In Lewis Carroll's novel Alice in Wonderland, much of the sequence and dialogue seems chaotic and nonsensical, leaving the reader free to interpret its meaning and the purpose. Since the entire story takes place within a dream, Carroll has the freedom to play with subconscious notions of existence, reality and, above all, social relationships. Interaction plays an important role in the progression of the novel, and Alice's prejudices and reactions demonstrate her own indoctrination about how such interaction should be carried out. She encounters several characters, each with their own relative position in the real world (or the waking world) who behave in ways disproportionate to their status, through ridiculous monologues, crazy characters and chaotic situations, Carroll uses nonsense as a vehicle to denounce the absurdity of excessive dependence on order, conformity and the institutions inherent in society. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Throughout most of the novel, Alice exposes much of the absurdity in Wonderland. At other times, however, his own reactions betray clues to his belief in the subtleties that society deems necessary to maintain in an attempt to display order in even the simplest events. On many occasions Alice is shocked by the lack of manners expressed by those whose titles assume "good manners". The two characters best known for evoking such feelings are the Queen of Hearts and the Duchess. Alice first meets the Duchess at her home, while she is breastfeeding her baby. Alice asks why the cat is smiling and the Duchess tells her dryly that all cats can smile. I don't know anyone who does, Alice says very politely (Carroll 61) and the Duchess replies rudely: You don't know much. (61) Alice is annoyed by his rudeness, more because she expected more from a Duchess than because of his rudeness. She wasn't that bothered by the waiter's impertinence since his rank implies his ineptitude in the field of courtesy. At Alice's next meeting with the Duchess, she seems much more civilized. Alice feels obligated to forgive her past offensiveness because she believes that perhaps it was only the pepper that made her so wild... (86) The reader, however, can assume more from her apparent duality. The rude behavior occurred in his home, while his kindness is highlighted when he is in the presence of the rest of society. Furthermore, it seems that fear for her life has pushed the Duchess to behave in a more civilized manner, because the Queen has just threatened her life. While Alice may not see beyond the obvious, Carroll highlights the disbelief of the Duchess' duality in such a way that the reader cannot miss it. Once Alice has had enough of the Duchess, she decides to attend the Hatter's endless tea party. Upon entering the party, the March Hare offers Alice some wine. Alice looked around the table, but there was nothing on it but tea. I don't see any wine, he observed. There is none, said the March Hare. Then it wasn't very civil of you to offer it to me, Alice said angrily. It wasn't very civil of you to sit down without being invited, said the March Hare. I didn't know it was your table, Alice said. It has been sitting for well over three years. Your hair needs to be cut, said the Hatter. He had been looking at Alice with great curiosity for a while, and this was his first speech. You shouldn't make personal comments, Alice said with some severity: it's very rude. (68)Alice is disturbed by the ease with which theThe Hatter and the March Hare confront her, and it is clear that she is not used to being spoken to that way. Furthermore, Alice is very critical of any errors of correctness made by others while she is not so concerned about her own mistakes. This seemingly senseless excerpt of exchange contains criticism of senseless but religious adherence to archaic niceties, such as those Alice fails to find at the Hatter's party. The rule of chaos rather than order scares Alice, so much so that it is the only place Alice visits and leaves saying: In any case, I will never go back there again! The other function Alice has in the narrative is that of an innocent who is shocked by what is presented to her. In these situations, she is the voice of reason, unhindered and untainted by society's cunning programming. The solemnity of the exchange between the frog footman and the liveried fish shows a profound idea of how much order is associated with even the simplest tasks, such as delivering a letter. Carroll takes particular care to express the gravity with which this is accomplished: ...he handed himself over to the other, saying in a solemn tone, For the Duchess. An invitation from the Queen to play croquet. (59) The frog valet then continues by repeating the message in reverse order, with the same solemn tone, (59) so as not to interrupt what seems like an almost ritual excursion. The senseless aspect of this particular encounter is highlighted when Alice cannot help but laugh out loud because as the two footmen bow, their curls have become entangled together. (59) Although this is a sacred matter to the frog and the fish, the reader sees beyond the conventions of social requirements and the occasion is reduced to trifles. The story of the Mock Turtle is a reference example of institutional dependence in society. When he talks about his school years, the topics he talks about are ridiculous: Staggering and Writhing, of course, for starters, replied the Mock Turtle; and then the different branches of Ambition, Distraction, Uglification and Derision of Arithmetic. (93) The apparent parallels with real educational teaching are reading and writing, and in terms of arithmetic, addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Carroll's choice of topics seems quite nonsensical, causing the reader to gloss over them, but upon closer examination, it seems that these very topics may have the greatest influence on the education that children receive in their early years. Ambition is the soul of every capitalist society, and as such, it can be assumed that instilling this virtue would be beneficial. The desire for ever-increasing profit is the result of ambition, rather than a careless use of a similar-sounding word to addition, Carroll seems to have been very particular in his choice. The use of the word distraction is a little more slippery. Distraction can refer to either a diversion, an interruption, or an obstacle. It seems very likely (in line with the previous note on ambition and capitalism) that it refers to the previous meaning. Diversion offers members of a capitalist society a way to ignore the many injustices that arise from incessant and disproportionate use of resources. It is necessary in order to function with the privilege of an undisturbed consciousness. The word ugliness is not a real word, and Carroll takes the time to explain its meaning to the reader, and very tactfully, by asking Alice to ask the Griffin a question. : You know what beautification is, I suppose? (93) asks Alice, in a way that suggests it is an easily understandable word. It is meant to imply the opposite of embellishment. This seems to be Carroll's way of explaining how institutions replaced,, 2000.
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