R4P: Novels (5 and 6 of 10), Media (4, 5 and 6 of 10).
Carol, Lewis. 1984 (not og pub date). Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. New York: Bantam Books.
Carol, Lewis and Singh, M (illustrator). 2010. The Hunting of the Snark. New York: Melville House.
Alice In Wonderland (1951 Animated Film)
Alice in Wonderland (2010 Live Action Tim Burton Film)
Alice (1988 Stop Motion Film by Jan Svankmeijer)
Okay – so I fell down the rabbit hole a bit on this entry, but for good reason. Lewis Carrol’s Alice-themed works are public domain and have inspired a ton of content over the years, and I thought it would be interesting (and pleasurable) to take a crack at analyzing some of it for this class. Beginning with Carroll’s best-loved work, Alice in Wonderland and Through The Looking Glass, I re-read for the first time in years the very nonsensical story of Alice and her adventures in very surreal and deliriously zany world called Wonderland. Re-reading the book, especially Through The Looking Glass, was really an enriching experience. I haven’t read these two since my early twenties and I was surprised in two ways: there is both a lot less going on than I remember and also a lot more to the story than I recall. Let me explain: Carroll’s books have always been analyzed carefully for allusions to politics or other deeper meaning, while he always insisted that his books were exactly what they appeared to be: nonsense literature and poetry. I recall reading this book with the verve of a young man looking for deeper meanings in the text (and, I suppose I found them although I can’t recall exactly what I thought I found), and now, in my early thirties, I read the books as directed by Carroll: just as fun nonsense. So, instead of analyzing the phrase “and the mome raths outgrabe,” I just read passages like this with a sense of wonder (sorry!) at how completely unique Carrol’s creative mind was. In short, I just read these books and let the nonsense wash over me; quite a pleasant experience.
I also read an exquisitely illustrated graphic novelization of Carroll’s epic nonsense poem “The Hunting of the Snark”, which is a unique poem but has much in common with elements of Carroll’s Jabberwocky poem from the Alice books. This version contains new illustrations that are in a sort of Victorian style and borrow heavily from surrealist and Dadaist tropes. It’s a stunning work, and really makes Carroll’s poem come to life.
Finally, I went on a bit of a movie binge and consumed three different versions of Alice: The two Disney-produced films (1951’s classic animated film and Tim Burton’s 2010 live-action blockbuster), as well as lesser known stop-animation film from the 1980’s by Jan Svankmeijer. I read a bit about the Svankmeijer film on Wikipedia (link) and according to the entry Svankmeijer was compelled to create his version to fundamentally alter the retelling of the tale on film. According to him, the Disney version was told as a fairy tale, and in his opinion, this was not Carol’s intention because fairy tales generally imply a moral or educational lesson. It was through this lens that I viewed all three films, and I found Svankmeier’s assertion to be true: both Disney films carry definite moral messages, such as “make-believe is fun, but it can get out of hand and we all need to grow up and face reality” or something of that ilk. The 2010 Tim Burton film is a far cry from Carroll’s book and uses characters in the story to create and entirely new story. I don’t dislike the idea of remixing the story, but in this case, I don’t think it really worked, or necessarily built on Carroll’s original work in any meaningful way. Burton’s film felt like a Hollywood money-making machine (although the costumes and makeup were very delightful). The fact that there is this epic battle scene at the end is just meh, to use a currently used nonsense term. Then there’s Svankmeijer’s film, which is the polar opposite of the Disney films: it is surreal, “amoral” (to borrow from the Wiki entry) and more akin to a vaguely disquieting nightmare dream sequence than a moral tale (this was his intention). I think in a way it is much closer to the feelings evoked by the novels, but also creates something entirely new, which in my opinion makes for a successful adaptation.
Quantitative Reading Level: Book: Grades 6-12. ATOS: 7.4 Lexile: 320L.
Qualitative Reading Analysis: This is a tricky title, which is sort of funny because this was definitely a book intended for children. The ATOS suggests the book has a vocabulary which might be difficult for younger readers, but it is hard to ignore Carroll’s intention here, and some of the most difficult language is most likely nonsense anyway. I suspect that there is something for all age groups here: obviously 6th graders could read this book, but they will get something entirely different than most high school seniors. As for the films and appropriateness: Commonsensemedia says 4-year olds can handle the animated Disney film (agree), while 10 year olds are the youngest audience for the Burton film (I also agree here). The Svenkmeijer film is really only suitable for upper high school grades: simply put, it is a little too dark for some, and frankly sort of weird.
Content Area: English Language Arts
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.2
Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.3
Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.
I think a great excersize could be analyzing some of Carroll’s ‘nonsense verse’ – like The Jabberwocky. Below is a 10/11 English lesson plan based on the poem.
Supporting Digital Content: http://dlc6.lled.educ.ubc.ca/sites/default/files/Lesson%20Plan%20-%20Jabberwocky%20by%20Lewis%20Carroll.pdf
Subject/Themes: Nonsense, Mome Raths, Bandersnatches, White Rabbits, Mushrooms.
