Term Paper on "Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland as a Story of Victorian Childhood"

Term Paper 9 pages (3889 words) Sources: 10

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Victorian Childhood and Alice in Wonderland

The World of Victorian England

Childhood in the Victorian England of Lewis Carroll

Alice in Wonderland as Victorian Literature

Analysis of Alice in Wonderland

Works Cited and Consulted

The children's novel, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, written in 1865 by Charles Dodgson, under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll, may well be the most popular, and imitated book in the history of the English language. It has inspired numerous screen adaptations, stage plays, and served as the basis for a number of fictional stories loosely based on Alice's adventures. Whether because of the 1951 Disney version, the 2010 Tim Burton film, or the sheer power of the novel itself, the characters have become archetypal in the modern world. Who has not heard of the Mad Hatter, or used the phrase grinned like a Cheshire Cat? Indeed, the sheer paradigm of imagination expressed in the pages as a juxtaposition of humor and satire makes Carroll's book suitable for children on one level, and certainly adults on another.

As a novel written during the Victorian Period of England, much of the nonsense in the book is based on common occurrences in Carroll's life. The songs in the book are burlesques of popular poems and street songs, all familiar to a child in England. Similarly, Carroll's abject platonic fondness for young females is expressed in the representation of Alice. Alice is a child struggling to survive in the confusing and sometimes hypocritical world of adults. Alice falls into "Wonderland," a rather cynical representation of England, and meets

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a number of creatures that mirror a number of adult stereotypes. As Alice travels through Wonderland, symbolic for her struggle to grow up, she continually tries to become more aware of the adult world, while clinging to the comforting imagination of childhood. In fact, it is through the struggle through Wonderland and Alice's confrontation with the Queen of Hearts that Alice learns about the dual nature of expectations and self. Certainly, childhood in Victorian England was fraught with different expectations that modern psychological stages provide. Still, the ever present theme of "journey," so popular in so many legends and myths, provides the basis for Alice's actualization and ability to not only reason as an adult, but see the world in a new light.

The World of Victorian England -- Great Britain in the Victorian Era was a modern empire like no other before it. Technology had advanced to the point in which Britain ruled the seas, the land, and with colonies and resources world-wide, much of the economic prosperity of the entire world. The entire focus of the Victorian empire was to trade -- import and export, use the colonies to prosper, allow Britain her expected might over all she surveyed. Between this and the massive increase in railways there was a need for more financing, more complex fiscal transactions, and thus more banks. In fact, between 1852 and 1957 "the deposits in a set of five London banks grew from £17.7 million to over £40 and the typical amount of bills of exchange were in circulation increased to 200 million from just 66 million" (Houston, 71). This "boom" occurred all over England, and the importing of goods flourished, so did stock speculation which mean that some won heavily and others became destitute -- and resentful at the same time.

Charles Dickens, perhaps the epitome of Victorian literature, described the economic victories as "happy strokes of calculation and combination," or "Gigantic combinations of skill and capital" and, technically, he "almost always couples the two terms, implying that each presupposes the other. Combine this economic boom with the divergent social nature of the very wealthy, the upper middle class, and then the rest of England (85%), and one can see that the very nature of life, and especially childhood, was expressed quite differently (Novak, 36-61).

This era, so prosperous and wonderful for so many, allowed the middle and upper classes a chance to read, write, and experience art as never before. However, in contrast, the huge population increase and rapid urbanization caused by the industrial revolution drew large numbers of skilled and unskilled individuals to the cities where they were paid wages barely at the subsistence level, and situations of such abject poverty and despair that not only drastic political theories arose, but the realities of urban life were reflected in much of the literature of the time -- whether tragic or fantastic, all as a response to social and cultural conditions (Daniels).

Childhood in the Victorian England of Lewis Carroll -- the concept of childhood is really quite a modern idea. Prior to the 18th century, for instance, children were widely seen as "little adults," dressed in adult clothing just of a smaller size. Economic and social class was everything to the conception of what a child could do -- the further down the economic ladder, the quicker one had to grow up. Childhood, however, as the 18th and 19th centuries evolved, became a marketable category when social and cultural issues changed to allow a new market for service such as schools, playgrounds, parks, toys, and new lines of clothing. The irony of the Victorian Era is, however, that sociologists see the origins of the source of the modern institution of childhood evolving during this time; along with the increase in child labor -- which amounted to little more than slavery. It was, though, this conception of what childhood should be that led religious and social activists (including Charles Dickens), to introduce the Factory Acts of 1802-1878 continually limiting how children could be used (Cunningham, 85-92, 106-14). There was, however, an underlying fascination with childhood in the growing literary classes in England. This fascination often manifested in a rather idealized relationship between adult and child, mentor and pupil. Like the romantic poets who saw only the good and ideal in nature, and therefore pined for it, so too did this idea of the Romantic child -- fresh, untouched and like a tabula rasa, completely and utterly ready to be molded, influence Carroll (Thacker and Webb, 13; Ackerman, 31).

Yet there was this seed of contradiction in Carroll's world. In upper and wealthier middle class families children were raised by servants or nannies; often women brought in from the lower classes as workers in the households. In other parts of the Empire, children were often sent home to England to boarding school, and thus parents were parted from their children until late adolescence. Children in poorer families, even under the best of circumstances had to help with household expenses. Until mandatory school became a fact (late 1800s), there was not much of a childhood playtime once the child was old enough to walk, talk, and communicate cogently (Mitchell, 146-49).

Carroll, however, held a very different view of childhood. He was a professor of mathematics at Christ Church, part of Oxford. Politically, he was conservative and rather snobbish, a skilled photographer (during the time in which photography was a new technology), a patron of the theater and a fan of games and magic. He was, however, quite squeamish about morality -- which kept him away from any artistic work that might be tainted; thus ignoring Shaw, Wilde and even Ibsen (Irwin, 60-2). His view of children, particularly females, was one of harmony, development of the imagination, and the process of using childhood as the slow and optimistic journey to adulthood -- the romantic child theme. Children, in fact, were the innocent; they had not yet been corrupted by society, and were therefore lacking sin and professing honesty -- a considerable turn from previous views (Sander, 6-8). In contrast to the hierarchical template most Victorians held for children, Carroll seem to believe that one of the main things that the child must grapple with on such a journey, and one of the principal themes that Alice takes up, is the question of his/her identity in that world. "Who are you?" Alice is frequently asked early in her adventures, "and it is a question that she at first has a difficult time answering. Her initial erratic changes in size could be said to represent her inability to "fit" herself into this world. Her mastery of this process enables her to begin to be the master of her own destiny - to "fit," by enabling her to walk through the door that leads to the "beautiful garden," which she has wanted to enter since the beginning of her adventures" (Walker). In actuality, reading Alice as a children's book is even more fascinating when realizing that the majority of children in the time period not only had no access to books but could not begin to explore the wonderful and imaginative world of Wonderland. The choice of using not only a dream sequence, but a morality play based on fairy-tale elements could not have been more "anti-Victorian." Instead of appealing to the rational nature of the child's parents, Carroll was, in fact, appealing to the child's inner self (Leach,… READ MORE

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Quoted Instructions for "Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland as a Story of Victorian Childhood" Assignment:

“

Dear *****,

the following outline is the Table of Contents for the paper:

1 Introduction

2 Childhood in the Victorian England of Lewis Carroll

2.1 Conceptions of Childhood

2.2 Childhood and Social Realities

3 Analysis of *****Alice*****'s Adventures in Wonderland*****

3.1 From Child to Adult

3.2 Alice as the Romantic Child

4 Conclusion

Bibliography

1 Introduction

-> Should be about 1 page long and state the thesis and aim of the paper clearly, which is basically that in *****Alice*****s Adventures in Wonderland*****, Alice represents the child*****s struggle to survive in the confusing world of the adults. She comes into the Wonderland, which reflects the world of the adults and of Victorian England, meets there very different animals and other creatures, which in some way mirror the grown-up people, and throughout the book, Alice is trying to become aware of the things happening around, learning to react appropriately in the situations nad takes an important step on her way to becoming an adult.

This should be the general consensus of the paper! Please formulate a clear thesis and draw upon it in the chapters of the paper.

2 The Victorian England of Lewis Carroll

2.1 Conceptions of Childhood

-> Describe the conception of childhood, mainly the notion of the Romantic Child, and what it entailed. State that this was the view of childhood that Carroll shared and that influenced him in his writing of Alice. I have provided 1-2 texts in the additional resources that deal with this notion of the Romantic Child, especially: *****Introducing Children*****'s Literature ***** From Romanticism to Postmodernism*****

2.2 Childhood and Social Realities

-> Despite the notions of the idealized romantic child and the *****"cult of childhood*****" that was entertained by many *****s and novelists, the realities of childhood were different for most children in Victorian England.

In this part, describe the conditions that most children were living in in the 19th century: child labor, strict discipline and morals that was demanded by parents as well as tutors and nannies, children were educated and taught with the aim to turn them into adults. They had to behave like the adults did, follow all rules, had to be seen but not heard.

I have included a few sources on Life and Childhood in the Victorian Era, but if you can find any other sources that are useful in order to portray these aspects of the childhood life and education in the Victorian Era would be useful. But please use only academic sources and no online sources if possible! Thanks!

Also mention under this aspect how Victorian society was concerned with things such morality, orderliness, concern for little things, self-denial, self-control, initiative, constructive use of leisure (see additional sources: Daily Life in Victorian England p. 260-66) and their children were raised under those aspects and morals as well.

Also mention that the progress of education was an important matter in the 19th century in England, and children were educated and schooled in a variety of subjects, theoretical and practical, which must have been overwhelming for many children.

3 Analysis of *****Alice*****'s Adventures in Wonderland*****

-> So, as will have been stated in the previous paragraphs, the child in 19th century England was regarded as an adult by most of society. They had to behave like the adults did, follow all rules, they had to be seen but not heard. As for a child that should be quite difficult to do. A child is always interested in things that are going on and asking the questions all the time *****why this happens so?***** Why, why and why â†' A child is very curious. Childhood is a period when a child aquires all the things that are happening in the world, why these things are as they are and is learning to understand the rules of the world and to adopt to these roles step by step and Alice*****'s adventures in Wonderland and the experiences she makes, help her to take an important step on the way from child to adult:

3.1 From Child to Adult

-> Alice represents the child trying to grow up through her own experiences. Outline Alice*****'s growth and her journey from child to adult or adolescent throughout the book!

Find at least 5-6 examples for this in the book (and use as many quotations as possible)!

Example 1:

*****Down, down, down. Would the fall NEVER come to an end! *****˜I wonder how many miles I*****ve fallen by this time?***** she said aloud. *****˜I must be getting somewhere near the centre of the earth. Let me see: that would be four thousand miles down, I think*****˜ (for, you see, Alice had learnt several things of this sort in her lessons in the schoolroom, and though this 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) *****˜--yes, that*****s about the right distance--but then I wonder what Latitude or Longitude I*****ve got to?***** (Alice had no idea what Latitude was, or Longitude either, but thought they were nice grand words to say).*****

-> refers to Alice*****s lessons and her education. Sometimes all these knowledge is useless at the moment when she is using them or even wrong as Alice mistakenly believes that when she falls through the earth everything will be upside down. This shows that education was very important at the Victorian times and children were taught morals, rules and warnings on how to behave and what to do in which situation but in real life this was not always applicable and even useless, and Alice rather grows up through experience than through schoolbook knowledge.

Example 2:

*****It was all very well to say *****˜Drink me,***** but the wise little Alice was not going to do THAT in a hurry. *****˜No, I*****ll look first,***** she said, *****˜and see whether it*****s marked *****poison***** or not*****; for she had read several nice little histories about children who had got burnt, and eaten up by wild beasts and other unpleasant things, all because they WOULD not remember the simple rules their friends had taught them: such as, that a red-hot poker will burn you if your hold it too long; and that if you cut your finger VERY deeply with a knife, it usually bleeds; and she had never forgotten that, if you drink much from a bottle marked *****poison,***** it is almost certain to disagree with you, sooner or later*****.

-> this shows Alice*****s cleverness / her ability to use learned knowledge. Alice knows that she can die if she drinks the poison but it is her childish curiosity that makes her try the content of the bottle. After has tried the liquid in the bottle Alice grows in size. At the beginning of the story she can not control this process and grows so big that she even can not see her feet but throughout the book Alice will learn to control this process, which can be seen as a sign of her growing up.

At this moment, and in lot of other moments in the story, appears Alice*****s imagination combined with a (later growing) ability to take care of new situations. (see in my additional sources *****Alice in Wonderland in Perspective: *****Her curiosity leads her into the initial adventure and most of the later ones of the book, yet she is not punished for it, nor does she regret what she has done.*****)

Example 3: When in the first paragraphs of the story it occurs quite often that Alice bursts into tears just because she can not manage to control the situation. One can assume that adults in Victorian times the situation taught children to behave and not cry over silly matters This is also proved by Alice: *****Come, there*****s no use in crying like that!***** said Alice to herself, rather sharply; *****˜I advise you to leave off this minute!*****

â†' Here she is speaking and behaving like an adult, she is ordering herself to behave properly because she would have probably been reprimanded by an adult not to cry.

Alice makes such *****mistakes***** several times by saying things that she shouldn*****'t for exmplae when Alice wants to tell a mouse about her cat. Of course the mouse doesn*****'t like to hear about things like that and is not willing to communicate with Alice. Another time Alice again mentions her cat speaking with birds, who fly away immediately, saying that they are very busy. Both times Alice stays alone, she regrets her behavior and starts to understand why it happened, why the animals left her â†' She learns her lesson through experience, that before saying something, she should think carefully if this what she is going to say will not offend anybody. Step by step, situation after situation, Alice is learning the rules of the Wonderland.

She also learns how to control her size, her emotions and her tongue. These are all things Alice learns from her EXPERIENCES and through interacting with the creatures of Wonderland, rather than listening to dry morals or moral tales.

Example 3:

Another problem that Alice as a child confronts in the Wonderland is her struggle about her her identity. After falling through the Rabbit hole, Alice tests her knowledge in literature to determine whether she has become another girl. She can not answer to herself who she is, thus it is implied that books or simple education in school can not help you in determining *****who you are***** or in finding your place in the world. Several times in the book, she is ordered to identify herself by the creatures of the Wonderland but is unable to answer, as she feels that she has changed several times since that morning. Alice*****s doubt about the identity mostly is influenced by her physical appearance, because she grows and shrinks several times, which she finds *****žvery confusing*****. The White Rabbit mistakes her for his maid, Pidgeon calls her for a serpent, the Cheshire Cat declares *****ž*****We*****re all mad here. I*****m mad. You*****re mad.***** â†' the characters of Wonderland try to tell her what or, rather, who she is and Alice, of course, is confused but finally she understands that she must control the objects around her, rather than be controlled by them, and *****grow up on her own terms*****.

In the end of the story, Alice has learned to cope with the crazy Wonderland rules, and during the story she gets better in managing the situation. She tells the Queen of Hearts that her order is *****˜nonsense***** and prevents her own beheading. Alice has adapted, grown up and she has matured too much to stay in Wonderland, the world of the children, and wakes up into the *****˜real***** world, the world of adults where now she can use all acquired knowledge and experience.

3.2 Alice as the Romantic Child

â†' But despite Alice*****'s having matured and grown through her adventures in Wonderland, it was only possible for her to do so through her imagination, since she dreamed it all, and as her sister says in the last few lines: *****Lastly, she pictured to herself how this same little sister of hers would, in the after-time, be herself a grown woman; and how she would keep, through all her riper years, the simple and loving heart of her childhood and how she would gather about her other children, and make their eyes bright and eager with many a strange tale, perhaps even the dream of Wonderland of long ago: and how she would feel with all their simple sorrow, and find a pleasure in all their simple joys, remembering her own child-life, and the happy summer days*****. Carroll here implies that Alice will be able to retain her childlike nature throughout her adult life as well and pass it on to her posterity, whose imagination might be sparked through her stories (just as her sisters was after Alice told her the story) which might in turn help them as well on their journey of growing up. (see my additional sources *****Introducing Children*****'s Literature ***** From Romanticism to Postmodernism***** on p. 43: *****...concern for the preservation of childhood in the face of Victorian realities.*****)

So, Alice, despite having grown up through her Wonderland experiences, will not lose her childlike memories and thus embodies notions of the Romantic Child. â†'find 1-2 more parallels between Alice and the notion of the Romantic Child as described in ***** Introducing Children*****'s Literature ***** From Romanticism to Postmodernism*****.

4 Conclusion

Should be at least half a page, preferably a bit more!

-> Victorian time people showed a child as grown-up, they referred to it as to an adult, and saw education and molding the child into an adult as their task and duty. But Lewis Carroll in his novel *****Alice*****s Adventures in Wonderland***** was one of the first who looked inside the child. He showed the child*****s real nature, his emotions and attitude to the grown-up*****s world rules. The Victorian child should understand that s/he her/himself should think about all what is happening around, s/he should understand the rules in the adults***** world by learning them through life*****s situations, s/he should manage to do the best and the right for her/his own life, and Carroll*****'s intention in writing this story was to show that it is important to learn but more importantly to experience, and that imagination and dreams can help children to achieve this (meaning to grow up). (see my additional sources *****Introducing Children*****'s Literature ***** From Romanticism to Postmodernism***** on p. 19: *****...a revolutionary, but simple, view that celebrated the natural tendencies of childhood and

demanded that they be celebrated and nurtured, rather then directed toward adult values and

knowledge.*****)!

I know I have already provided many examples and written a lot, but please try to rewrite and order everything, to find more additional examples of Alice*****'s growing up and maturing through quotes and examples in the books! Also, try to use as many of my additional sources as that is highly important to my professor!!

I hope I have made clear what the intention of this paper is, if you have any questions or ideas of improvements (!!!) on the outline or thesis, please feel free to contact me and ask questions! Thank you very much in advance! I will provide journal articles and chapters from books I have compiled and please draw upon them as much as possible!

Best regards,

Caroline *****

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