   #copyright

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Novels

   John Tenniel's illustration for "A Mad Tea-Party", 1865
   John Tenniel's illustration for "A Mad Tea-Party", 1865
   Illustration by Arthur Rackham
   Illustration by Arthur Rackham
   Facsimile page from Alice's Adventures Under Ground
   Facsimile page from Alice's Adventures Under Ground

   Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is a work of children's literature by
   the English mathematician and author, Reverend Charles Lutwidge
   Dodgson, written under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll. It tells the story
   of a girl named Alice who falls down a rabbit-hole into a fantasy realm
   populated by talking playing cards and anthropomorphic creatures.

   The tale is fraught with satirical allusions to Dodgson's friends and
   to the lessons that British schoolchildren were expected to memorize.
   The Wonderland described in the tale plays with logic in ways that has
   made the story of lasting popularity with children as well as adults.

   The book is often referred to by the abbreviated title Alice in
   Wonderland. This alternate title was popularized by the numerous film
   and television adaptations of the story produced over the years. Some
   printings of this title contain both Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
   and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There.

History

   Alice was first published on 4 July 1865, exactly three years after the
   Reverend Charles Lutwidge Dodgson and the Reverend Robinson Duckworth
   rowed in a boat up the River Thames with three little girls:
     * Lorina Charlotte Liddell (aged 13) ("Prima" in the book's prefatory
       verse)
     * Alice Pleasance Liddell (aged 10) ("Secunda" in the prefatory
       verse)
     * Edith Mary Liddell (aged 8) ("Tertia" in the prefatory verse)

   The journey had started at Folly Bridge near Oxford, England and ended
   five miles away in a village of Godstow. To while away time the
   Reverend Dodgson told the girls a story that, not so coincidentally,
   featured a bored little girl named Alice who goes looking for an
   adventure.

   The girls loved it, and Alice Liddell asked Dodgson to write it down
   for her. He eventually did so and on 26 November 1864 gave Alice the
   manuscript of Alice's Adventures Under Ground. Some, including Martin
   Gardner, speculate there was an earlier version that was destroyed
   later by Dodgson himself when he printed a more elaborate copy by hand
   (Gardner, 1965), but there is no real evidence to support this.

   According to Dodgson's diaries, in the spring of 1863 he gave the
   unfinished manuscript of Alice's Adventures Under Ground to his friend
   and mentor George MacDonald, whose children loved it. On MacDonald's
   advice, Dodgson decided to submit Alice for publication. Before he had
   even finished the MS for Alice Liddell he was already expanding the
   18,000-word original to 35,000 words, most notably adding the episodes
   about the Cheshire Cat and the Mad Tea-Party. In 1865, Dodgson's tale
   was published as Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by " Lewis Carroll"
   with illustrations by John Tenniel. The first print run of 2,000 was
   shelved because Tenniel had objections over the print quality; a new
   edition, released in December of the same year but carrying an 1866
   date, was quickly printed.

   The entire print run sold out quickly. Alice was a publishing
   sensation, beloved by children and adults alike. Among its first avid
   readers were young Oscar Wilde and Queen Victoria. The book has never
   been out of print since. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland has been
   translated into over 50 languages, including Esperanto. There have now
   been over a hundred editions of the book, as well as countless
   adaptations in other media, especially theatre and film (see below).

Publishing highlights

   Image:ALI.jpg
   Folio Society Edition (1962)
     * 1869: Alice has its first American printing.
     * 1871: Dodgson meets another Alice during his time in London, Alice
       Raikes, and talks with her about her reflection in a mirror,
       leading to another book Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice
       Found There, which sells even better.
     * 1886: Carroll publishes a facsimile of the earlier Alice's
       Adventures Under Ground manuscript.
     * 1890: He publishes The Nursery "Alice", a special edition "to be
       read by Children aged from Nought to Five."
     * 1908: Alice has its first translation into Japanese.
     * 1960: American writer Martin Gardner publishes a special edition,
       The Annotated Alice, incorporating the text of both Alice's
       Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass. It has
       extensive annotations explaining the hidden allusions in the books,
       and includes full texts of the Victorian era poems parodied in
       them. Later editions expand on these annotations.
     * 1961: The Folio Society publication with 42 illustrations by John
       Tenniel.
     * 1998: The suppressed first edition of the book (that is, the
       edition nixed by Tenniel) is sold at auction for $1.5 million USD,
       becoming the most expensive children's book ever traded. (Only 23
       copies of the 1865 first edition are known to have survived; 18 are
       owned by major archives or libraries, such as the Harry Ransom
       Humanities Research Centre, while the other five are held in
       private hands.)

Plot summary

   Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

   A girl named Alice is bored while on a picnic with her older sister.
   She finds interest in a passing white rabbit, dressed in a waistcoat
   and muttering "I'm late!", whom she follows down a rabbit-hole,
   floating down into a dream underworld. As she attempts to follow the
   rabbit, she has several adventures. She grows to gigantic size and
   shrinks to a fraction of her original height; meets a group of small
   animals stranded in a sea of her own previously shed tears; gets
   trapped in the rabbit's house when she enlarges herself again; meets a
   baby which changes into a pig, and a cat which disappears leaving only
   his smile behind; goes to a never-ending tea party; goes to the shore
   and meets a Gryphon and a Mock Turtle; and attends the trial of the
   Knave of Hearts, who has been accused of stealing tarts. Eventually
   Alice wakes up back with her sister.

Major themes

   "The chief difficulty Alice found at first was in managing her
   flamingo"
   "The chief difficulty Alice found at first was in managing her
   flamingo"
   The Caterpillar using a hookah; an illustration by John Tenniel
   The Caterpillar using a hookah; an illustration by John Tenniel
     * Puns
     * Parody and satire
     * Games and riddles
     * Nonsense
     * Dreams and nightmares
     * In-jokes about the Liddell family and the Oxford community
     * Parable
     * asymmetrical logic

Characters in order of appearance

     * Alice
     * Alice's Sister
     * The White Rabbit
     * Alice's Cat, Dinah
     * The Mouse
     * The Duck
     * The Dodo
     * The Lory
     * The Eaglet
     * Bill the Lizard
     * The Caterpillar
     * The Fish-Footman
     * The Frog-Footman
     * The Duchess
     * The Baby
     * The Cook
     * The Cheshire Cat
     * The March Hare
     * The Hatter
     * The Dormouse
     * Two, Five & Seven (cards)
     * The King of Hearts
     * The Queen of Hearts
     * The Knave of Hearts
     * The Gryphon
     * The Mock Turtle
     * The Jurymen

Character allusions

   The members of the boating party that first heard Carroll's tale all
   show up in Chapter 3 ("A Caucus-Race and a Long Tale") in one form or
   another. There is, of course, Alice herself, while Carroll, or Charles
   Dodgson, is caricatured as the Dodo. The Duck refers to Rev. Robinson
   Duckworth, the Lory to Lorina Liddell, and the Eaglet to Edith Liddell.

   Bill the Lizard may be a play on the name of Benjamin Disraeli. One of
   Tenniel's illustrations in Through the Looking Glass depicts a
   caricature of Disraeli, wearing a paper hat, as a passenger on a train.
   The illustrations of the Lion and the Unicorn also bear a striking
   resemblance to Tenniel's Punch illustrations of Gladstone and Disraeli.

   The Hatter is most likely a reference to Theophilus Carter, a furniture
   dealer known in Oxford for his unorthodox inventions. Tenniel
   apparently drew the Hatter to resemble Carter, on a suggestion of
   Carroll's.

   The Dormouse tells a story about three little sisters named Elsie,
   Lacie, and Tillie. These are the Liddell sisters: Elsie is L.C. (Lorina
   Charlotte), Tillie is Edith (her family nickname is Matilda), and Lacie
   is an anagram of Alice.

   The Mock Turtle speaks of a Drawling-master, "an old conger eel," that
   used to come once a week to teach "Drawling, Stretching, and Fainting
   in Coils." This is a reference to the art critic John Ruskin, who came
   once a week to the Liddell house to teach the children drawing,
   sketching, and painting in oils. (The children did, in fact, learn
   well; Alice Liddell, for one, produced a number of skilled
   watercolours.)

   The Mock Turtle also sings "Turtle Soup." This is a parody of a song
   called "Star of the Evening, Beautiful Star," which was performed as a
   trio by Lorina, Alice and Edith Liddell for Lewis Carroll in the
   Liddell home during the same summer in which he first told the story of
   Alice's Adventures Under Ground (source: the diary of Lewis Carroll,
   August 1, 1862 entry).

Contents

   Image:AliceOnMushroom.jpg
   Alice in Wonderland sculpture in New York City's Central Park
     * Chapter 1 -- Down the Rabbit-Hole
     * Chapter 2 -- The Pool of Tears
     * Chapter 3 -- A Caucus-race and a Long Tale
     * Chapter 4 -- The Rabbit Sends in a Little Bill
     * Chapter 5 -- Advice from a Caterpillar
     * Chapter 6 -- Pig and Pepper
     * Chapter 7 -- A Mad Tea-party
     * Chapter 8 -- The Queen's Croquet Ground
     * Chapter 9 -- The Mock Turtle's Story
     * Chapter 10 -- The Lobster Quadrille
     * Chapter 11 -- Who Stole the Tarts?
     * Chapter 12 -- Alice's Evidence

Poems and songs

     * "All in the golden afternoon..." (the prefatory verse, an original
       poem by Carroll that recalls the rowing expedition on which he
       first told the story of Alice's adventures underground)
     * "How doth the little crocodile..." (a parody of Isaac Watts'
       nursery rhyme, "How doth the little busy bee")
     * The Mouse's Tale (an example of concrete poetry)
     * " You Are Old, Father William" (a parody of Robert Southey's "The
       Old Man's Comforts and How He Gained Them")
     * The Duchess' lullaby: "Speak roughly to your little boy..."(a
       parody of David Bates "Speak Gently")
     * "Twinkle, twinkle little bat..." (a parody of Twinkle twinkle
       little star)
     * The Lobster Quadrille (a parody of Mary Botham Howitt's "The Spider
       and the Fly")
     * "’Tis the voice of the lobster, I heard him declare..." (a parody
       of "Tis the voice of the Sluggard")
     * Turtle Soup (a parody of James M. Sayles' "Star of the Evening,
       Beautiful Star")
     * "The Queen of Hearts..." (an actual nursery rhyme)
     * "They told me you had been to her..." (the White Rabbit's evidence)

Tenniel's illustrations

   John Tenniel's illustrations of Alice do not portray the real Alice
   Liddell, who had dark hair and a short fringe. Carroll sent Tenniel a
   photograph of Mary Hilton Badcock, another child-friend, but whether
   Tenniel actually used Badcock as his model is open to dispute.

Famous lines and expressions

   The term " Wonderland," from the title, has entered the language and
   refers to a marvellous imaginary place, or else a real-world place that
   one sees as "like a dream come true!" It is widely referenced in
   popular culture— books and film (see below) and pop music. To note just
   one example, there is a book by the Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami
   entitled Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World.

   "Down the Rabbit-Hole," the Chapter 1 title, has become a popular term
   for going into an adventure to the unknown. In the film The Matrix,
   Morpheus says to Neo: "I imagine that right now you're feeling a bit
   like Alice. Tumbling down the rabbit hole?" He also says, "You take the
   red pill and you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the
   rabbit-hole goes." In computer gaming, a "rabbit hole" may refer to the
   initiating element that drives the player to enter the game.

   In an Alternate Reality Game, the rabbit hole is the first puzzle, or
   first event signaling the beginning.

   A " white rabbit" has similar connotations, as a signal to the start of
   an adventure. In The Matrix, Neo's adventure begins after a message on
   his computer urges him to "Follow the white rabbit."

   In Chapter 6, the Cheshire Cat's disappearance prompts Alice to say one
   of her most memorable lines: "...a grin without a cat! It's the most
   curious thing I ever saw in all my life!" There is a French film called
   A Grin Without a Cat ( 1977), directed by Chris Marker.

   In Chapter 7, the Hatter gives his famous riddle without an answer:
   "Why is a raven like a writing desk?" Although Carroll intended the
   riddle to have no solution, in a new preface to the 1896 edition of
   Alice, he proposes several answers: "Because it can produce a few
   notes, tho they are very flat; and it is nevar put with the wrong end
   in front!" Note the spelling of "never" as "nevar"—turning it into
   "raven" when inverted. This spelling, however, was "corrected" in later
   editions to "never" and Carroll's pun was lost. Puzzle maven Sam Loyd
   offered these solutions: because the notes for which they are noted are
   not noted for being musical notes; Poe wrote on both; bills and tales
   are among their characteristics; because they both stand on their legs,
   conceal their steels (steals), and ought to be made to shut up. Many
   other answers are listed in The Annotated Alice.

   Arguably the most famous quote is used when the Queen of Hearts screams
   "Off with her head!" at Alice (and everyone else she feels slightly
   annoyed with). Possibly Carroll here was echoing a scene in
   Shakespeare's Richard III (III, iv, 76) where Richard demands the
   execution of Lord Hastings, crying "Off with his head!"

Cinematic adaptations

     * Alice in Wonderland (1903 film) - the first Alice movie by Cecil M.
       Hepworth. Parts of the movie are lost but what remains is available
       as a bonus feature on the 1966 BBC DVD
     * Alice in Wonderland (1966 film)

   Image:Movie alice in wonderland flowers.jpg
   Alice in Disney's animated version
     * Disney's Alice in Wonderland animated feature, released in 1951,
       remains the most popular cinematic adaptation of the Alice books.
       It popularized the iconic image of Alice as a pretty blonde little
       girl in a white pinafore and blue dress. Other characters made
       icons by the film include the Cheshire Cat, the White Rabbit, the
       Mad Hatter, and the Caterpillar. The character designs owe much to
       the original Tenniel illustrations. The Disney feature combines
       story elements from both Alice books. It is notable for its
       distinctly psychedelic visual feel.

   Other cinematic adaptations of Alice include:
     * Alice in Wonderland (1933 film) - motion picture
     * Alice in Wonderland (1951 film) - motion picture produced by Lou
       Bunin, blending live actors with stop-motion animated puppets,
       nicknamed "the lost Alice." Suppressed by Disney to avoid
       competition with their release the same year
     * Alice of Wonderland in Paris - 1966 animated movie
     * Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1972 film) - motion picture
     * Alice in Wonderland (1976 film) - X-Rated musical comedy
     * Alice in Wonderland (1985 film) - motion picture
     * The Care Bears Adventure in Wonderland - 1987 animated adaptation
       from Nelvana Limited
     * Alice (1988 film) - animated motion picture by Jan Švankmajer
     * Alice in Wonderland (1999 film) - made for television movie
     * Resident Evil - An action/sci-fi based on a video game series of
       the same name. The film centres on a girl named Alice who travels
       underground to face a supercomputer known as "The Red Queen".
     * Phantasmagoria: The Visions of Lewis Carroll - 2006 yet-unrated
       short-film series by Marilyn Manson
     * Alice (2007 film) - based on the horror video game American McGee's
       Alice, in which Alice ( Sarah Michelle Gellar) appears in a
       nightmare world

   This webpage has a considerable list of cinematic adaptations with
   appropriate reviews. This webpage has short reviews of various movies
   and books that the Alice books have spawned.

Criticism

   The book, although broadly and continually received in a positive
   light, has also caught a large amount of derision for its strange and
   random tone (which is also the reason so many others like it). One of
   the best-known critics is fantasy writer Terry Pratchett, who has
   openly stated that he dislikes the book .

   The book was banned in China in 1931 because the talking animals were
   considered blasphemous to Chinese beliefs.

Genre: fantasy or horror?

          "Children are put off by Alice’s underground adventures not
          because they cannot understand them; in fact, they frequently
          understand them too well. Indeed they often find the book a
          terrifying experience, rarely relieved by the comic spirit they
          can clearly perceive."
          — Donald Rackin, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through
          the Looking-Glass Nonsense, Sense, and Meaning

   The most common perspective on Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is that
   it is a whimsical fantasy. However, there is disagreement with this
   perspective. To a number of people, the book does not characterize whim
   and fantasy, but rather horror and self-sustaining Kafkaesque insanity.
   The comedy of the book, while clearly visible, does not mitigate the
   fact, but rather causes it to stand out by perverse contrast.

   Taken from this perspective, the novel (as well as Through the
   Looking-Glass) is a sinister, pernicious world characterized by persons
   who exist fully by a self-sustaining logic that exists without
   reference to outside influence, including the influence of a sane,
   rational, and moral mind. By this perspective, at its essence, Alice's
   Adventures in Wonderland is not a dream but a surreal nightmare
   involving loss of control, inability to communicate or reason, rampant
   uncontrolled change of one's self and everything around, and a total
   inability to gain any foundation in the world. Some scholars have
   pointed out, however, that many of these 'nightmarish' incidents and
   feelings notably resemble the confusion and lack of control a young
   child experiences at the hands of adults (well-meaning or not).

   It is noteworthy that in both novels, people suffer for no reason. The
   White Rabbit has an air of deposed aristocracy, the Queen of Hearts
   orders executions for no reason other than her own irritation and
   enjoyment, the Hatter exists in a never ending tea party because he got
   in a fight with Time and it imprisoned him in six o'clock, etc. Many of
   these are parables for the society of the time. For instance, from
   Through the Looking-Glass, the parable of The Walrus and the Carpenter
   appears to be a parable about the treatment of children and
   child-labor.

   Thus, the very thing that produces appeal and wonder in the book for
   many people terrifies others. It is a world that exists in different
   cells, each with internally consistent rules that don't conform to any
   of the others, each continuing on its way with anything running from
   apathy to malice, and each able to persist in its state indefinitely.
   From a child's perspective, if one were to fall down a rabbit hole
   today one could easily encounter the very same terrifying Wonderland
   Alice did, changed in only the most vestigial of ways.

   American McGee, a video and computer game designer, released in the
   year 2000 a horror game entitled American McGee's Alice. In an
   interview, American McGee defended his dark interpretation of the
   novels, claiming that Alice in Wonderland is a very dark tale to begin
   with.

Works influenced

   Alice and the rest of Wonderland continue to inspire or influence many
   other works of art to this day—sometimes indirectly; via the Disney
   movie, for example. The character of the plucky yet proper Alice has
   proven immensely popular and inspired similar heroines in literature
   and pop culture, many also named Alice in homage. it has also
   influenced many Japanese manga comics, most notable Miyuki-Chan in
   Wonderland, by CLAMP.

Culture and collecting

   Alice continues to be a cultural phenomenon today, spawning hundreds of
   collectors' items, websites, and works of art.

   There is a vast Alice-collecting cottage industry, which has recently
   burgeoned due to the Internet. There are often more than 2500 items up
   for auction via eBay at any given time, from rare books to more recent
   commissioned art. Just about every kind of Alice merchandise imaginable
   is available, from clocks to earrings to pillow cases. They are not
   always easy to locate, but can often be found in so-called "Alice
   shops". In England, such shops include The Rabbit Hole in Llandudno and
   Alice's Shop in Oxford. Smaller ones can be found in Halton Cheshire
   and in Bournemouth where there is an Alice Theme Park. In the United
   States they include The White Rabbit in California. In fact, there is
   Alice merchandise in America that is not available elsewhere. One of
   these is a book called Sherlock Holmes and the Alice In Wonderland
   Murders.
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