Louis Carroll Essay, Research Paper
The writings of Louis Carroll have been described as “inspired wordplay set within the frame of an idiosyncratic view of the humansituation.” Does this really sound right? If, not here is another lookat this enigmatic storyteller: “Carroll s art is so well concealed, hisprose so limpid that we may fail to realize how carefully the stories areorganized. And there is a sense of purpose in them that lies beneath thesurface .”Carroll may have never even published so much as a pamphlet had it notbeen for a young girl named Alice. The little girl, subsequently namedAlice, would never have been able to comprehend the “carefully organizedstories” let alone the “idiosyncratic view of the human situation.” AllAlice understood was she heard a wonderful story which she could relateto. An adult can analyze, but only children and the truly young at heartcan capture the true essence of Louis Carroll. The real genius of Carroll was not his writing , it was hisimagination. His ability to see life through the eyes of a child of washis true attribute. When I went back and looked at the Queens, the MarchHare, and some of the others; I realized they were merely memories. Memories of the way these people looked through my eyes as a child. TheQueens were rich, rude, and at the same time the most exalted women in thewhole wide world. The March Hare is a vivid image of the overly rushedadult population in general. This is what Carroll was trying to do. Hewanted to tell an amazing story that his children listeners, andeventually readers, could understand. The narrative style of the book appealed to the younger audience, becauseit was easier to read. It was the basis for the Walt Disney Empire withits eclectic cast. Not only was it a story a child could understand, it
was a story a child would love. It had magic , talking animals, and adisappearing cat. The nonsense plot and funny characters were essentialin drawing his younger audience. At the same time there is many instances where “adult capability” humoris used. This is what is mostly analyzed by the critics. While he wasentertaining the children audience he was also attracting a number of thebenevolent mature audience with witty puns and misquoted children srhymes. His imaginative plots and deranged characters stirred debateamong intellectuals. Many associated the strange personalities of thecharacters with drugs and mental instability. His imagery also sparked attention. The use of Alice as a tool to forthe reader to look into the “looking glass” and further draw in a theintellectual audience. His main character was the reader s own way oflooking in a mirror, or a looking glass. Through Alice one can see theworld the way our children see it. Children viewed Alice and Through the Looking Glass completely differentthan mature audiences. All they were concerned with the story and not itsmeaning. They didn t need to learn from a story all they wanted to do wasbe entertained. They saw Alice as a funny little girl who went on somefantastic adventures and talked to insects and animals. They didn t evencomprehend the true genius of the stories. The absolute nonsense is whatmakes the “Alice books” entertaining to the younger audience. And that iswhy the book was written in the first place.Alice s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass didnot have some deep underlying meaning. It didn t need a meaning it had apurpose. Its purpose was to entertain. Not one age group, not one socialclass, but just entertain. Anything past entertainment is strictlyopinion.