Analysis of Alices Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll - Book Report/Review Example

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll Alices Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll has persistently amazed readers, the young and the old, for over a century. This classic story is a remarkable tale of a young girl who embarks on maybe one of the most fascinating adventures in literary history (Carroll 1). In this remarkable volume, the author turns her hand to what is, for sure, not a small project and she succeeded in achieving what people expected. The book is packed with currently, as well as available interpretations of the kaleidoscope of characters, who have captured the visions of generations of children. The protagonist herself, Alice, is depicted as a thoroughly modern lady, casually dressed, friendly and highly spirited, as well as her environment is brought to sparkling life with a depth, warmth plus a distinctive sense of humor, which perfectly complements the shenanigans of the disordered world of Wonderland. This paper will discuss the human-animal relationships that are presented in each chapter of this book. The book has 11 chapters in total, thus the human-animal interactions discussed will be around 11. Chapter 1: Down the Rabbit Hole This chapter recounts the events that took place after Alice decided to follow a rabbit that dashed past her while her sister was reading to her a novel. The rabbit takes a watch from his pocket and runs across the field then down a hole (Carroll 2). Alice hurriedly traces the rabbit and tumbles down the hole that looks like a well, falling gradually for a long period. As she floats down, she realizes that the walls of the well are covered with shelves and cupboards. She removes a jelly jar from one of the cupboards and starts eating (Carroll 2). Analysis Alice flees from the Victorian surrounding of her own sister since she feels displeased and unhappy, but she quickly finds out that Wonderland will not lead to the fulfillment any of her desires. Wonderland completely frustrates her dreams at every turn. The Rabbit signifies this motif of disturbed desire because this is what leads Alice. His antics motivate Alice to trace him down the hole that eventually leads them into Wonderland, but he continually stays one step ahead Alice. Pushed forward by curiosity, Alice follows the indefinable rabbit although she has no idea what she will do after she catches up with him. Chapter 2: The Pool of Tears In this chapter, Alice finds herself nine feet tall after she consumes the cake, which says EAT ME. She could hardly get an eye down to the entryway (Carroll 8). She also stumbles upon a mouse as she swims. The mouse does not comprehend what Alice, thus she tries to speak French to him. She recalls some of the lines she learnt during her French lessons, asking whether the mouse knows where cat is (Carroll 14). At the utter of the word car, the mouse jumps with a fright, but Alice apologizes then inattentively talks about her own cat, that makes the mouse to be offended and the subject is changed to dogs. Analysis The human-animal interaction in this chapter was not of much importance in bringing out the theme of the chapter. The chapter focused more of Alices worry of her identity change. The realization that she is too huge to fit through a doorway alone is what worried her most. The interaction with the White Rabbit and the Mouse are cases of how she tried to cope with her predicament reasonably, by interacting with others. The interaction with the White Rabbit and the Mouse helped her focus her mind on interacting with these two animals instead of focusing on the change in her body. Chapter 3: A Caucus Race and a Long Tale Alice and a group of animals arrive at the riverbank and focus on being dry. Alice starts quarreling with the Lory, but the Mouse cuts in and commands everybody to sit down and listen to his history lesson (Carroll 15). He imagines that the tale of William the Conqueror would be best as that is the driest thing he knows. The Mouse rebukes Alice for being absentminded, and although Alice apologizes, the two misapprehend each other, which causes the Mouse to leave in a huff. The others lament the Mouse’s nonappearance, and Alice states that she wishes her cat Dinah were around to bring Mouse back (Carroll 19). Analysis The Caucus race offers a lightly veiled review of the illogicality of English political affairs at the turn of the century whereas making a wider comment concerning the general insignificance of life. The animals run aimlessly in circles, go nowhere, and randomly adjourn devoid of any serious conclusion. The author implies that politicians do likewise, acting with a lot of circumstance and pomp without really achieving anything. This might be a wider remark on the reality that life takes unanticipated and, at times, random twists and turns but eventually ends correctly even if there might not be a clear purpose. Chapter 4: The Rabbit Sends in a Little Bill In this chapter, we see Alice taking orders from the rabbit as the rabbit mistakes her for his housemaid (Carroll 24). Even though, Alice follows this orders, she wonders how weird it sounds to take orders from an animal. Alice resolves that her adventures are merely a fairy tale and envisions writing her own tales once she is mature. In another part, Alice escapes into a wood where she tries to figure out how she may return to her usual size, as well as find the garden, where her sister was reading to her the novel (Carroll 27). Analysis The White Rabbit’s position as a figure of authority forces Alice to change her perception that human being sit at the peak of the animal hierarchy. Alice pounders if her expeditions in Wonderland will influence the way she carries herself out when she returns home because she thinks that she must begin taking orders from Dinah, her cat. Alice acknowledges the inversion of the normal order with the equal faith that she may accept fresh information in her daily life. Wonderland destroys Alice’s beliefs concerning her identity and substitutes her earlier beliefs and interpretations of the world with Wonderland’s irrational rules. Chapter 5: Advice from a Caterpillar In this chapter, Alice stumbles upon a Caterpillar resting at the top of a giant mushroom, as well as smoking a hookah pipe (Carroll 30). The two gazed at each other in silence for a short period then the Caterpillar decided to ask Alice who she was. Alice is troubled clarifying who she is to the contemptuous and antagonistic Caterpillar. Unhappy, she decides to leave, but the Caterpillar calms her by reciting to her a poem. The Caterpillar accordingly notes that she says the poem wrongly and asks what size she would wish to be (Carroll 34). Analysis When Alice was asked by the Caterpillar who she was, she finds that she does not remember who she is any longer. The Caterpillar worsens Alice’s doubt about her regularly changing size. The Caterpillar represents the threat of sexuality, as put forward by its phallic shape. Alice acknowledges this threat when she calls attention to the Caterpillar’s imminent bodily change because caterpillars achieve sexual maturity when they turn into butterflies. Even if she searches for help and empathy from the Caterpillar, Alice finds just more self disbelief under its abrupt scrutiny. Chapter 6: Pig and Pepper This chapter derives wittiness from the truth that the settlers of Wonderland think that their surroundings and actions to be totally normal (Carroll 37). The chapter takes place inside the house that the frog mans. She had to force her way in because the inhabitants were making too much noise for them to hear Alice knock. She finds herself in the kitchen of the house where she is also involved in another argument with the Duchess because the Duchess thinks that Alice knows too much. She also takes care of a baby who she later discovers that is not a baby, but a pig (Carroll 42). Analysis When it comes to human-animal interactions in this chapter, even if there appears to be a rigid social structure in Wonderland, the Duchess and the Frog Footman rebuff normal social conventions plus they behave arbitrarily. This occurrence of a Duchess with a Footman proposes a unyielding social order, complete with nonsense codes of conduct. Alice is reminded of her own society with this hierarchy, but their behavior shuts any conventional view of social convention. The Frog Footman is overly argumentative and idiotic, and the Duchess, on the other hand, portrays violent and vile behavior. Chapter 7: A Mad Tea Party This chapter resolves around a tea party, where some of the animals were teaming up against Alice, Mad Hatte and March Hare to be specific (Carroll 47). They inform Alice that she has no room at the table, but she sits anyway creating more tension between them. After their quarrel, the tea party sits silently till the Mad Hatter breaks the silence by asking the March Hare what the time was (Carroll 249). The chapter takes as to other places where Alice too discovered the passageway back to the garden. Analysis When it comes to the importance of human-animal interaction, the March Hare, the Mad Hatter, as well as the Dormouse, have to carry out an infinite string of senseless conversations, which might reflect a child’s discernment of what a real English teatime was, in reality, like. Alice is forced by the animals to adjust her own view of time as the Mad Hatter’s watch shows that days are speeding up. Nevertheless, the party has not gone past the March, the month when the March Hare runs mad. This shows the confusing influence animals can have on humans. Chapter 8: The Queen’s Croquet Ground This chapter takes place in the garden where Alice meets three gardeners who are in the shape of playing cards (Carroll 52). The gardeners fight on their bellies to bow for the Queen, who asks Alice her name with great severity. She answers her graciously and notices that she is not supposed to be afraid. After finding out what the gardeners were carrying out, she asked their decapitation and later moved on. Alice manages to save the gardeners through hiding them in a flower pot plus going off to play croquet with the Queen. When they arrive at the match, the White Rabbit tells Alice that the Duchess was once sentenced for boxing the Queen’s ears (Carroll 55). Analysis The human-animal interaction in this chapter was mainly through inanimate objects. The cards, but the White rabbit also appeared in some instances. Alice once thought that animals were the ruler of Wonderland, but through her interaction with these animate objects, she learnt that the Queen was the one who ruled them. The White Rabbit is used in this chapter to make the reader feel as if the animals are afraid of this animate objects as it warns Alice about what could happen if she harms the Queen. The Queen uses living creatures as objects, playing croquet using flamingos, hedgehogs, and her playing-card subjects act as equipment. Wonderland totally changes the traditions of the aboveground world, that is, inanimate objects rule the land, and living creatures, on the other hand, act as tools. Chapter 9: The Mock Turtle’s Story Following the disappearance of the Cheshire Cat, the croquet game begins once more and the Duchess grabs Alice’s arm (Carroll 59). The two begin walking, which makes Alice uncomfortable since the Duchess is holding her so close. Alice assumes that the Duchess is acting nicely because no pepper is present. Also, amid regular sobbing, the Mock Turtle starts his story by saying that he once was a real turtle. He attended sea school daily, and his tutor was an old turtle called Tortoise. Alice then asks why the tutor would go for such a name if he was not a real tortoise (Carroll 60). The Mock Turtle rebukes her, saying that he was named so since he taught them. Analysis The Mock Turtle and the Gryphon are the earliest inhabitants of Wonderland who Alice can easily relate to, but she discovers she cannot flee from the nonsense logic, which dominates their actions. The Mock Turtle and the Gryphon speak openly and have peaceful manners. They become the best friends Alice encountered on her travels. The Gryphon laughs at the Queen and punctures her authority through explaining that she has never goes through the executions she orders people. Alice discovers comfort in the reality that her two new friends can step back and significantly observe the odd elements of Wonderland. In addition, Mock Turtle and the Gryphon have had lives, which at least have some similarity to Alice’s. Chapter 10: The Lobster Quadrille The Mock Turtle is still sighing and sobbing. He finally asks if Alice has ever eaten a lobster (Carroll 77). Alice nearly confesses that she once took one, but thinks again and simply declines. The Gryphon and the Mock Turtle depict the Lobster-Quadrille, a dance where every sea animal joins up with the lobsters, start from the beach and chase the lobsters out to water. The Gryphon and the Mock Turtle decide to display for Alice the initial shape of the Lobster-Quadrille, even if they did not have any lobsters. The Mock Turtle hams a song about a whiting and a snail as the two dance (Carroll 78). Analysis Though the Gryphon and the Mock Turtle at first appear to feel sorry for Alice, she soon discovers that they do not comprehend her worry at all. When she initially starts talking to them, they appear to be the only animals in Wonderland who show concern in her weird escapades. By using phrases like “nonsense,” “curious,” “confusing,” and also “dreadful,” they seem to understand Alice’s attitudes on the tough creatures and situations she has came across. They appear to observe things the manner that Alice does and understand her fear at Wonderland’s back logic. Chapter 11: Who Stole the Tarts? This chapter takes place in a courtroom. The Knave was being accused of stealing the Tarts. Alice realizes that every juror is writing down his/her own names, which Gryphon clarifies that they all have to do lest they do not recall their names prior to the trial’s end (Carroll 80). The White Rabbit, working as a herald, goes through the allegation that the Knave has forcefully stolen the Queen’s tarts. The Mad Hatter was called forth as the first witness, bearing a piece of bread and butter, as well as a teacup (Carroll 82). Alice was the last witness to be called and the chapter concluded there. Analysis The way that these animals behave in the court help Alice realize that in a world that lacks any meaning, the truth is also a sham. The King constantly calls for a verdict but one never reaches. This is due to the confusions faced by the animal. A number of critics have condemned the concept of law itself, instead of the Knave, it is on trial in this scenario. As with the Caucus Race, Carroll accuses the Wonderland legal system as a method of condemning the world legal system. Summary All of these chapters revolve around Alice and her interaction with the animals she met at Wonderland. As we read through the book, we can see that every interaction Alice had with these animals had an effect on her in one way or another. Some of them confused her more and others showed her how the world works. Anyone eager to understand the effects the animals had in bringing out the story line of the book should read it. Work Cited Carroll, Lewis. Alices Adventures in Wonderland. London: Macmillan, 1985. Print. Read More