Alice in Wonderland
The combination of various elements in comedy portrays how universal truths apply to everyone in life. Universal truths depicted in stories are usually situational irony. Lewis Carrol creates humor through the use of puns, parody, and literary nonsense. Even though Alice’s adventures may seem nonsensical, Carrol uses them to illustrate some of the universal truths. Moreover, he draws an illustration of the real world by constructing a realm that is, in itself, fun and humor. He makes his stories function as a comedy so as to make hem memorable. By using humor, Carrol illustrates his truths, while the readers are still indulged in the story to keep a light mood. The author creates humor for effect and uses it to depict a universal truth. The comedy in Alice in Wonderland conveys a universal truth about childhood through adolescence. It describes this by showing how Alice learns from her experiences as she develops.
The humorous dialogues Carrol makes through his characters communicate the universal truths in real life. For instance, as Alice continues to daydream, she loses her sense of identity. A caterpillar in her dream asks her, “Who are you,” and she can merely stammer out a reply. It is humorous how Alice is unable to answer the caterpillar ( Jacques, 2016). Yet, Carroll exposes the aspect of self-identity during their development. Alice has to find out who she is by herself in the story. Likewise, in real life, children have to figure out things on their own. Additionally, the use of exaggerated characters that are believed in the portrayal of people in real life shows the truths in human life. The nature of the journey of self-discovery is demonstrated as the caterpillar lets Alice find herself on her own.
Also, the comedy illustrates a young child’s mind during growth. Through her curiosity, Alice eats a cake labeled eat me and later drinks a juice labeled drink me. The comedy Carrol uses to illustrate her struggle as she scuffles to retain her standard size, paints a bigger picture of the curiosity of every child’s mind. The quest for knowledge by the human brain is always insatiable. Carrol shows the universal truth of the nature of the human brain. As Carrol communicates through humor, he makes his stories interesting and grapples the audience’s attention, making them believe. Carrol represents the progression of Alice with the help of exaggeration as she daydreams. He uses comedy for the effect of attracting his audience and correlates his story to the actual progression of children through childhood.
Universal truths apply to everyone regardless of time and place. The adventures of Alice depict a part of most children’s lives during growth. Also, Carrol creates humor by the creative exaggeration of the progression of his events. Through Alice’s adventures, he takes his audience as she daydreams and uses comedy to demonstrate how a child’s mind progresses in the stages of growth. Carrol uses the actions of his characters and their actions to build a fairy-tale that bring the deeper meaning of his story. Just like everyone else, Alice conforms to the pressures of life as she gets into trouble. Throughout most of the story, Carrol depicts the juvenile nature of children as they develop through Alice’s child-like thinking. The confusing situations Carrol creates by using comedy, draws the attention of his audience.
Reference
Jaques, Z., & Giddens, E. (2016). Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass: A Publishing History. Routledge.