The Social Scriptorium and Alice: Carrolls Commentary on Societys Influence on Identity - Essay Example

The Social Scriptorium and Alice: Carroll’s Commentary on Society’s Influence on Identity Kwame Anthony Appiah has determined that one of the ways in which identity is formed is through the concept of a script that has been written for different aspects of the personality as defined through the eyes of society. As individuals, we begin to belong to society based on our adherence or rejection to that script. These identifying factors can be seen through the reactions that Alice has in Lewis Carrols beloved tales, Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. As Alice discovers a world whose rules do not mirror her own world, the way in which she handles this world is still defined by the ‘scripts’ that she has brought with her. Alice has found a place where she can both be traditional and defiant, but never quite on societal mark because the world has a completely different set of rules through which she must navigate. Acording to Appiah, individuals will draw on the narratives on how to identify and behave according to their circumstances when put into balance against the models they have that are within the same circumstances. As an example, a person might creative one narrative about themselves based on ‘coming out’ if they are gay. Another person will find within themselves a sense of identity based on racially defined models within a society. In other words, one will create a sense of themselves based on how others have created themselves under the same identifying circumstances (22). These models will form a collective of identifying scripts. For instance, a person may be a father, a teacher, and a friend, and each of those identifying aspects will have a script that creates the parameters through which an identity is created for an individual. These groupings of narratives will be appropriate to the societal expectations, whether it runs in rebellion against that society or runs in line with its norms. Appiah says that “The story - my story - should cohere in the way appropriate to a person in my society” (23). Therefore, no matter who one is, their story is defined by what is appropriate to someone of that type within that society. When Alice drops down the hole she has a certain level of understanding about how the world should work. In this regard, she attempts repeatedly to assert her understanding of the world upon the events that occur within her adventure. Her first imposition is on herself when she chastises her own tears. She does not seem to believe that crying when faced with the consequences of shrinking is an appropriate response. This might suggest that in her narrative in regard to how she should behave, crying would not be the way in which someone whom she believed herself to be should react. Whether she associates it with immaturity or with overt emotional responses it is unclear, but she does seem to think it has no bearing on her problem and therefore is unsuitable to her situation. However, Alice does cry when she grows to a large size, creating a bigger problem for herself when she finally shrinks again. Thus, the concept that crying does not provide anything that is good for her is accentuated by the consequences of her tears. This simple commentary on the act of crying and its consequences provides the beginning of a framework for the way in which Alice sees herself and what is appropriate for who she is within her society. This is symbolic of Victorian England where stoicism is the foundation of the emotional context of how life was lived. The experience that Alice has at the table of the Mad Hatter is a conflict of her concept of how her world should work. On the one hand, she sits down at the table in defiance of their claim that there is no room, suggesting that she has the idea of some entitlement. She sees the occasion of tea in a very specific set of narratives, one of which suggests that she should be automatically allowed to participate at any table that she runs across. On the other hand, when rudeness is applied towards herself, she no longer has a tolerance for it and is quite indignant. From the perspective of a child, she has defined her world by the dichotomy of her own sense of entitlement and the sense of appropriateness where personal commentary is made. As Alice approaches her time with the Queen of Hearts, the rules of her world are completely defied. Short of gravity, nothing that she is accustomed to exists within the realm of the Queen. She has an expectation of how croquet should be played, but she sees the way in which the Queen plays as a reminder how this world that Alice has entered has a sense of unfairness that is defined by the whims of those who live within it. This can be seen as a commentary on the way in which the adult world can sometimes seem arbitrary with rules that defy what might seem to be most logical. The King and Queen are adults, representing that sense of unfairness that might be found from the point of view of a young girl. As well, this might be Carroll’s commentary on how authority can often seem to be arbitrary and without true fairness. In this section, it might be said that not only the script that Alice has defined for her world is present, but that of Lewis Carroll. This point of view is echoed in the critical essay written by Robert Henkle, titled Comedy from Inside. Carroll discusses the interpretive powers of those who assert power in society. Henkle says “the adult victim’s view nicely corresponds to the child’s view of grown up authority” (Carroll and Gray 361). Henkle discusses how those who have asserted power in society have the control to assert scripts on how people will define themselves where duty, guilt, sin, punishment, responsibility and freedom are concerned (Carroll and Gray 361). The encounter that Alice has with the Queen and King of hearts reveals the absurdity with which some edicts that come down from the public authority can be seen. Robert M. Polhemus writes in his essay, The Comedy of Regression, that Carroll uses his sense of humor in order to fully explore his commentaries on the world of authority. He sees Carroll as having used his comedy to regress his opinions to the point that the point of view of a child is the vantage point from which the clarity of his thinking can be most profound. In Through the Looking Glass, Carroll goes back to a time before his morals dictated how he viewed his pleasures. Polhemus suggests that Carroll is able to explore how his identity was defined before he knew what he would soon learn of adulthood and then reveals the ways in which society imposes certain senses of identity that can often be in conflict with the true sense of identity (Carroll and Gray 368). The character of the Gryphon is an interesting continuation of the concepts of authority and reality. The Gryphon denies the truths that are believed and set forth by those he encounters. He proclaims that the Queen of Hearts never executes anyone and that the Mock Turtle has no sorrow, despite the narratives that have been developed by both. The way the Gryphon speaks is with a mixed up version of sentence structure, which is suggestive of how what he says is suspect. Therefore, it is unclear whether or not his perspective is accurate. This type of play with language is more distinctly revealed when the Mock Turtle speaks of ’lessons’ and the idea that they are called lessons because they lesson each day, ten hours the first day, nine hours the second day and so on. The play with language is rife throughout Through the Looking Glass. The discussion between Alice and Humpty Dumpty eventually falls to the definitions that are given to words. Humpty Dumpty proclaims that he can use words as he chooses and they will mean exactly what he decides that they will mean. This can be translated to a conversation about identity and the ways in which society defines aspects of life. In the same way that the definitions of words are what society has decided, so are the definitions of identity decided by the way in which society has created the narratives of the different aspects of life. In Carroll’s work, these identifying factors are challenged as norms are defied and the rules as Alice has learned them are put under a microscope. It might be easily discerned that both of the tales of Alice are diatribes on the perception of identity and reality as it existed in the time period within which Carroll wrote the work. The way in which the Alice books are written can be defined by their commentaries about the time period within which they were penned. The Victorian Era was a time in which society was held under a strict control with a sense of appropriateness and propriety overriding the choices that one had for behavior. Hypocrisy became the normal way of behavior with there being evidence of a very seedy underbelly in contrast to a public sense that all matters that might be connected to one’s emotional life should be kept in private and held apart from the eyes of the public (Carroll 16). In light of this type of a sense of propriety that reigned over society, it is understandable that an author may have used a child’s story to reveal his frustrations with the expectations of authority and society. Lewis Carroll wrote two stories about Alice that allowed him the latitude to discuss the nature of society and expectations without having to come into direct conflict with critiques over his commentaries. In the process, Alice is put into a world where her own sense of identity and expectations are challenged, creating a conflict with the narratives that she had developed for her life. Through the use of contrary ideas, nonsensical themes, and play with language, Alice must rethink her existence through the world that exists in Wonderland. Works Cited Appiah, Kwame Anthony. The Ethics of Identity. Princeton, NJ [u.a.: Princeton Univ. Press, 2005. Print. Carroll, J. L. (2010). Sexuality now: Embracing diversity. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth CENGAGE Learning. Carroll, Lewis, and Donald J. Gray. Alice in Wonderland: A Norton Critical Edition. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2010. Print. Read More

However, Alice does cry when she grows to a large size, creating a bigger problem for herself when she finally shrinks again. Thus, the concept that crying does not provide anything that is good for her is accentuated by the consequences of her tears. This simple commentary on the act of crying and its consequences provides the beginning of a framework for the way in which Alice sees herself and what is appropriate for who she is within her society. This is symbolic of Victorian England where stoicism is the foundation of the emotional context of how life was lived.

The experience that Alice has at the table of the Mad Hatter is a conflict of her concept of how her world should work. On the one hand, she sits down at the table in defiance of their claim that there is no room, suggesting that she has the idea of some entitlement. She sees the occasion of tea in a very specific set of narratives, one of which suggests that she should be automatically allowed to participate at any table that she runs across. On the other hand, when rudeness is applied towards herself, she no longer has a tolerance for it and is quite indignant.

From the perspective of a child, she has defined her world by the dichotomy of her own sense of entitlement and the sense of appropriateness where personal commentary is made. As Alice approaches her time with the Queen of Hearts, the rules of her world are completely defied. Short of gravity, nothing that she is accustomed to exists within the realm of the Queen. She has an expectation of how croquet should be played, but she sees the way in which the Queen plays as a reminder how this world that Alice has entered has a sense of unfairness that is defined by the whims of those who live within it.

This can be seen as a commentary on the way in which the adult world can sometimes seem arbitrary with rules that defy what might seem to be most logical. The King and Queen are adults, representing that sense of unfairness that might be found from the point of view of a young girl. As well, this might be Carroll’s commentary on how authority can often seem to be arbitrary and without true fairness. In this section, it might be said that not only the script that Alice has defined for her world is present, but that of Lewis Carroll.

This point of view is echoed in the critical essay written by Robert Henkle, titled Comedy from Inside. Carroll discusses the interpretive powers of those who assert power in society. Henkle says “the adult victim’s view nicely corresponds to the child’s view of grown up authority” (Carroll and Gray 361). Henkle discusses how those who have asserted power in society have the control to assert scripts on how people will define themselves where duty, guilt, sin, punishment, responsibility and freedom are concerned (Carroll and Gray 361).

The encounter that Alice has with the Queen and King of hearts reveals the absurdity with which some edicts that come down from the public authority can be seen. Robert M. Polhemus writes in his essay, The Comedy of Regression, that Carroll uses his sense of humor in order to fully explore his commentaries on the world of authority. He sees Carroll as having used his comedy to regress his opinions to the point that the point of view of a child is the vantage point from which the clarity of his thinking can be most profound.

In Through the Looking Glass, Carroll goes back to a time before his morals dictated how he viewed his pleasures. Polhemus suggests that Carroll is able to explore how his identity was defined before he knew what he would soon learn of adulthood and then reveals the ways in which society imposes certain senses of identity that can often be in conflict with the true sense of identity (Carroll and Gray 368). The character of the Gryphon is an interesting continuation of the concepts of authority and reality.

The Gryphon denies the truths that are believed and set forth by those he encounters. He proclaims that the Queen of Hearts never executes anyone and that the Mock Turtle has no sorrow, despite the narratives that have been developed by both.

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