A Childs Struggle in Alices Adventures in Wonderland Essay -- Alice

A Child's Struggle in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland      Ã‚   Lewis Carroll's Wonderland is a queer little universe where a not so ordinary girl is faced with the contradicting nature of the fantastic creatures who live there. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is a child's struggle to survive in the condescending world of adults. The conflict between child and adult gives direction to Alice's adventures and controls all the outstanding features of the work- Alice's character, her relationship with other characters, and the dialogue. " Alice in Wonderland is on one hand so nonsensical that children sometimes feel ashamed to have been interested in anything so silly (Masslich 107)." The underlying message of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is a rejection of adult authority. The character of Alice is not at all like what you would find in a typical children's book. "The character of Alice herself is a bit puzzling, even to the modern child, because it does not fit a stereotype. How much more unusual she must have seemed to Victorian children, used to girl angels fated for death (in Dickens, Stowe, and others), or to impossibly virtuous little ladies, or to naughty girls who eventually reform in response to heavy adult pressure... But Alice is neither naughty nor overly nice. Her curiosity leads her into her initial adventure and most of the latter ones in the book... (Leach 119)." As Alice makes her way through Wonderland , she is faced with many pompous personalities that have their own ways of thinking and do not understand why Alice does not agree with their views. Alice takes into consideration what each character says. After becoming quite confused and disgruntled she learns that everyone in Wonderland is in fact m... ...,1865. Empson, William "Alice in Wonderland" Some Versions of Pastoral (1974). 812-14 Rpt. in Nineteenth- Century Literature Criticisms. Ed. Laurie Harris. Detroit: Gale Research, 1982. 2: 112- 14. Harris, Laurie, ed. Nineteenth- Century Literature Criticisms. Detroit: Gale Research, 1982. 76 vols. Hubbell, George Shelton "The Sanity of Wonderland" The Sewanee Review (1927) 387-98. Rpt. in Nineteenth- Century Literature Criticisms. Ed. Laurie Harris. Detroit: Gale Research, 1982. 2: 109. Leach, Elsie "Alice in Wonderland" The Victorian Newsletter (1964) Rpt. in Nineteenth- Century Literature Criticisms. Ed. Laurie Harris. Detroit: Gale Research, 1982. 2: 119. Masslich, George B. "A Book Within a Book" The English Journal (1921) 119-29. Rpt. in Nineteenth- Century Literature Criticisms. Ed. Laurie Harris. Detroit: Gale Research, 1982. 2: 107.