Write an essay on Alices Adventures in Wonderland as a novel that reacts against realistic or didactic narratives for children.

What strategies does Carroll use to create an alternative kind of fiction?

The narrative itself is written through the mind of the child. For the first time, children and perhaps more significantly, adults were able to explore the thoughts of a child, with all its naiivety and innocence.

In an era where the internet and media have, in many cases, declined society's interest and value for Literature as a whole, attention must be given to the timeless classics that have survived this dramatic culture change. Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is certainly an accurate example of a story that ceases to have lost it's value. It has been seven Centuries since Carroll first introduced Alice to the World. As Clark recognizes , within fifteen years of publication, Wonderland was translated into German, French, Swedish, Italian, Dutch, Danish and Russian1(Clark,2). The adoration for the novel certainly did not stay within the Victorian era, however. Only recently has Alice's story been transformed into a visually stunning Hollywood film, directed by Tim Burton. Previous to this, Disney created an animated production, furthering the World's love for Alice. To this day, even John Tenniel's illustrations have been used repetitively as prints for clothing, accessories, and stationary sets, often teamed with memorable quotes from the novel itself. Carroll's superiority over many other childrens stories of his time is clearly detectable for the simple reason that his writing is different. He succeeded in breaking a mould in childrens literature. Through his complete disregard for the conventional realist and didactic style of writing found in 14th Century children's novels, Carroll created a most alternative kind of fiction. It is Carroll's stylistic features that allow him to put forth a child's own thoughts and views and also, his opinion on the adults of his time. At first glance, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is a story of a courageous little girl who undergoes a most peculiar, eccentric adventure. If Carroll's style of writing is studied however, there is allot more to be found in the brilliant and bizarre world of Wonderland. The definition of the term realism as a style of writing is an inclination toward literal truth and pragmatism., or "the representation in art or literature of objects, actions, or social conditions as they actually are, without idealization or presentation in abstract form.2. Carrolls abolishment of this makes way for a highly intriguing, differnet kind of fiction. Carroll introduces the reader to his style of anti-realism firstly, with the symbolic rabbit hole. It is as if the rabbit hole has been put in place to allow the readers escape the normal world, and disappear down into the rabbit hole with Alice. The novel is transformed into fantasy almost at once, when Alice spots a white rabbit dressed in a waistcoat: There was nothing so remarkable in that; nor
1 Lewis Carroll's Alice Books: The Wonder of Wondereland. Beverly Lyon Clark 2 http://www.answers.com/topic/realism

did Alice think it so very much out of the way to hear the Rabbit say to himself 'Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be too late!' (when she thought it over afterwards it occured to her that she ought to have wondered at this, but at the time it all seemed quite natural)(Wonderland,3). Due to Alice's acceptance of the peculiar white rabbit, it seems only natural that she go and follow the creature into the rabbit hole, or so the reader is led to believe. Not only does the rabbit hole abolish realism, but it also rejects any form of didactism. Not only has Alice rejected authority by leaving her lessons, but she has also been unresponsible, putting herself in danger. Carroll boldly recognizes this danger, and even plays with it. When Alice finds a jar on her way down, Carroll very passively mentions that She did not drop the jar, for fear of killing somebody underneath (Wonderland,6). Alice mentions that After such a fall as this, I shall think nothing of tumbling down the stairs! How brave they'll all think me at home! Why, I wouldn't say anything about it, even if i fell off the top of the house! (Which was very likely true) The violent thought of a child falling off the top of a house is quite disturbing to imagine, but due to Carroll's use of anti-realism, all is well within moments and as she reaches the bottom of the hole, Alice was not a bit hurt, and she jumped up onto her feet in a moment. Not only has the reader acceptanced the bizarrness of the rabbit hole, but now, we are almost in favour of it, after all, Alice was perfectly fine! It is not quite so alternative that Carroll has fantasy characters in wonderland. Walking and talking animals had been present in children's novels before. However, the animals that Alice meets are anything but the conventional characters seen in children's story tales. The animals that Carroll has created are nonsensical, rude, bad-tempered and pointlessely didactic(Leach,4). Furthermore, it is roundly believed that the animals Carroll created are, in fact, a parody of the Victorian adults of his time. There is a genreal theme within Alice's encouter with the animals, that they cannot understand what and who she is, often suspiciously concurring that she is a creature not to be trusted. The pigeon, for example, is convinced that Alice is a serpent. : But I am not a serpent I tell you! said Alice I'm a- I'm a- 'Well! What are you?' said the Pigeon. 'I can see you're trying to invent something!' 'I- I'm a little girl' 'A likely story indeed!' said the Pigeon in a tone of the deepest contempt. Not only is Carroll portraying the Pigeon as an adult, ready to criticize Alice, even though she hasn't done anything to deserve such treatment, but he is also showing adults their own ignorance. Through Alice's non-prejudice, innocent mind, the Pigeon comes across as paranoid, unnecessarily angry and also, rather silly. The Duchess is a prime example of a character which Carroll uses to subvert the relevence of didactism. She has already told Alice that If everybody minded their own business, the Duchess said, in a hoarse growl, the world would go round a deal faster than it does. She then completely contradicts herself later in the novel when she claims 'Oh, 'tis love, that makes the world go round!' claiming that 'It means the same thing...and the moral of that is- Take care of the sense, and the sounds will take care of themselves'(Wonderland,). The Duchess, as a supposed didactic figure, is unpleasent, unsensible and unhelpful to Alice throughout. Through the Duchess

and the other characters, Carroll proves that the adults of his time, although supposedly far superior in thought to any child, often may have been far more unsensible than the child themselves. When Alice is trapped in the hallway, after eating the cupcake which has made her grow tremendousely so that she cannot escape, this could be viewed as an image of adults, trapped in their own mind-set, unable to escape their closed-minded views. Carroll has destroyed realism within his novel, he has created an alternative fiction where the nonsense of Alice's predicement and the dreamlike structure is the only thing the reader can be sure of. He has completely subverted the use and value of didactism through the parody of adults as animals- but he does not stop there. One of his most effective tools in his writing is how he portrays the educational system of the Victorian age. Carroll puts forth the irrelevance of the educational system for children numerous times, one being when he tells the reader that Alice had learned several things of the sort in her lessons in the schoolroom, and though it was not a very good opportunity for showing off her knowledge, as there was no one to listen to her, still it was good practice to say it over. As Thomas recognizes, Carroll places himself firmly on the side of his child-audience in demolishing pious poetry.3 This is in reference to when Twinkle, twinkle, little star becomes Twinkle, twinkle, little bat. The fact that Alice embarks on an exhilarating, remarkable adventure all because she decided to run away from her sister teaching her lessons, further crystalizes Carroll's views on education for children,and its irrelevance. As Leach defines, English books written for children were supposed to be realistic in order to provide essential instruction in religion and/or morality, that the child may become a virtuous, responsible adult. 4 (Leach,2). The fact that Carroll's Wonderland lacks virtually everything in that description, and still enjoyed the dramatic success it has, shows further his skill in creating this alternative fiction. What signifies Wonderland as hugely different to children's novels of Carroll's time is his conclusion, or lack there of. Alice has been disobediant towards her sister, but she has also been clever and very brave. Unlike the other didactic and realist stories, Alice's character does not undergoe a significant transformation. Furthermore, there is no definition of who has been the villians and who has been the heroes. There is no defining moral at the end. For once, it is all left up to the reader to interpret. The jury, along with all the characters, completely dissapears as Alice wakes up. Carroll's subversion of the norm does not stay within Wonderland, however. When Alice has woken up and runs off to get her tea, the sister begins to dream of all the characters Alice has encountered, So she sat on, with closed eyes, and half believed herself in Wonderland, and though she knew she had but to open them again, and all would change to dull reality- the rattling teacups would change to tinkling sheep bells.(Wonderland,202) Through the powerful imagination of Alice, even her sister has been able to reach the roborant fantasy World, escaping dull reality Carroll
3 Lewis Carroll (Charles Lutwidge Dodgeson) (1832-1898) Donald Thomas. 4 Alice in Wonderland in Persepective by Elsie Leach (1964)