Lewis Carroll
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, better known as Lewis Carroll, is recognized by all as the silly fairy-tale author of stories such as Alice in Wonderland and it's sequel Through the Looking Glass. However, little is known about what drove him to write such obviously fantastic stories. Themes such as nonsense and fantasy, education, drug abuse, racism and prejudice, money, malnutrition and public health are touched upon throughout his works. While only speculation can be offered, it is clear that these topics were developed as a result of real life experiences. Carroll's childhood had a strong impact on his writing, mostly because of his playful nature. "By this time [age 8] Lewis Carroll was very fond of inventing games for the amusement of his brothers and sisters," (Kelly 3). As a child, Carroll was very attached to his mother "...Carroll's love and affection for his mother was exceptional" (Kelly, 2). Her death in 1851 had an enormous negative effect on Carroll's morale, which was at an all-time low, and when his father died, Carroll stated that it was "the greatest blow that has ever fallen on my life," (Gardner 9). During his adolescent years, he secluded himself from others because of his everlasting stammer. Carroll was a part
" (Wonderland 82) Of course, this is not to imply that Carroll's works are simply a result of his opium usage, but such evidence and confirmation within the Alice books especially certainly expose such abuse. Alice first encounters a need for money when she is boarding the train, and is reproached for not having a ticket. In Carroll's time, five out of six families habitually used opium. During the Victorian ages, the upper class looked down upon the Irish and blacks of the lower classes. Lewis Carroll presents a reality from a child's extreme fantasy in which adults are cruel, childlike, irresponsible, impulsive, and self-indulgent. 'Just think of what work it would make of day and night! You see the earth takes 24 hours to turn round on its axis'. Carroll led an extraordinary life during the Victorian age and it is evident that these surroundings gave him the background necessary to be an amazing writer. On Carroll's side of the looking glass, real people were suffering. For example, while she is falling through the hole, she states 'I wonder how many miles I've fallen by this time?' she said aloud. Deadly poisons and food shortages are issues which may have killed many Looking-Glass butterflies. "Supposing it couldn't fly away?" she suggested.
Common topics in this essay:
Throughout Alice,
Alice Don't,
Lewis Carroll,
Altogether Alice,
Alice Wonderland,
Gnat Looking,
Mayor Leeds,
Reality Wullschlager,
Looking Glass,
Dodgson Leeds,
alice wonderland,
thousand pounds,
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worth thousand pounds,
worth thousand,
lewis carroll,
victorian england,
looking glass,
passage alice wonderland,
settings methods,
croquet game,
weak tea cream,
lower class,
class victorian england,
settings methods characters,
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Acceptance Essays
