Loss of Innocence in Alice In Wonderland Essay

Alices Adventures in Wonderland

As one grows older, the loss of childhood innocence becomes inevitable. The novel, Alices Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll is a magical tale of a young girls dreamy journey into a land filled with mythical creatures and imagination. Alice, while sitting on the riverbank with her sister, falls asleep and enters the land of Wonderland. She has encounters with creatures such as the White Rabbit, who she is following, the Mad Hatter, who she has an interesting tea party with, the March Hare who takes great pleasure in frustrating Alice, the Queen of Hearts, the Duchess, and the Cheshire Cat who helps explain the madness of Wonderland to her. In her journey through Wonderland, Alice faces many puzzles that she does not understand, but begins to realize that the place could potentially be dangerous. Alices Adventures in Wonderland is a timeless novel, rich with vivid imagery and insight into a little girls dream world, but some conclude that this story is a random assortment of events rather than a magical journey, and more geared towards the youthful children.

From the time Alice falls down the rabbit hole to the trial of the Knave of Hearts, Alices Adventures in Wonderland gets curiouser and curiouser. I found this novel to be interestingly arranged and with every page I wanted to find out what Alice was going to uncover in her magical Wonderland. The best part of the Alice books is Alice herself, as a fearless and inquisitive child, observant and forthright, scared at times but more often levelheaded in the face of a world which has, along with all the adults in it, been turned upside down. I agree completely with this review because the character I could relate most to was Alice. She obviously had an immaculate imagination along with an understanding of reality. I was a child who let my imagination run away with me, and Alices dream world was perfectly visualized in my mind as I read along in the book. Alices Adventures in Wonderland is definitely a classic novel that should be read by people with a run away imagination.

On the other hand, one reviewer states at times, the plot skipped for place to place without so much as an explanation. For example, near the beginning of the book when Alice had cried because she was too big for the little door in the hallway. Then she drink out of the little bottle and shrank. Suddenly she found her self in and ocean of her tears but she was not in the hallway anymore. She washed up on a bank and found herself in the midst of random creatures. When reading this novel, this particular part confused me. I couldnt understand how Alice could go from being in the puddle of tears to an ocean. However, this randomness of the plot is exactly how dreams progress. Alice is dreaming, therefore the pictures and scene morph and shift randomly, just like in an a dream that non-fictional person would have. Another example of this dreamy randomness is when the Cheshire Cat appears. There is no pattern in the appearance of the Cat, and it seems to sometimes speak in riddles. The Cheshire Cat reminds Alice of reality and reminds her to think logically.

Another critical reviewer reports The fantastical nature of the character and setting also adds to the confusion of the plot. For example the description of the White Rabbit and the hookah smoking Caterpillar are completely twisted. Although this is true, these twisted descriptions are what make the book magical and interesting to read. I think that because of Carrolls vibrant descriptions, I was able to appreciate Alices experiences in Wonderland, and imagine the warped creatures conveyed I they book.

The book also has several references to Alice growing to big for some cases and too small for others. This represents the obstacles of life. When a person is a young child, they are too small for to understand some worldly situation. Then as they grow into adults, they have a hard time understanding small children because of the loss of innocence they have experienced as theyve grown older. In correspondence to the book, as Alice grows larger, she cannot fit into the small door in the hallway that leads into the beautiful garden; as Alice grows smaller and smaller, she realizes that she cannot reach the key to unlock they garden door.

Even though some people criticize Carrolls masterpiece for being random and unorganized, it is written exactly like a dream would be carried out. The magical world of Wonderland inspired the imagination of countless children of many generation, and has allowed some adults to revisit their child-like imaginations and innocence. There will always be those who cannot retain their lost childhood innocence, but the rich imagery and vivid descriptions that made Alices Adventures in Wonderland a timeless classic, will continue to amaze the imaginations of those who can.

Bibliography

-- http://www.challengingdestiny.com/reviews/alice.htm

-- http://www.commonsensemedia.org/book-reviews/Alices-Adventures-in Wonderland.html

-- http://www.amazon.com/Alices-Adventures-Wonderland-Unabridged-Classics/dp/1402725027

-- http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Alices-Adventures-In-Wonderland/Lewis-Carroll/e/9780689847431