April 24th, 2009
I Heart… Alice in Wonderland
I’ve always loved the Alice stories ever since I was little. I remember having an Alice in Wonderland backpack – the kind that came with markers and you could colour on it like a colouring book. It was my pride and joy. Of course, I was first exposed to the Disney movie of Alice in Wonderland; but in about grade 4 or 5, I found that there was actually a book (and two at that) about Alice. Imagine my delight!
There’s something enchanting about the Alice stories for me, and no matter how many times I’ve read them, I always find great joy in them. In my most recent reread, I borrowed the Annotated Alice from the library, and followed along with all the math and physics theories, background information about manners of the Victorian period, and other miscellaneous information about different aspects of the story that were pointed out in the margins of the page. That’s something that I love about these two books, that no matter how many times you read them, there’s always new details you pick up on (of course, this is normally true of any good book), whether little quirks about the characters, understanding a deeper meaning to one of the numerous rhymes, or picking up on one of many ways in which Carroll mocks aspects of Victorian society.
These stories were such a huge part of my child hood – reading the books, watching the Disney film, playing “Wonderland” in the backyard with my brother – and because of that, they’ll always hold a huge place in my heart. The books definitely hold sentimental value for me, so much so, that I was almost hurt that some of the students in my Fantasy Lit. class so strongly opposed to the books.i It kind of made me wonder if perhaps the reason why I love the books so much is because they do hold that emotional attachment for me. Would I like them so much now if I hadn’t read them when I was younger? One of the main criticisms was that the Alice books were too farfetched for them. Yes, the plot-lines wander about haphazardly and in no seemingly logical order, but I think that’s part of the books’ charm. Their spontaneity and (going to do a little word invention here) “randomosity” capture the essence of childhood, and I think that’s one of the key points Carroll is trying to make in the Alice books: that the imagination is limitless and has no boundaries, much like how a child sees the world.
And now that I’ve gabbledii, an ode to one of my favourite books of all-time…
- Both of the Alice books were on the syllabus. (»)
- Gushed + babbled. That’s right, I can invent portmanteaus, too. Watch out, Lewis Carroll! (»)
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