British LiteratureLewis Carroll (1832 – 1898)

Born in a small villageFavorite pastime: to construct mazes and set up puppet shows.Undergraduation: MathematicsOccupation: a reclusive professor at Oxford.

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.Through the Looking Glass.

CURIOSITIESCURIOSITIES

Both novels can be seen mixed. The narratives are intertwined

nowadays.

He wrote magazines containing

poems, stories, and drawings at

young age to entertain his brothers

and sisters.

It is believed that Alice in Wonderland

had its root on a real life event that

happened on a boating-party.

MOST NOTABLE BOOKSMOST NOTABLE BOOKS

Alice’s Adventures in WonderlandBruno’s Revenge and other

StoriesOriginal Games and Puzzles

The Hunting of the SnarkSilvie and Bruno

Through the Looking GlassWhat the Tortoise Said to AchillesAlice’s Adventures Underground

The Game of LogicSymbolic LogicA Tangled Tale

MOST NOTABLE POEMSMOST NOTABLE POEMS

A Sea DirgeUpon the Lonely Moor

The Walrus and the CarpenterPhantasmagoria

JabberwockyThe Hunting of the Snark

Through the Looking GlassThrough the Looking Glass{a brief overview}{a brief overview}

It is composed by odd humor and punsIt is composed by odd humor and puns

It has mathematical puzzles hidden under the nonsensical sufarceIt has mathematical puzzles hidden under the nonsensical sufarce

After entering the mirror world

Alice is transformed into

a pawn.Queen Alice.

The goal is to become queen and win the game

But what is the great metaphor in this process?

In our real World we may affirm that speed is the ratio of distance to time

In Alice’s world we may say that speed is the ratio of time to distance

WHY?

Some necessary elements to Some necessary elements to understand Carroll’s thoughts understand Carroll’s thoughts

presented in his narrativespresented in his narrativesIdentity and logical paradoxes

The meaning of the words

The ratio between speed and acceleration

Cosmic decrease and expansion

Reality versus imaginary

Nonsense humor

Changes in our concept about Changes in our concept about ChildhoodChildhood

The concept about childhood was invented in the

18th century.

Children didn’t appear in literary works.

Even when they appeared, this work was for adults.

Most of the tales “for children” in opposition to

“about children” were adult stories with a degree of

adaptation and a certain sense of morality.

In Wonderland, both the laws of nature and society’s laws are disrupted: time and space behave unpredictably, animals talk and

anything can happen during a chess match or while having tea. The sense of threat to a child in an adult world is evoked through fantasy.

4 elements to pay attention while reading Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

A child can grow or shrink, usually as a result of drinking or eating

something, just as children are told to do.

The characters are often rude, aggressive or frustrated, such as

adults can be. Power and perversity prevail over justice, reflecting the

arbitrary nature of power exercised by adults on children.

The animals have human characteristics, sometimes

they are exaggerated or distorted, but always

functioning as substitutes for adults.

The time on the clock means nothing, what reflects the regimented world of adults with

their regulations and senseless schemes through a child’s perspective.