Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass

Also, the character of Alice has some interesting meaning to the story. The character of Alice may be modeled after the author Alice Munro because they have shared similar experiences between men. Apparently, the author had been through a divorce and many of the

Modern historians like to speculate that the relationship between Dodgson and Alice was inappropriate, as he often photographed the children naked, however, Dodgson’s practice was distinctly Victorian. Meaning, many Victorian families enjoyed having their children’s photograph taken, oftentimes naked. Dodgson prided himself on only photographing the children after first meeting them, and gaining their permission to photograph. Nonetheless, the mysterious breakup still remains unsolved. Cavendish states in his article: “The friendship between the Liddell’s and Dodgson had broken down in 1863, for reasons that are not clear – the relevant page in his diary was cut out by one of his descendants – but it may be that Mrs. Liddell was uneasy about him and Alice.” And while we cannot say for sure that Dodgson had been inappropriate with Alice during his photography sessions, the missing page could surely clear up what event exactly triggered the eventual loss of friendship between the families. It is difficult for the modern world to understand why a grown man would write so much literature inspired by a young girl, and despite what cannot be understood, one thing is for sure: Dodgson was taken by Alice Liddell to a place in his imagination, whether sexual or

The techniques used by Tim to take viewers on Alice’s journey from a child to an adult are vast. Alice is constantly questioned about her identity, Tim Burton does this to signify to the audience that the film is not just about adventures, but at its core is a self-finding journey. A technique which reflected the journey that Alice underwent is her costume, Alice’s costume constantly changed to reflect where on her journey she was at. In the early scenes of the film, Alice is seen to be wearing a baby blue dress made using a viscose material and

Two-year-old Alice Walker was as boastful and energetic as they come. She was a product of her environment;

Understanding there’s been a change in her body, Alice questions the probability that she might not be herself any longer. She believes she may have become someone else through the transformation, another typical child theory when growing up. If your appearance has changed, it may be likely that you’re not who you used to be, so of course, you must be someone else. This is also portrayed in the instance when she meets the Caterpillar. When asked, “Who are you?” by the Caterpillar, Alice honestly answers, “I hardly know”. The Caterpillar represents Alice as well, as it will also transform into something greater as it ages.

     Carroll first published Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland in 1865, three years after he had first told the story to the young girl Alice Liddell and her sisters,

In particular, Alice’s fluctuating size and “opening out like” (Carroll 11) a telescope parallel with a child’s seemingly spontaneous growth spurts, which occur frequently and most noticeably during pre-adolescent and adolescent years. In fact, Alice Liddell, the inspiration for the original tale, was ten when Lewis Carroll (the pen name of Charles Dodgson) first told the tale (Vallone 245). In addition, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland began as tale about the adventures of seven year-old Alice Liddell (Vallone 245). In reality, most children like Alice Liddell grow, but in Wonderland, Alice changed drastically and symbolically. Physically Alice’s growth correlates in many instances with her behavior. For instance, prior to drinking the mysterious liquid, Alice ponders on the substance’s toxicity, however, she fails to consider possible outcomes while forgetting the golden key. Consequently, Alice grew smaller as her behavior was incongruous to a practical and experienced adult. In contrast prior to consuming the cookie, Alice muses “‘if it makes me grow larger, I can reach the key; and if it makes me grow smaller, I can creep under the door so either way I’ll get into the garden’” (Carroll 9). Hence, Alice exemplifies problem

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.

First off, Alice wandering around in Wonderland facing different challenges, one of the challenges she faces is her body change. Alice body grew or shrinks constantly. Alice’s neck grew so long; she couldn’t see her feet at one point. These are possible examples of physical change through the pubertal stage. Pre-teens through the years have to learn to understand and live with his/her body changes, they also have to drop the act of “cute and innocent” little kids personality. (Redl, 5). When Alice faced a challenge she couldn’t go crying home to her mother because she was alone in Wonderland so the triggers Alice had to drop the cute and innocent act to figure out how to get through. Every time Alice grew or shrink, Alice always figured out a way to either grow or shrink back to her normal size. Even if she had to take the risk of eating or drinking something she didn’t know what it was. Alice is a Pre-teen that is the age that Alice is more likely to start her pubertal stage, during the pubertal stage, “Psychological stimuli with adolescents and trigger response like beliefs, fantasies, feelings and

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

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.

Carroll’s life at Daresbury was very solitary. Carroll didn’t have friends when he was at very young age; instead he had playmates which were his siblings. Lewis Carroll interacted mostly with his sisters; his closest relationship was with his older sister Elizabeth. (pg. 17 in The Mystery of Lewis Carroll by Jenny Woolf).

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass are both widely thought to be books filled of nonsense by adults because adults search for meaning in the wrong places. People are taught from a young age to analyze books in a “traditional” way, which is identifying the five stages of plot (exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution) and to look at the story one part at a time, slowly analyzing the whole book. This method becomes ingrained in their minds and they do it subconsciously. This frame of thought causes most adults to be unable to see the true meaning of Lewis Carroll’s two books, but at the same time helps adults obtain more than originally intended: “Although we can never hope to explain fully what these books mean or how they have secured their high place in the world’s literature, our efforts in this regard can yield many important insights about them and about their meanings for us,” (Rackin, 18). Adults are also taught there is always main plot that slowly builds towards the end, revealing a central theme. But in these books there is no main plot and Carroll uses the central theme to go back and give meaning to the rest of the events in the books. The themes of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass are conveyed through the structure of the book, rather than the theme. The theme must also be read with the perspective with that of a child rather than an adult to fully understand these books.

'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