Carroll's novel takes readers on a disorienting journey down the rabbit hole and brings them into a land where real-world (the world that we live in, outside of the rabbit hole) logic is turned on its head and asked to recite nursery rhymes. Adults can appreciate the capricious and fantastical world that Carroll constructs where word play and logic puzzles are commonly in use. For example, there is confusion between the King of Hearts and the Hatter when the Hatter states, "It began with a tea," only to have the confused King reply, "Of course twinkling begins with a T!" (94). Children will love Alice's adventures because of all of the eccentric characters she meets in Wonderland, many of which are talking animals like the March Hare and the Cheshire Cat or even objects like the cards in the Queen of Hearts' Kingdom. Even illiterate chimney sweeps and hooligans will be able to enjoy the book, should they be blessed enough to get their hands on it, because of its wonderful illustrations. The illustrations fit nicely throughout the text to provide a sort of visual description of Alice's adventures as she goes along through Wonderland. There are just enough illustrations to keep children entertained without distracting them too much from the reading.
If a chimney sweep or impoverished street urchin were fortunate enough to ever hear Alice's adventures, he/she would be so delighted with the fantasy world of Wonderland and all of its oddities that he/she would forget all about his/her grueling place in the real world. The same is true for a proper Victorian child who encountered the text. A proper Victorian child would fall into Carroll's story the same way that Alice falls down the rabbit hole. He/she would find Wonderland to be an entertaining getaway from the real world where he/she is expected to partake in his/her daily French and music lessons. Any adult who came upon Alice's Adventures in Wonderland would also be able to appreciate the magical world that Carroll creates because it is so much different than the world that we live in. Any adult that comes home from a long day of work and picks up this novel will instantly be taken to a place that is much more magical, a place where anything is possible, even never working again and instead drinking tea for the rest of eternity. Readers never know what could happen next in Wonderland, which is appealing, when you're trying to escape a boring Victorian routine.
Lewis Carroll's novel, The Adventures of Alice in Wonderland, is a success and will continue to be a success for years to come. One of the most popular reasons that people read is, has always been, and probably always will be to get their minds off of the trials and tribulations of ordinary life. Carroll's novel offers up a world far from what most would consider "ordinary," and therefore makes for a timeless piece of literature capable of transporting its readers to a place much more interesting than reality.
I definitely agree with your argument for Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland as an escape for both children and adults. As discussed in class, Alice’s jump down the rabbit hole represents an analogy for a camera obscura. A camera obscura is a reproduction of an image backwards and upside down. Therefore, Wonderland is Victorian England turned upside down. The disorder in wonderland and the desire for a change in Victorian England attracts all audiences. Wonderland is the largest learning tool because it requires the reader to enter the imagination and envision their lives differently. A person learns the most through experience even experiences in the imagination. Therefore, the imagination becomes an important vehicle in the learning process of children and adults. Language being taken literally provides comic relief in the imagination and it also teaches a lesson: think before you speak.
ReplyDeleteI love the pictures throughout the book as well. How can a book have no pictures in it? The pictures preserve learning by making the tale more exciting for both audiences with vivid character depictions. Overall, the book allows children to enjoy reading and preserve the youth in adults through their desire to continue learning and exploring the imagination.