Charles Lutwidge Dodgson

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

In 1862, floating upon the river Isis, Charles Dodgson narrated for Alice Liddell and a few others in company his original tale of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Gliding along underneath the blue sky, Dodgson wove his words into one of the most classic children stories of all time. Thesis: Although Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland may have only begun as a children’s story, many adults have sought to discover the “true meaning” of the novel. Curiosity has led to years of searching and interpretation of the origins of Carroll’s novels, and the symbols inside, developing into theories ranging from practical to nearly impossible, eventually evolving into their own stories in the film industry.

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.

First, it is widely accepted that Lewis Carroll was criticizing aspects of Victorian Education of children. There is strong evidence that Carroll thought negatively with regard to Victorian Education. Carroll does not explicitly come out and say that he dislikes Victorian Education, but rather drops subtle clues throughout that suggest that he didn’t approve of education in his times. “Carroll cleverly uses nonsense to criticize rote school learning in a way that would have been impossible to do within the bounds of more serious writing” (Kwoka). For example, when Alice is falling down the rabbit hole, she is using words like “longitude” and “latitude”, when she doesn’t have the slightest clue what they mean. Victorian Education was just memorization and regurgitation of information, rather than absorbing the topic of study. This is clearly represented when Alice is falling down the rabbit hole, using words that she doesn’t know the meaning of while reciting information.

Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, more commonly known as Lewis Carroll, rose to fame from the birth of Alice’s Adventures Through the Looking Glass. While he became a celebrated author among children and adults alike, conspiracies arose concerning his life outside the glamorized, innocent light from which the Victorian masses viewed him. Many modern critics have called into question Dodgson’s relationships with young girls, specifically holding a microscope under his interactions with Alice Liddell, the girl that inspired his famous tale. Despite the mix of reckless and groundless claims, Dodgson’s relationship with little girls never went beyond the confines of friendship.

Carroll uses this setup to the setting as an introduction to the world where animals and inanimate objects are anthropomorphized and time and space are relative. The thematic structure of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland makes way for this exciting and creative world building as it is seen through the eyes of a growing child full of wonder. Although the story is whimsical, underlying the story is an atmosphere of anxiety or even fear that resolves at the end with the meeting with the Queen of Hearts and Alice’s return to the

Lewis Carroll Lewis Carroll, a man who is most remembered for his ability to explain the simple mind of a child in wondrous ways. Lewis Carroll, pen name of Charles L. Dodgson, was born January 27, 1832, and died of illness January 14, 1898 (Biography 1). Within his sixty-six years on this Earth, he had managed to sway the hearts of both the young and old, leaving a legacy behind. Thus being, he has become one of the most appreciated writers in history thanks to his literary masterpiece, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alice’s story, still a work in progress 150 years later, is a shapeshifting tale about how we see childhood (Bethune 1).

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

   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 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.

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, was a children’s book written by Lewis Carroll. The focus of

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.

Lewis Carroll is the pseudonym of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, who prefered to keep his identity secret. Dodgson was born on the 27th of January, 1832 to Charles Dodgson and Frances Jane Lutwidge in the small village of Daresbury, located in England (Smith, Karen). Carroll authored tales of fiction geared towards children and works of nonfiction focused on the specifics and complications of mathematics. Carroll began writing at a young age; one of his first poems, “My Fairy”, spoke of a restrictive fairy who continuously censors Carroll’s emotions (Smith, Karen). The restriction of expression is a common theme throughout Carroll’s works; his Alice Series and the poem “Jabberwocky”

In my spring synthesis essay, I will be covering Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. I have been interested in the history of this novel, and the many interpretations of it. I would like to discover what compelled Lewis Carroll to use certain historical figures to inspire his characters, and how these characters play into Alice’s symbolic and physical journey.