Published in 1865, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll was a remarkable book during that time and still is present day. Lewis Carroll was one of eleven kids he was born In 1832 and died in 1898, he grew up in Cheshire, England. As a child Carroll was adventurous and was lonely, he would often entertain his siblings by inventing games, plays, and stories. He attended Rugby and Oxford College where he read stories to young children this is what inspired him to write his own stories. He also wrote newspapers for his schools and sent thousands of handwritten letters to people. The head of the Oxford College had three children, Lorina, Alice, and Edith, he was good friends with Alice and told her his idea of a book, she encouraged him to publish it; this book is Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. The book is about a young girl named Alex who followed a rabbit into a rabbit hole out of curiosity, this starts her adventures of finding her way out. Throughout her journey, she encountered some problem and meets new animals but she's happy in the end as it was all a dream. as a young boy, Carroll enjoyed photography and taking pictures “... especially little girls, with whom he was clearly obsessed”(Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 2019). Lewis did not like men neither did he like for photographing them, he would strictly photograph girls. This might have been what inspired him to include the female characters in the book. Another inspiration could have been the era the books were written in and the world around him, “one controvertible fact is that Lewis Carroll was a model victorian”(Cohen 3-19). The book was published and written in the Victorian era and he based characters and events from the time into the book, like the child with the queen. He also got inspiration from other books and poems that were published during that time. The main character, Alice was based on Alice Liddel who was the daughter of the head of Oxford College, they fell in love. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was Carroll's first children's book and many say that it is his best one, the language and structure of the novel keep the reader engaged and makes it more interesting.
The style of writing that Lewis Carroll uses is entertaining and amusing, the book can be hard to put down because it's suspenseful, odd or it is left off at a cliffhanger. The book is told in Alice's perspective, she talks to herself a lot, she says her thoughts out loud. For instance” I advise you to leave off this minute” (Carroll 8). she often refers to herself in the third person as a form of giving herself advice, so she acts like two people, this is not normally seen in stories so it is interesting to read. Another literary device that is used in the story is imagery, Lewis liked pictures inbox he even mentioned in the book in the words of Alice, “ what is the use of a book without pictures or conversations” (Carroll 1). there are many illustrations in the book to give the reader a better picture of what is happening in the story, he also creates imagery in the way he writes; with detail. on page 24 in the book, it shows a story in the shape of a tail to give the reader an idea of how Alice was visualizing the tail/tale. foreshadowing can be seen early on in the text when Alice starts wandering around in the rabbit hole because of curiosity so the reader can pick up that her curiosity can lead to something else later. The Victorian era also plays a role in Carroll's style of writing, for example, “That will be a queer thing to do, be sure! However, everything is queer today.” (Carroll 15) the word queer is not something that is used frequently in boats today nor is it used while speaking, it was commonly used back then which is why it was used multiple times in the story. The theme of the story can be maturing or growing up and this can be seen throughout the book when Alice first went into the rabbit hole to the end of the story when she wakes up. she went through a long and cried many times as many young kids do. Later on, she learned how to properly act and handle the situation. It is clear to see how Alice matures throughout the story and how growing up plays an important role in the story. Many people have mixed reviews on the book and have various opinions on it, but overall it is an entertaining and interesting book.
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Stan Walker is a writer who analyzes Lewis Carroll story, he looked at how the story was written and found hidden meanings. “ Alice's Adventures in Wonderland can be characterized as a funhouse mirror version of a child's journey through the adult life” (Walker 1832-1898). Walker's opinion is that the story is it child going through adulthood but in a fun way to better understand, there are going to be hurdles but push through that. There are many obstacles when going through adulthood which Alice was experiencing except in a way that was more appropriate for her age. Walker also said “another device Carroll used was creating incident out of common sayings” (Walker 1832-1898). this goes back to the Victorian era and how it influenced him to write certain things. For example, the Cheshire Cat was based on the phrase grin like a Cheshire Cat (Embedded). like this, all the characters and events were based on the Victorian era and the phrases, stories, events, and songs of that time. the book has pictures as well as different symbols like the stars to represent the Alice change her size once again. Stan Walker uses this aspect to prove how Lewis Carroll's imagination took over and how he put a lot of thought into making it interesting for children.
It is true what Stan Walker is saying, I was with a young girl who went on this marvelous journey into a rabbit hole and goes through lots of trouble to get out. This represents adulthood because people taking the opportunity which in this case was when Alice went into the rabbit hole, they've been having to keep working hard until they are content. During that time, people may encounter some problems but in the end, everything works out. The book may seem unusual, and it is, “Carroll himself said that in the book he meant only nonsense” (Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 2019). The book cannot be relatable or real, after all, it is a fiction book, the events, characters, and the storyline is not realistic at all which is why Lewis Carroll calls it nonsense. Also, the influence of the Victorian era is true, many events and sayings from that time. Inspired Carroll to include it in the book. “The majority of the songs in the book are burlesque's of poems and songs popular at the time, and familiar to Carroll's child audience (Walker 1832-1898). Compared to the present day, music plays an important role in children's lives, it is entertaining and it brings joy, during the Victorian era many children also loved music. So the people who read the story can easily pick up on the hidden messages because there are a lot of references to songs and events. It is also true that Carroll's audience mainly consisted of children and young kids because he used to tell a lot of stories to Children. The book is also visually pleasing with all the illustrations and storyline, Carroll mainly targeted children with the story. In general Stan Walker had great opinions that one can agree with, the book is unique and has an interesting storyline.
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll is a good book that children will enjoy. Personally, I enjoyed it, although this one for children I think it was interesting. The visuals would interest children as well as the small details that a lot to the story. Another aspect of the book that makes it better is the songs, for example, the one told by the White Rabbit on page 119 “ they told me you had been to her…”(Carroll 119) . images, songs, storyline etc are what keep children's attention, which helps young readers improve their skills, including such things, makes the story unique and interesting. A good storyline is also important, at the end of the story when Alice says “ oh, I've had such a curious dream” (Carroll 123) I was shocked because the events of the story were on and strange so I thought the ending would be his fault but the ending was when reality hit Alice, she woke up from a crazy dream which was the whole book. This unexpected ending was a great way to end the story as it is subtle compared to the rest of this book which was nonsense. I would recommend this novel to young readers who enjoy fiction books as well as Aventuras box, it was definitely unique but it was good and I think children will enjoy it more. Overall the adventures of Alice went on for a great journey, and I do recommend I said it's entertaining and has a good storyline.
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