Book review of Alice Adventure

“Would you tell me please, which way I ought to go from here?"

   "That's depends a good deal on where you want to get to."

   I would like to start my book review with this conversation, which is so philosophical and may be it can bring me back to my childhood can find the truth path which can lead me to the destination that I indeed expect to.

   To be honest, when I read the book for the first time with impatience just for the completion of my homework, I thought this book was absurd , ridiculous as well as unreliable, for there was total no logic in the narration of the author. However, when I read over, I amazedly found something unusual between the lines.

   Alice Adventure in Wonderland was written by Charles Lutwidge Dodgson with his pen name as Lewis Carroll. Its first edition was published by Macmillan Publishers on November 26th, 1865 in England, the illustrator John Tenniel illustrated for which. Third person is used to narrate the story about Alice’s adventure with the author playing a part as a narrator. It is have something to do with the setting.

   It was a summer day in 1862, when Carroll took three girls of his neighbor to go boating at the Thames, and he made up a story of a wonderland as they had tea for a rest. Making the youngest of the three, Alice, as the model of the heroine, the fancy story is about a miraculous experience of Alice in the wonderland, as the title of the book. In response of the requirement from Alice, Carroll wrote the story down and illustrated for it in person. Not before long, a novelist named Henry Kingskly discovered the manuscript. Being overwhelmed with the admiration for the wonderful imagination of Carroll, he encouraged Carroll to polish the essay further and the story was eventually published in 1865 with the name as Alice Adventure in Wonderland. And in 1871 the companion book Alice Adventure in Mirror was also available to our readers.

   It seems that the fairy tale is so ridiculous, but in face, it is a mirror which has reflected the middle of 19th century of England when the author lived. The restriction of various of manners builds an atmosphere of dullness, which had been expressed in the story as a stodgy world in wonderland. In addition, the behavior such as continuous recitation of texts of Alice implies the setting of the pedantic education institution. The corruption of Victorian court also promotes the plot which we can read in the final chapter about the trial of Duchess. So we can see many of the plots of the story actually are irony of the society.

   As a fairy tail, Alice Adventure in Wonderland is different from those contemporary which are full of pretentious moralism. However, as a mathematician, Carroll used some concepts to uncover the relativity and the complexity of the world. For example, one side of the same mushroom can expand the girl while the other side contract her, which implies the variety of the world. Beside, compared with other common fairy tale, the talent author used a lot of logic, word games and imitative poets although it seems illogical apparently. Another shininess is that the language of the work is in the style of Britain’s humor, which is so relaxing and meaningful. The plots are also entertaining and even the plot of beheading is amusing because of its seemingly ridiculous narration, which is unlike the Green’s Fairy Tales and Andersen’s Fairy Tales which hided the terror behind the lines and followed the same pattern that praising kindness and criticizing evil simply or describing the happy ending of the prince and the princess.

   The book is divided into twelve chapters. In Chapter one, Alice saw a rabbit and following the rabbit, she fell into a seemingly bottomless hole. Then she arrived at a hall in the wonderland. There was a table with three legs in the hall. In order to go through a small “door” whose key was on the very table, she drank some liquid in a bottom and smoothly shrank. However, this prevented her from reaching the table and she began to cry.

   In Chapter two, Alice expanded and shrank again for she ate other things. Unfortunately, she found she was nearly drowned by her tear after her contraction. Besides, she met with a mouse and a group of other animals, with whom Alice swam to the shore.

   In Chapter three, Alice and the mouse as well as those animals gather on the shore, telling some lengthy and confusing stories and held a race which was strange in Alice’s eyes.

   In Chapter four, Alice met the very rabbit, he commanded Alice his home to bring gloves and a fans to him. But naughty Alice caught the sight of a bottom on a table in the rabbit’s house and drunk it. She became bigger and bigger and burst the house. Finally, she ate some dessert to become small then she fled into a wood quickly.

   In Chapter five, Alice met a caterpillar and a dove in the wood, and she obtained a mushroom which can change her to any length she liked.

   In Chapter six, Alice enter the house of the Duchess. There was a cauldron full of soup with much pepper, which made everyone in the house sneeze continuously. She also made friends with a Cheshire cat who can grin.

   In Chapter seven, Alice had a afternoon tea party with the March Hare, the Hatter and a Dormouse, which she thought was the most stupid tea party she had ever joined.

   In Chapter eight to ten, Alice entered the garden which she eager to enter since the beginning of the story. In the garden, she met the Queen’s croquet game and joined them, listen to the Mock Turtle about his story and joined the Lobster in their quadrille.

   In final two Chapter, Alice joined a trial about a theft case. The Queen and the King insisted that the Knave of Hearts had stolen tarts and Alice also provided her evidence. At the end of the story, Alice found her adventure was totally a dream.

   Having finished the book, what impressed me most is the relaxing atmosphere the author built with his incredible story. I appreciate the book and am willing to recommend it to you. The book inspires me that when growing up, we gain something and lose something, however, what we should not abundant is our childishness. You may think it is hard to preserve our childhood, for it on earth will pass. I think so before I read the book. However, now, I realize that keep imagining regardless of other’s teasing is the best way to keep childishness. We can create a wonderland in our heart where many fancy ideas can develop. Our childishness will give us the truest thought about our choices and destination.

    Just like the author said in the book, the way we ought to go from depends on where you want to go to. Just hold your innocence and follow your heart to find something you are eager for. And remember, to keep your imagination, too.

2016-05-02

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