If the worlds in the books are somewhat surreal it surely comes from Dodgson having a vivid imagination and an ability to make nonsense worlds alive. Lewis Carroll describes the fall into the rabbit-hole as very long and he mentions bookshelves on the sides of the hole. Historical Context of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland Carroll was inspired to write Alice in Wonderland after a particular boat trip in Oxford with his young friend Alice Liddell, the daughter of Henry Liddell, whom he taught and inspired with his storytelling. Chapter 5: Advice from a Caterpillar. Read a Plot Overview of the entire book or a chapter by chapter Summary and Analysis. They say the fifth chapter with the smoking Blue Caterpillar is about drugs. Her feelings are very shaken from her adventures and she cries quite often when it’s impossible to obey the rules of the Wonderland — or is it adulthood? These theories are, of course, merely speculations and it would be quite rude to suggest even madder parallells, which isn’t at all difficult with a childrens’ story of this kind. Millions of books are just a click away on BN.com and through our FREE NOOK reading apps. Dodgson lost contact with Alice Liddell in 1868, a few years before the publishing of the sequel. The underlying story, the one about a girl maturing away from home in what seems to be a world ruled by chaos and nonsense, is quite a frightening one. Purposeful parodies and references. The theme with Alice growing and shrinking into different sizes could reflect the ups and downs of adolescence with young people sometimes feeling adult and sometimes quite the opposite. The very last poem in the sequel begins its lines with letters that make up “Alice Pleasance Liddell” — her complete name. In the introductory poem to the tale, there are clear indications to the three, there named Prima, Secunda and Tertia — Latin for first, second and third respectively in feminized forms. and The Queen of Hearts. The theme with Alice growing and shrinking into different sizes could reflect the ups and downs of adolescence with young people sometimes feeling adult and sometimes quite the opposite. “Everything is so out-of-the-way down here”, as Alice often repeats to herself. I’ve tried to show some different interpretations and keep the whole project as objective as possible. It is very difficult to decide on or write a conclusion to a project concerning so intricate subjects as this. It is important to bear in mind that Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, however special it may seem and however many different interpretations one thinks one can find, is, after all, but a story written to entertain Charles Dodgson’s favourite child-friends. It appears to be Dodgson’s own thoughts about the girl growing up expressed through one of Alice’s sisters. Alice doesn’t like the animals in Wonderland who treat her as a child, but sometimes she gets daunted by the responsibility she has to take. The well is so deep that Alice got bored from falling. Is it that everyone alive is mad being alive, or everyone dreaming him- or herself away is mad due to the escape from reality? Summary & Analysis. Considering the fact, that the first manuscript was called Alice’s Adventures Underground, and that some — at least the Swedish — translation of the title is a bit ambiguous, it becomes more apparent, that the world Alice enters isn’t just any childrens’ playground, but a somewhat frightening and dangerous place for maturing. Alice in wonderland is based on drugs. She hasn’t got any help at all from home or the world outside of Wonderland. (Former source of this article) Fascinated by the sight, she follows the rabbit down the hole. Chapter 7: A Mad Tea Party. Continue your study of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland with these useful links. Some people have gone very far in their claims that Lewis Carroll wrote the stories while influenced by opium. One of the few certain things are that Charles Lutwidge Dodgson really loved children and dedicated his works for them. It is fairly obvious that the visions of the stories derive from the genious of a man, and not from drug influence. Maatta, Jerry. The Cheshire Cat, Alice in Wonderland is a novel by Lewis Carroll that was first published in 1865. The subject is vast and there could probably be years spent on it without reaching a definitive answer, and therefore I suggest people use their own imagination, common sense and logic when discussing the book Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. SparkNotes is brought to you by Barnes & Noble. The quote “Everyone in Wonderland is mad, otherwise they wouldn’t be down here” told by the Cheshire Cat can be given an existential meaning. Chapter 3: A Caucus Race and a Long Tale. Chapter 6: Pig and Pepper. Perhaps the first story is more like a description of a young friend growing up and disappearing out of one’s life by becoming an adult, and as such, out of Dodgson’s reach.