8/14/2019 Charles Lutwidge.docx

1/1

Charles Lutwidge Dodgson. a mathematics don at Christ Church Oxford, was to becomefamous under thepseudonym of Lewis Carroll for hisbooks for children:Alice's Adventures in

Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking - Glass and What Alice Found There (1872)Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is one of thebest-loved children'sbooks in English.for

its humour and inventive absurdities.//Alice is an imaginative and strong-wined little girl who, down arabbit hole,experiences a series of fantastic adventures among strange talking animals, monsters and

bizarrepeople./Alicebrings with her into this strange world the good manners and correctbehaviourthat she has learnt at home./Alice is insistent on the' rightness of the values 'of middle class society andof the elementary education she takes with her into landscapes which warp, overturn and subvertordinary perception./Alice survives her; dreams and nightmares because she is only partly awarethat they are dreams and' nightmares.//Her self-confidence gives her a mental clarity, which can

counter the games, the 'formulae and the twisted syllogisms which confront her../No matter how

bizarre her surroundings or thebehaviour of the characters she encounters, Alice always manages tomaintain her composure and insists upon finding the rational explanation, logical solution and literal

meaning of the surrealphenomena of Wonderland,.//If we read the story as an allegory, as a seriousbook for grown-ups-we can discover many allusions to Carroll's time, to thepolitical

and legal systems in England in those limes. -The text in our textbook is an excerpt [1'011.1 Chapter XI and deals with the scene of trial, where

the Knave of Hearts isjudged for having stolen the,tarts of the Queen of Hearts, _ ...

It is a very illustrative fragment that proves Carroll's delight in using

logical nonsense and dreams.This scene is a blend of fail')' tale - like features, given by thepresence of strange talking

animals and a number of real situations, the trial with the twelvejurors whojudges the Knave of Hearts.

Alice knew the name of nearly everything there, although she had never been in acourt of j usiice.

She had read about thejudge and his great wig, about the jury -box and about thejurors

When she saw the twelvejurors ail writing very huxil y on slates she wonder what theywere doingbecause she knew that "they can't have anything toput ci own yet,before the trial'sbegun".

She is the only one who tries to find logical explanation for what is going on.All the other characters are confused, not knowing what to say or do under these

special circumstances in the court during the Knave's trial, the mad Hatter for example.

When speaking about the logical nonsense of this scene we must take into account Carroll'sability tobegin with a stupid situation (an animal and birdjury court of law) and thenworking out its development with rigorous logic.

Lewis Carroll doesn't introduce himself as a character in thebook. He uses the third personnarrative knowing and letting us know every time that happens in thesouls and minds of his characters.

Itsjoyful and amusing tone, as well as its hints of criticism at Victorian realities are but someof the reasons for which thisbook still delights thousands of readers all over the world.