Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Anne Berg
Dr. Riley
3 May 2017
A Dream of Alice
When Lewis Carroll wrote Alice in Wonderland, he introduced the world to Alice, a
character with a wild imagination and a childish bravery that allowed her to explore it, as well as
Wonderland, a world ruled by imagination in which no rules apply. Alice and Wonderland both
captured the attention of an assortment of people who have decided to recreate both the character
and the place, in a series of different ways. But, with each adaptation that enters the world, one
aspect is repeated over all the rest. The reason that these stories are so widely copied, is the vast
dream, and it is a dream that people will never stop exploring. Imagination is a concept that
everyone is familiar with. Imagination not only provides entertainment as children, but it also
made the world what it is today. Without imagination there would not be technology, cuisine,
language, art, or anything that makes the world, and the people living in it, thrive. Imagination is
creation, and it changes the world. As a result of the status that imagination holds in the world,
the stories of Alice in Wonderland have been widely revered and copied for many years.
While looking at Alice in Wonderland and all of its adaptations it is also important to
look at why exactly imagination is so intriguing to the world. Imagination is a persons ability to
create something new with his or her mind, whether it is out of nothing, or from an actual
experience. It can help to solve problems, create easier ways to do any activity, and it can help
people through tough situations. However, imagination can also make peoples lives harder. It is
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easy to become too focused on the way that imagination can make life seem better, and therefore
one becomes focused on imagination, rather than actually living in the real world. Alice created a
whole other world with her imagination, and she could have stayed there if she wanted to. But,
over time she slowly started to become annoyed with the way this world worked in comparison
to the way that the real world worked, and as a result she was thrust back into the real world.
This is evident when she gets annoyed with the Mad Hatter and the March Hare at the Tea Party:
Its the stupidest tea-party I ever was at in all my life (Carroll, 58). She is starting to become
annoyed with the way things work in Wonderland. Imagination is part of day-to-day life, but it
can be the freest when it is in the form of a dream, much like Alices dream of Wonderland. In a
dream there are no real life distractions that can take away from a persons imagination. This can
sometimes mean that dreams show both the hopes and fears that affect a person in every day life.
Therefore, imagination is available both in real life and the dream world, and as a result, it has
If it were not for imagination the world would not have the wonderful work of art that is
Alice in Wonderland. For one, Lewis Carroll had the fantastic imagination to create the story in
the first place. But, on top of that, the audience is able to truly get a close look at imagination,
and the inner workings of it, because of the characters within the story. Lewis Carroll gives Alice
the ability to dream up such a wide variety of characters and places. He is truly able to capture
the essence of childish imagination through Alice. Alice is able to create a world that is quite
unlike the one that she lives in, and in which nothing seems to go the way she has been taught its
supposed to. In this world she takes the things that she has been taught, and turns them into
something different. And even though they no longer make sense, she almost prefers the
nonsensical workings of Wonderland to the sensibility of the real world. This is noticeable when
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she drinks from the bottle, knowing that no matter what, something will happen: I know
something interesting is sure to happen (Carroll, 27). In the real world everything is basically
boring, but in Wonderland everything is exciting, no matter how trivial. Maybe this is the way
she first saw the world before she learned more about it, or maybe this is simply the way she
wishes it were. The adults in Alices life do not seem to share the same imaginative powers that
she has. In the real world it is a unique power, whereas in Wonderland it is something that is run
of the mill. This may be the difference between a world ruled by adults and a world in which
everyone acts like children. Imagination sometimes has the purpose of answering questions that
do not have answers. And one can wonder if that is the use of imagination in this case. This is the
reason that Alice in Wonderland is so often copied, because the use of imagination draws people
in, and they all have their own ideas of its purpose in the story.
There are many adaptations of Alice today, and they all have a different play on the
characters and the use of imagination. One adaptation in particular that takes a different stance
on imagination is Frank Beddors The Looking Glass Wars. In this novel imagination is truly a
source of power and a weapon that can be used for good or evil. The main character especially,
Alyss Heart, is able to use her imagination to regain control of her home and Queendom with the
power of her imagination. Yet, she does not have full control of this power throughout the entire
novel. At a young age Alyss has an extremely vibrant and strong imagination but she does not
fully know how to use it. And then when she is taken from Wonderland and forced to live in the
real world she starts to lose her imaginative powers. This is showcased when Alyss is using her
powers to earn money in the real world: But every new day seemed to weaken her ability with
the flower and her performances became less frequent. The more time Alyss spent in this wet
dreary city, the less she believed in her imagination (Beddor, 210). It is only once she is back in
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Wonderland, and older, that she is able to achieve the full power of her imagination. The power
people explore imagination in different Alice adaptations, making it a large or small part, with a
lot or a little power. In each case, the use of imagination has a huge impact on the way the story
plays out. Adaptations also play with imagination and whether or not it is portrayed in a dream or
in real life. In Alice in Wonderland everything is part of a dream, but in The Looking Glass Wars
Alice herself is a character that many adaptations grab a hold of, without also using
Wonderland. Alice is quite an imaginative little girl that braves a seriously strange world. As a
result of this, adaptations often take Alice and put her in different time periods, situations, and
even change her age. All of these examples are found in Beware The Little White Rabbit in
which Alice is normally a teenage girl, but set in all different time periods and situations
(Bennardo et al.). Adaptations do this in order to see just how fantastic Alices imagination can
be. However, a lot of adaptations do not actually use a little girl as Alice. This could be for a
multitude of reasons, but one reason that stands out is that Alices imagination in the original
stories could be too realistic for a child of her age. And one of the major pulls of Alice in
Wonderland is that it is so out there. Because of this adaptations strive to make the story of Alice
even more fantastical by making her older and less realistically imaginative. However, even
though Alices imagination is realistic for her age, this does not mean that it was generally
accepted. One article states that medical doctors during this time period believed that
imagination in childhood led to a mentally unstable adult life. However, Lewis Carroll strove to
discredit this with his book about Alice. Lewis Carroll believed that children should have strong
imaginations, and Alice is a prime example of this (Schatz, 93-95). Children at this time did have
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strong imaginations, just as children do today. However, Alice is a rarity because at the time it
was believed that imagination could only lead to negative things. As a result of this imagination
was not encouraged as it was in Alice in Wonderland. Therefore, Alices imagination is both
realistic and unrealistic for her age and time period. Because of this, it becomes pretty obvious
that other adaptations use both the original aspects of Alices imagination, as well as new
aspects, in order to constantly create an environment that is both creative and realistic.
In order to really take a close look at Alices imagination, the reader needs to understand
how imagination comes into play in daily life. Imagination is the minds way of creating
different situations that can solve problems or, like in Alices case, can make life less boring and
more interesting. In the original story, Alices imagination actually has the ability to change her
memories. This is evident many times throughout the story, but especially when she is trying to
recite things she learned in her lessons, and she cannot seem to remember the way they go. The
first time this comes about is when Alice attempts to say her multiplication tables: Ill try if I
know all the things I used to know. Let me see: four times five is twelve, and four times six is
thirteen, and four times seven is oh dear! (Carroll, 15). But, different adaptations showcase
imagination in different ways. In some adaptations, Alice sees the people and animals from
Wonderland before she falls asleep. In these cases Alices imagination is affected by her
memories. This is especially evident in the first film version of Alice in Wonderland made in
1903, where Alice sees a cat, a rabbit, and a pig, etc. before she falls asleep and dreams of them
in Wonderland. This is this adaptations way of making Alices imagination less powerful. The
real question is whether or not it is plausible for Alices imagination to be affected by her
memories. In one article, it is discovered that memories can both affect and be affected by ones
imagination. The things that are encountered in everyday life do fuel the imagination. However,
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at the same time it is also evident that memories can be changed with ones imagination (Otgaar
et al. 270-271). It is as simple as dreaming something, and then not remembering if it was a
dream or if it actually happened in real life. This can also come into effect when the past is
concerned. It is easy to shine either a bright or harsh light on the past. This is because
imagination can change it for the better or the worse, depending on ones current situation. So
not only is imagination fueled by the things that people see and experience, but imagination also
gives people new memories. This comes into play in the Alice stories because of Wonderland.
Many readers and admirers wonder if she is simply completely reimagining the world or if all of
the things in Wonderland are from her memories. Some adaptations try to make Alice less
imaginative, and instead just make her remember people and animals from real life in a dream
like state. The truth is that whether Alice sees things in the real world that she later dreams of in
Wonderland, or whether she is simply creating these characters completely out of the blue, her
brain and her imagination are doing the work. It does not truly matter what fuels ones
After research and some thought it is obvious that Alice is imaginative just like other
children her age, but readers wonder if imagination is something that is mostly reserved to
certain groups of people. In the original story the reader finds that Alice seems to be more
imaginative than the others that surround her. Although the reader is not introduced to many
characters in the real world, he or she is introduced to Alices older sister. The reader gets a
glance into her thoughts at the end of Alices Adventures in Wonderland after Alice awakens
from her dream. Alices sister does have an imagination, though not as powerful as Alices. This
is evident when she thinks about Wonderland: she sat on, with closed eyes, and half believed
herself in Wonderland, though she knew she had but to open them again, and all would change to
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dull reality (Carroll, 96). Alices sisters imagination exists only in the dream world. She is not
able to imagine amazing places like Wonderland without closing her eyes and going almost into
a trance. Alice, on the other hand, has the sort of childish imagination that allows her to turn
everyday objects into something new and exciting. This dynamic is something that many
adaptations play off of. These adaptations turn Alices imagination into something extremely
special, rather than something that is relatively normal. This is evident in The Looking Glass
Wars, where only Alyss Hearts imagination can save Wonderland (Beddor). Obviously there are
some people who have a bigger imagination than others, noted by the amounts of artists, authors,
etc. in comparison to other types of jobs, and this leads one to believe that different factors have
an effect on ones imagination. According to one article, both personality and environment can
affect ones imagination. Some people are pre-disposed to wild imaginations, whereas others
imaginations can be cultivated through their environment (Chaoyun et al. 237-238). This can
also go the opposite way, in that people who have strong imaginations to begin with can lose
their imagination over time because of their environment. This is evident in the adaptation, The
Looking Glass Wars, by Frank Beddor. Alyss Hearts imagination is extremely strong growing
up in Wonderland, but with a change in environment she loses her imagination, and it is not until
she returns to Wonderland that she has complete control over her imagination once again.
Therefore, there are definitely some groups of people who are more imaginative than others.
Some are born with bigger imaginations because of their personality, but this does not mean they
keep their imagination, or that they are the only ones who are imaginative. Environment plays a
big role in deciding whether or not a person continues to grow with a large imagination, whether
they lose it, or whether they gain an imagination they never had before. This is evident in After
Alice, when Ada discovers that Wonderland has actually made her more imaginative: Ada noted
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that lately her thinking had gone colorful (Maguire, 247). An environment has the ability to
change ones imagination, even if he or she was never imaginative in the first place. It is because
of this that adaptations change environments and personalities of characters to show how Alices
It would seem that Alices imagination is portrayed as a gift, because of the extreme
success of Alice in Wonderland. However, a gift is not usually necessary, as only some people
have it. If Alices imagination is truly a gift than it is not at all important for her to have. This
makes a believable case that imagination itself is not important for anyone to have. Yet, without
imagination the world would be a very different place than it is today. So, this can only mean
that imagination is a necessity, therefore not a gift at all, putting Alice in the unfortunate
predicament of being completely ordinary. The truth is, imagination is important, but many
people do not see it this way, therefore making it uncommon. As a result of this, those who do
showcase imagination, especially large amounts of it, are special. Imagination really is
important, even if the power of imagination changes from person to person. According to one
article, imagination can actually be more necessary than knowledge. It allows people to fill in
gaps when their knowledge of different situations is not sufficient (Hunter, 113). The article
states: Our knowledge and personal goals are embedded within our imagination which is at the
heart of our existence, a cognitive quality that we would not be human without (113).
Imagination is literally one of the things that makes us human. Imagination is very important
because it gives people the ability to understand situations that they have no actual experience
with, and allows them to understand others who experience things that they have not. There are
also many different types of imagination and each one has a different purpose in ones life. The
reconstruction (113). All of these different types of imagination apply to different aspects of life.
This really shows why imagination is so important. Imagination, in all its different forms, allows
people to think in new ways, experience new situations, understand different emotions, and
create new solutions for problems. This is exactly what Alice is able to do in Wonderland.
revered. Alice has an amazing imagination that people both connect to and envy, which results in
people experimenting with this imagination with new characters and places.
During Alices time, imagination was not something that was revered, and it was actually seen as
something negative. But Lewis Carroll changed this idea with his portrayal of Alice (Schatz, 93-
95). He showcased how powerful a persons imagination can be, while at the same time showing
that it can affect ones actual life in a positive way. Many people today do not have active
imaginations, and this can be due to the lack of support their creativity and imagination received
during their childhood. It is extremely important to cultivate ones imagination in his or her
childhood, in order for it to last during adulthood. Without creativity in the beginning, the world
would not have artists, authors, inventors, etc. But this also explains why many people are not
creative in their adult life. Not to mention, although imagination is not seen as negatively as it
was in Lewis Carrolls time, it is definitely not portrayed as something important today. More
than anything it is seen as a unique characteristic, and therefore it is not always supported during
childhood. In one article, Neelima Chopra talks about how everyday activities can affect
creativity. The author also states that all aspects of the environment are important in developing
creativity in children (1-3). Not only is the home environment important, but schools should also
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work to support creativity in students. The importance of the environment on ones creativity and
from the world most people are used to, and because of this everyone there is much more
imaginative, and as a result different. Imagination gives one the ability to be someone different,
and this is what happens to all of the characters in Wonderland. The environments affect on
ones imagination is also evident in The Looking Glass Wars. Alyss Heart has an extremely
powerful imagination in Wonderland when she is growing up. However, once she is transported
through the Looking Glass into the human world she slowly loses her powerful imagination
because people there refuse to believe in her powers. It is not until she returns to Wonderland
that her imagination gains power once again (Beddor). Because imagination is not always
supported in real life, it is exciting to see it supported in a book like Alice in Wonderland, and
that is why many people take this story and turn it into something new, using imagination as the
main focus.
Although Alice and her imagination are strongly focused on in many adaptations, her
dream of Wonderland is also a main focus. Dreams themselves are a place where imagination
has complete control, rather than allowing knowledge and logic to take over. Imagination has the
ability to change memories and create new situations in dreams that can sometimes help a person
once he or she wakes up. Gianfranco Giordo comes to the conclusion that dreams share
information about oneself that one might not have even known before the dream (281-282).
Therefore, dreams are not a collection of nonsensical elements that have no meaning, instead
they show important aspects of life that are either hidden or just unknown during the day. Alices
dream of Wonderland does not create just a nonsensical world where nothing makes sense; it
creates a world that tells the reader something important about Alice in waking life. In
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Wonderland Alice finds herself confused about many of the things she used to know (Carroll,
15). The reader could take this to mean that in real life Alice knows what she is supposed to do
and think, but she does not understand why. She believes that everything she learns is nonsense.
Therefore, in her dream, everything she used to know comes out as nonsense. In Wonderland
Alice also changes sizes very often, growing either very large or very small. This causes her to
lose her identity even more rapidly: But its no use now to pretend to be two people! Why,
theres hardly enough of me left to make one respectable person! (12). And at each size she is
mistaken for something else. Alice is growing up in real life and adults surround her. This means
that she must sometimes act like an adult, while other times she is treated like a child. She does
not understand why she cannot just be one size or age and this comes out in her dream. Dreams
are important because of the things they say, but also because of the things they show. Alices
dream of Wonderland is focused on and copied because of its ability to share the thoughts and
feelings of Alice in a way that she herself cannot just show the reader.
Alice is only a child and therefore her dreams are different than the dreams that adults
might have. It is easier for her to dream, and therefore her dreams say more about who she is and
what she goes through. This does not mean that her dreams are easier to figure out. Alices
dreams actually masque her true thoughts very easily because of her powerful imagination.
Wonderland at first glance seems like a bunch of nonsense, and readers might not realize that it
actually says something about Alice and the life she lives. When it comes to a dream that a lot of
people have had, like forgetting to do homework in high school, or showing up to work in ones
underwear, it is pretty easy to figure out the insecurities and stress behind these dreams. But,
Wonderland is not like this at all, and the reader has to actually think about it as it relates to
Alice and her life in order to figure anything out. Stephen J. Catalano talks a lot about the way
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that dreams occur in children. The way things happen in a childs dream can actually explain a
lot about the child in question (280-281). As was previously mentioned, Alice forgets a lot of the
things she used to know when she reaches Wonderland (Carroll, 15). This is one of the first
things to happen and this shows the reader that Alices loss of identity is one of the most
important issues facing her in real life. She knows who she is supposed to be, but she does not
think that is who she really is. A childs dream can say a lot about what is going on in that childs
life and how it is affecting them psychologically (Catalano, 280-281). Because adults constantly
surround Alice, she feels like she is constantly being ordered around and like she does not have a
say in anything she does. This is why she goes against authority in Wonderland: Nonsense!
said Alice, very loudly and decidedly, and the Queen was silent (Carroll, 62). In her own dream
she has the confidence to stand up for herself that she does not normally feel. The reader sees
that Alice is affected by the control that most authority figures have over her. Her only way to
get relief from this is to strike out against them in a dream. Dreams are a result of real life
experiences, and this is why they showcase a childs subconscious thoughts (Catalano, 280-281).
Because Alices dream of Wonderland is so realistic, while at the same time being so out of this
world, many readers and authors are drawn to Wonderland and want to recreate it in a new and
A lot of adults are drawn to Alice in Wonderland because of the amazing creativity and
imagination shown in Alices dream world. Many young adults and adults have lost their sense
of childish imagination and can only have it again through books like Alice in Wonderland. This
may be why a lot of adaptations actually portray Alice as a young adult, rather than a child. This
is specifically found in all the stories from Beware The White Rabbit (Bennardo et al.).
Wonderland is known for its unique and crazy characters. By making Alice older, her fantastic
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imagination actually becomes more unique, therefore making the story more like the original
Wonderland. However, the truth is that adults can be just as imaginative as children are, and their
imagination comes out in dreams too. Many adults use dreams to sort through the things that
they experience in everyday life. As an adult, it is easy push thoughts and emotions to the back
of ones mind, and eventually this happens so often that people do not even realize that they are
feeling these emotions at the time. It is not until they are sleeping that these thoughts and
emotions come out in their dreams. Their dreams show them how to handle these emotions, as
well as what happens when these emotions are not handled correctly. After a build up of these
emotions dreams like Alices dream of Wonderland can actually occur. Imagination in dreams is
important when it comes to working things out that are experienced in everyday life. Just like
with children, dreams tell adults things about themselves that they might never have figured out
on their own. This is evident in an article that states that throughout the different age groups
there are recurring dreams, and by looking at a persons real life it becomes much easier to
interpret his or her dreams (Maggiolini et al. 221-222). The dreams that adults have are normally
easier to interpret, because it is easier to see how they react to things in real life, and their dreams
are also not usually as out there as a childs dream might be. It is for this reason that many
adaptations use older Alices for stories. Adaptations also make Wonderland part of the real
world, instead of a dream world. This can also be a way to make the story of Wonderland even
more fantastic. The real world can be a dull place when imagination is not necessarily a part of
everyday life. Therefore, making the real world into Wonderland makes an even more fantastic
Lewis Carrolls Alice in Wonderland is a story that many people cling to and long to
recreate. It is filled with the wonderful imagination of a child that allows her to create a
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fantastical world of dreams. This imagination is based off her real life experiences and allows the
reader to notice all of the thoughts and emotions that plague her during her waking hours. In real
life imagination is not always evident or thought of as important and this is why it is refreshing
to read a book like Alice in Wonderland that is filled to the brim, and bursting, with imagination.
Different people have different levels of imagination and this is due to both personality and
environment. Even though imagination is an important part of everyday life it is not always
cultivated like it should be and as a result many people lack imagination later in life. Those that
crave this lacking imagination turn to books like Alice in Wonderland for inspiration for their
own imaginations. Of course this book also draws those who already have strong imaginations
and who long to create a new story that is just as fantastic as the original. Buy looking at many
imagination, it is easy to see that it is the strong imagination that is present throughout this novel
that makes writers want to make their own stories that are just as filled with imagination.
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Works Cited
Alice in Wonderland. Directed by Cecil Hepworth and Percy Stow, performances by May Clark,
Cecil M. Hepworth, Mrs. Cecil Hepworth, and Norman Whitten, American Mutoscope
Bennardo, Charlotte, et al. Beware the Little White Rabbit. Leap Books, 2015.
Catalano, Stephen J. Childrens Dreams: Their Meaning and Use in Clinical Practice. Child &
Chaoyun, Liang, et al. Differential Effects of Personality Traits and Environmental Predictors
on Reproductive and Creative Imagination. Journal of Creative Behavior, Vol. 48, No.
Chopra, Neelima. Supporting Creativity and Imagination in Early Years. International Journal
Giordo, Gianfranco. The Sense of the Body in the Dream: Diagnostic Capacity in the Meanings
of Dreams. The International Journal of Psychoanalysis, Vol. 97, 2016, pp. 281-304.
Hunter, Murray. Imagination May Be More Important Than Knowledge: The Eight Types of
Imagination We Use. Review of Cotemporary Philosophy, Vol. 12, 2013, pp. 113-120.
Maggiolini, Alfio, et al. Dream Contents of Early Adolescents, Adolescents, and Young Adults:
A Cluster Analysis with T-LAB. Dreaming, Vol. 26, No. 3, 2016, pp. 221-237.
Otgaar, Henry, et al. Challenging Memories in Children and Adults Using an Imagination
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Journal of the History of Ideas, Vol. 76, No. 1, 2015, pp. 93-114.