Get back in your book by Lissy Elle
Alice in Wonderland is an adventure like no other. The story has pretty much everything. Far away lands, evil queens, puzzling rabbits and intrigue. I can't think of another book that has so many original characters, poems, songs and adventures. Where else can you find a disrupted tea party, cheshire cat, talking flower and a smoking caterpillar all in the one place.
When I was younger and watched Alice with my younger sisters, we would always fight over who got to be the white rose, the 'Marilyn Monroe' of the talking flowers, because she was so pretty. My favourite parts in the Disney version are the singing flowers, the Cheshire Cat who always reminds me of a crescent moon and the Mad Hatter's Tea Party. Poor Alice never gets any tea in the end. Whenever I watch the movie the first thing I want to do is drink tea, and the second is play a good game of cards, like 500.
In the 19th century Sir Walter Besant wrote that Alice in Wonderland "was a book of that extremely rare kind which will belong to all the generations to come until the language becomes obsolete". Alice in Wonderland was one of the first children's books that didn't have a lesson or a moral. It was just to entertain, get children interested in reading and excite their creative imagination.
The story is unusual because it proves a little bit of nonsense is alway fun. I think we tend to forget that today. The originality and creative ideas that flow out of the story is a joy. Stretching the imagination is something that needs to be done on a daily basis.
“The clue to the enduring fascination and greatness of the Alice books,” writes A. S. Byatt in the Introduction, “lies in language. . . . It's play, and word-play, and its endless intriguing puzzles continue to reveal themselves long after we have ceased to be children.”
Alice in Wonderland has inspired many creative people. There have been endless plays, movies, songs and art works based on Alice. Salvador Dali created an alternate book of illustrations for the story and The Beatles wrote the song 'I am the Walrus".
Everyone needs a hero, don't you think? Alice proved herself worthy by showing courage, an adventurous spirit, and a quest for fun.
She taught me that it's ok to be different. It's ok to think differently than others and have your own adventures. The adventures you hold in your mind are yours forever, no-one can ever take them away.
Alice was always questioning. She was always pondering and asking 'is this really the best way to do this', very down-to-earth. She wouldn't stand for nonsensical things like a children's book without pictures.
One of the core themes in the story is not to put up with being bored with your life. If you're feeling a little average, stagnant and mellow, just make a new adventure out of life. Make new friends, explore new lands, and face your fears. It's ok to get lost, if you're on the way to somewhere better, as long as you get there.
Some of Lewis Carroll's thoughts in the book have translated to modern economics and mathematics. One of the most intriguing passages in Through the Looking-Glass is where Alice is instructed by the Queen on how to move forward in life. They'd been running for what seemed like forever, but where exactly where they started. This passage is one of the most quoted parts of the book, usually referring to a rapidly changing political situation. Interesting right?
It takes all the running you can do,
to keep in the same place.
If you want to get somewhere else,
you must run at least twice as fast as that.
I love the subtle hints to mathematics in the book. As Carroll was a mathematician by trait, it's easy to see why his book is so complex and interesting. It has been thought that the book was an ironic take on modern mathematics emerging in the mid-19th century.
Alice in Wonderland is a rare story that captivated me as a child. It is a story which is complex and interesting enough to be enjoyed as an adult. There are many stories that where amazing to me when I was younger but are best left as childhood memories, like The Never Ending Story, Astro Boy and Fly Away Home.
As one of the most well regarded examples of the literary nonsense genre, Alice will always be popular with children and adults for centuries to come. It will be one of the first books I read to my children one day and hope they will read to theirs. It will continue to inspire the creativity inside us all. Literary classics never fade.
Curiouser and Curiouser!
I can recommend The Annotated Alice (the best version!) via Amazon. It's got luxuriously thick old yellow pages with beautiful original illustrations. I loooove this book!
As one of the most well regarded examples of the literary nonsense genre, Alice will always be popular with children and adults for centuries to come. It will be one of the first books I read to my children one day and hope they will read to theirs. It will continue to inspire the creativity inside us all. Literary classics never fade.
Curiouser and Curiouser!
I can recommend The Annotated Alice (the best version!) via Amazon. It's got luxuriously thick old yellow pages with beautiful original illustrations. I loooove this book!
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