing in Wonderland seems to be they way it’s supposed to. The first lesson, Alice must learn in this peculiar journey through Wonderland is to achieve separation from the world around her and to stop identifying herself through others, in order to discover who she
Alice in Wonderland by Charles L Dodgeson (Lewis Carrol) is a classic masterpiece and example of great literature. Many people know of this book as merely a child’s tale or a Disney movie. As both were adopted from the book, many of the ideas were not. I have my own feelings and opinions of this book. Remarkable use of words and an originally creative theme and plot structure are both used in this book. The author of this novel used many hidden meanings, symbolism, and ambiguous terms to greatly describe the actual nature of the story. Many people have different views as to the type of book it is and the novel’s actual meaning. Although this book inspires many people to laugh, it also inspires them think.
Whenever the queen is displeased it usually results in somebody getting their head cut off. This can be seen when Alice is put on trial in front of the queen and her court. The queens ruling results in Alice being guilty and becoming defiant to the queen. As a result the queen shouts, “off with her head!” (Carroll, 102). This represents Alice and her madness because as I stated earlier, this was all in Alice’s dream. Therefore the queen is a representation of what goes on in Alice’s head. She has that dark mental side to her nature.
Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll endures as one of the most iconic children 's books of all time. It remains one of the most ambiguous texts to decipher as Alice 's adventures in Wonderland have created endless critical debate as to whether we can deduce any true literary meaning, or moral implication from her journey down the rabbit hole. Alice 's station as a seven year old Victorian child creates an interesting construct within the novel as she attempts to navigate this magical parallel plain, yet retain her Victorian sensibilities and learn from experience as she encounters new creatures and life lessons. Therefore, this essay will focus on the debate as to whether Alice is the imaginatively playful child envisaged by the Romantics, or a Victorian child whose imagination has been stunted by her education and upbringing.
Do you ever notice in stories, the female characters tend to be weak and sometimes have a mentor to guide them? Alice Adventures in Wonderland turned the tables on this type of character and made a strong, lively character Alice. Carroll disregarded the traditional plot lines and development of characters of his time by creating an empowered Alice, who overcomes the challenges in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Not only does Alice face different challenges through the story she also faces her pre-teen years of emotional and developmental stages. We can argue that Carroll disobeyed the normal childhood innocence by taking away Alice’s innocence because she had to go through Wonderland, facing different challenges that made her a strong