Alice's Adventures in Wonderland: complexity beneath a cheerful surface

Nonsense at its best, speaking animals, and curious adventures: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll is definetively an enjoyment. Children will love the episodes about the little girl's wonderful adventures, her encounters with weird creatures. Additionally, the stories are written in a light-hearted, easy-to-read way.
But adults can also take delight in this novel - and even more. One of the novel's major strength is its pun. There is the literal level of language, where metaphors simply do not work, such as

"one of the guinea-pigs (...) was suppressed(...). (As that is rather a hard word, I will just explain to you how it was done. They had a large canvas bag, which tied up at the mouth with strings: into this they slipped the guinea-pig, head first, and then sat upon it.) "I'm glad I've seen that done" thought Alice. "I've so often read in the newspaper, at the end of trials, 'There was some attempt at applause, which was immediately suppressed by the officers of the court,' and I never understood what it meant till now.""

Or the confusion caused by the misunderstanding of (almost) similiar pronounced words:

"'Mine is a long and sad tale!' said the Mouse.(...) 'It is a long tail, certainly,' said Alice, looking down with wonder at the Mouse's tail; ' but why do you call it sad?'"

These are just two examples to get a first impression, there is much more in the text, and some passages really make you smile.
But beneath this funny surface - though it might lead to question the meaning and importance of language - are more serious topics, such as the lost of childish innocence and Alice's struggle to define and form her identity as she constantly changes her size. "Who in the world I am?" is one of the central questions in this novel. I do not want to give away too much of the stories, just be prepared that there is a lot going on. Alice's Adventure's in Wonderland is not only a happy fairy-tale.
So, is this novel a good novel to educate your children? That is a question depending on your understanding of education. Alice sometimes seems to be a well-schooled girl, but she is also noisy, saucy, impertinent and precocious. If you want a well-behaved child who simply memorizes his/her lessons, than I recommend not to use this novel as a mean of education. Carroll rather emphasizes a very modern understanding of learning and education, comparable to Kingsley's understanding presented in his novel Water Babies, published a couple of years ago: learning through experience. If you want a self-cofident child that will be able to deal with unexpected, extraordinary situations (after a while), to progress by learning/experiencing, that is able to speak for itself, to make own decisions (to certain degrees), than you can use this novel as an educational one, but be aware that Alice does not always serve as a role model.
No matter how you approach this novel, the reading will be enriching. Even if you do not like (to think of) the existential questions, you will have some cheerful hours at least.

Lewis Carroll bio

Lewis Carroll biography 27 January 1832- 14 January 1898

(This information found on http://library.thinkquest.org/10977/carroll/)

Background- Charles Lutwidge Dodgson. (Lewis Carroll is the Latinized version of his first two names.) Aside from being an author, he was also a mathematician, Anglican deacon, and amateur photographer. He also invented a nyctograph, a device used for writing down thoughts in bed without getting up and turning out the light, and various word games including an early version of scrabble. He was brought up in a conservative, English family; and most of his family members were either in the army or held offices in the Church of England. He was the third of eleven children and found ways to entertain his family by doing marionette shows, writing poems, and doing magic tricks. Carroll excelled in math and theology during school, and soon developed an interest in pursuing both fields as professions. Despite his playful childhood, Carroll became very serious about his mathematician’s work. Logic appealed to him more as a game, which brings out his humorist’s qualities. He suffered from a stutter that made public speaking and preaching hard. He attended Christ Church Oxford and won the Christ Church Mathematical Lectureship which enabled him to stay on and teach. The pay was good but he found the work boring. It was at Oxford where he met the children of Dean Liddell, the inspiration of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

Liddell Sisters and the Beginnings of Alice- Carroll always seemed to have an affinity with children, but the Liddell sisters clearly had a special place in his heart. Alice, Lorina, and Edith Liddell used to go on picnics with Carroll, who would tell the girls stories. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was being formed from his stories told to the girls. One rainy day, he told the girls such a great story that Alice begged him to write it down. Novelist Henry Kingsley managed to read the story and confronted Carroll about publishing the story. Surprised by this request, Carroll agreed. He gained fame as a writer, and sometimes unwanted attention— according to one popular story which Dodgeson roundly denied, Queen Victoria loved Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland so much that she suggested the Dodgeson dedicate his next work to her, and was presented with his next work, An Elementary Treatise on Determinants.

Controversies- Carroll was accused of being on drugs, which fueled his imaginative worlds. Also, his photographs of the Liddell sisters (particularly Alice) were deemed inappropriate and reflected Carroll’s evident obsession with young girls. Carroll was also the only Senior Student at Christ Church who was allowed to stay on at the college despite being a priest— Dodgeson had to appeal to Dean Liddell for permission to not proceed with his ordination . At around the time Carroll insisted on not becoming a priest he was troubled by an unexplained sense of guilt, and in his diaries from this period he refers to himself as a “vile and worthless” sinner.

The Review of Waterbabies

Mr. Kingsley begins his story with a classic opening “once upon a time”, yet he does not end The Waterbabies with the usual impending “and they lived happily ever after.” Kingsley’s explanation for not ending the story in the traditional fashion, emphasize one of the problems I had with this “supposed” children’s book; the story is too straightforward. There are hardly any decisions made by Tom, the dirty chimney sweep turned water baby. From the beginning, we are told what he is, a neglected mischievous dirty little boy, and what he has to become, a selfless good clean Englishman/scientist. Since stories are told from a bias, subjected, or prejudice way it should have come as no surprise to me, that Kingsley constructed The Waterbabies with no other intent, but to achieve his own wits end. I always thought writer’s constructed opportunities for their characters to develop, by way of making their own decisions, based on their motivation. Not by purposely constructing the story so that the only way that’s fitting for the character to go is the author’s way. However, that is not to say that Tom does not develop throughout the story. He simply doesn’t have any say so in the matter.

I appreciate what Kingsley achieved with Waterbabies. The material he presented me with was engaging, complex, and original. He convinced me the validity of his argument, which is the Victorian lower class needs reform, within the first three pages. Using Tom as tool to draw me in, I immediately start to feel sorry Tom, who is abused and neglected by his master Grimes. Grimes’ character provides a future alternative for who Tom will become, if we (the Victorians) do not take the time and effort to reform little boys like Tom. In that sense, Waterbabies is not only geared to educate children, but most importantly adults. This is why Kingsley has these two to three page interrupters where he thoroughly explains his points for reform, why I should or should not believe in fairy tales, and historical facts behind what I may have only a basic understanding of. Waterbabies is a carefully and purposely constructed text where there’s no lessons to be learned, only morals.

Review of The Water Babies

Amidst the backdrop of scenic rivers and oceans, The Water Babies is a story of one child’s journey from the dreary and typical world of the chimney sweep to the fantastic and surreal world of the water baby. Though it is presented as a fairy tale for children, I think that the story should also interest adults as well, since Kingsley draws from the work of scientists and other intellectuals in his side notes. The subjects of the many interjections and digressions in the narrative vary from commentary on authors and different books and essays, to references to noteworthy scientists and explorers, to discussions of philosophy and theology, and to every subject in between.

Kingsley’s knowledge of the work of Charles Darwin, in particular, is noticeable throughout the story. Kingsley tackles the somewhat controversial topic of evolution, threading this theory throughout the entirety of his tale in order to ensure that this type of evolution seems wholly “natural.” The parable of the Doasyoulikes is probably the most prominent of his references to Darwin, as the entire nation of Doasyoulikes reverts to mere apes as a result of their own laziness and weakness. On a broader scale, Tom’s moral education can be construed as an “evolution” of sorts. From an immature young chimney sweep headed toward the same corruption as his elders, Tom evolves into a “great man of science” who “knows everything about everything” from “what he learnt when he was a water-baby, underneath the sea.”

Although the educational digressions make this story difficult for a younger reader to grasp without knowledge of the more controversial topics of science references, I think that children can still learn from Tom’s education. In spite of The Water Babies’ serious digressions, its story is witty and humorous, and Tom’s adventures and experiences are extraordinarily entertaining. His keen senses of wonder and awe and his curiosity about the world about him can be translated for children and adults alike.

Goblin Market Review

The Goblin Market by Christina Rossetti is the ideal fairy tale. It is full of sexual references and there is even a moral at the end. It fits all the criteria for a Disney film. The poem even has heroes, two sisters, and various villains, the goblins. However don’t be looking for a knight in shining amour to ride the girls into the sunset because there are no male characters throughout the poem.

The first stanza is filled not only with sexual references but also with a reference to the sisters’ innocence, as the goblins tempt the girls to buy their fruits.

“ Come buy, come buy

Apples and quinces

Lemons and oranges

Plump and unpecked cherries

Melons and raspberries,

Bloom-down-checked peaches,

Swart-headed mulberries

Wild free-born cranberries…..”

The poem captures the temptations found in a woman’s life, such as rape and addiction. The temptations are the goblins fruits. By the end of the poem both sisters have been through a transformation and lost their innocence by eating the goblins fruits. The ending of the tale is semi-forced but presents the sisters as victorious over the goblins. The moral is: even if you suckle the fruits of the goblins and lost your innocence, life goes on and there is no need to dwell in the past but move forward into the future—a fairy tale at its finest.

Review of "Goblin Market"

Christina Rossetti's “Goblin Market” reads like a classic Disney movie: the ending is happy, the characters are boisterous and generic, and above all, there is adult humor abound. This poem is not for the dirty-minded. Not even 150 lines in, an innocent Laura trades a lock of her golden blonde hair for the “fruit” of these mischievous goblins, produce which she proceeds to suck dry (and quite enjoy, might I add):

Then sucked their fruit globes fair or red:
Sweeter than honey from the rock.
Stronger than man-rejoicing wine,
Clearer than water flowed that juice;
She had never tasted such before,
How should it cloy with length of use?
She sucked and sucked and sucked the more...

All overtly sexual connotations aside, “Goblin Market” is a well written poem for both children and adults. While the young ones may enjoy the sumptuous descriptions of cute little girls, goblins, and delicious food, we adults are left to appreciate the subversive—or not so—humor of the Victorian age.

A Review of Water Babies

Many of the characteristics I find most loathsome in modern children’s literature are, as they should be, completely absent from Water Babies. There are many things to love about this book— the inclusion of poetry, some by Kingsley and some by earlier romantic poets; the use of long words in context; and the wonderfully unhurried pace of the narrative voice. In modern times it is a rare gift to be able to linger over passages in a children’s book which leisurely describe the surroundings:

“And in the water-forest he saw the water-monkeys and water-squirrels (they all had six legs, though; every thing almost has six legs in the water, except efts and water-babies); and nimbly enough they ran among the branches. There were water-flowers there, too, in thousands; and Tom tried to pick them up, but as soon as he touched them, they drew themselves in and turned into knots of jelly; and then Tom saw that they were all alive— bells, and stars, and wheels, and flowers, of all beautiful shapes and colours; and all alive and busy”…

And on and on, for paragraphs and paragraphs, pages and pages. Oh, miraculous irrelevancy! Oh, the didactic ramblings of my lost youth!

But while Water Babies refuses to cater to a child’s short attention span, and in this way talks down to children as little as anything, it finds entirely new— or rather, old— ways to talk down to the young. Instruction is fine and good, but Kingsley takes for granted many things which in modern times do not fall short of scandalous and offensive— for instance, the inferiority of the Irish. And my guess is that any modern child would find it difficult to relate to Tom, our protagonist from a century ago who isn’t really that likeable to begin with. And then, even when one takes into account the time period in which Water Babies was written, Kingsley doesn’t exactly encourage freedom of thought, which nowadays is highly prized.

In short, Water Babies was an enjoyable read, and reminded me why I love old books so much— sometimes it’s nice to slow down, revel in the English language, and maybe even learn something. But I think asking a child to relate to this book would not prove to be a successful endeavor. If only books like this one were still being written, but from a modern worldview/perspective… but then, that might not even be possible. There’s something very modern about linear and direct plotlines. The world really is getting more ADD, and life really is speeding up— Water Babies is evidence enough of that.