The political issues that Carroll focuses on as a result of this is imperialism and justice. Instead of teaching children to be good Briton’s Carroll wants to teach children to be wary of institutionalized imperialism and the false sense of justice presented in the judicial system in Britain. The satire on the political issues of the time focuses on two major areas: imperialism and the British judicial system. While in the beginning Alice believes herself to be entitled to intervene in Wonderland’s daily life mirroring the actions of British imperialists whom disrupted the lands and cultures they invaded, she learns that doing such will get her nowhere. By attempting to permeate the British norms in Wonderland, Alice becomes confused and frustrated. It is only when she embraces the other, that she begins to break away from her superficial self and become a child again who learns more than what is taught to her.
The judicial system of the 19th century is thoroughly represented in the royalty of Wonderland showcasing corruption, incompetence, and bias. Social conventions too are challenged. Where well-behaved children were expected to be seen but not heard, Alice insists on having a voice. She asks questions that often show adult behaviour to be irrational, contradictory, and unjust; especially when it comes to the exercise of power and authority as in the trial of the Knave of Hearts. Most radical of all, Alice regularly corrects the characters she meets, all of whom are older than she (there are no other children in Wonderland), and she loses her temper with several of them. Although in Victorian society Alice’s behaviour would have been seen as unseemly and punishable, in Carroll’s story her frustration becomes a source of power and liberation. Carroll’s use of nonsense in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is the basis of his argument for the incorporation of “fun” while teaching children while critiquing the nation.
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Victorian Britain is depicted as a sophisticated society in which a “childhood” has no place. The strictness, and sometimes, the absurdity of its laws makes it difficult to be a child as well as develop a mind of their own. The inhabitants in Wonderland do not speak in turn but rather in conundrum and through monologues, becoming a testament to the product of a child Britain would have if they lived in solitude and within the rigid confines of society. The creatures of Wonderland mindlessly follow the absurd and contradictory rules and codes of conduct under the Crown without question. Both in Britain and Wonderland, the figures of authority seem to be inflexible, which leads them to rule a chaotic and incongruous world where there is a crisis of values; nonsense has invaded every corner. Lewis Carroll’s criticisms of Victorian Britain is embodied in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. While Carroll creates a world detached from reality he also creates a space in which everything is possible, and absurdity and nonsense seem to be the order of the day. Alice’s Adventures portrays how a society whom intends to be perfect but can in fact be as incoherent, absurd and unpredictable as a child’s imagination, which is: … a part of the peculiar genius of the English; but a part also of the elusive paradox of the English.
None but they could have produced such nonsense; but none but they, having produced such nonsense, would ever have attempted to take it seriously… It is a moral duty to listen to reason, but it is not a moral duty to listen to unreason… Men may be told to listen, and in a sense even made to listen, when a man of adequate authority is talking sense. But we cannot be made to listen to a man who is talking nonsense… Through the means of comedy the author criticises diverse aspects of Victorian society, politics and education. The issues that Carroll explores in his novel are timeless ones, such as the transgression of justice, the abuse of power and so on. Hence, it is still relevant to this day.
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