Charles Dodgson Research Paper

Charles Dodgson, commonly known as Lewis Carroll, spent his childhood fascinating his siblings. As he matured, he became an academic and a man of the church. As a man he still spent time with children because he found comfort in their understanding. By looking at Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, one can see that Lewis Carroll included the themes of discovering one’s true identity and defining blurred lines between fantasy and reality because he was an individual whose personality allowed him to identify with the wit and wonder that takes place in a child's mind. Lewis Carroll was born on January 27, 1832, in Daresbury, England. He had 10 siblings and was the third oldest. Lewis Carroll is a pseudonym for Charles Lutwidge Dodgson. He came

He was an avid photographer whose subject was most often people, or children. Dodgson found it easy to be around children, in fact, he didn’t stammer when he was around them (brittannica.com). Before writing his novels, he wrote mathematical literature such as, An Elementary Treatise on Determinants, Euclid and His Modern Rivals, and Curiosa Mathematica. He loved photographing, being friends with, writing for, and speaking with children (bio.com). One child had a large impact on Dodgson, and her name was Alice Liddell, the dean of Oxford’s daughter. Dodgson spent a lot of time going on picnics and walks with the Liddell girls and their governess. One of these special outings, unbeknownst to anyone, would give birth to the classic children’s tale Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. As he spun a tale of extraordinary happenings, using Alice’s name for that of the main character, she demanded it be written down and given to her. He complied to her request. What Lewis Carroll gave to that young girl would become a best seller classic. After his years of fame, at age 66 he came down with the flu that manifested into pneumonia which proved to be fatal. His loyal following has remained for years. In 1932, an informal group of admirers raised $800,000 to donate to the Lewis Carroll Children’s Ward at St. Mary’s Hospital in London (smithsonianmag.com). According to the Smithsonian Magazine, Carroll had a

As Alice’s imagination begins to wander, she sees a white rabbit that is wearing a waistcoat, and finding this to be much more eventful that the book she gets up to follow him. As she trails the rabbit she stumbles down a hole. Naturally, she is frightened and concerned, but she begins to realize that she is not so much falling as she is floating which replaces the freight with befuddlement. Also odd, the hole is not like a hole, it more resembles a tunnel that goes straight up and down and its walls are lined with cupboards and bookshelves and Alice is calm. When she finally lands, she follows the rabbit once more to a room with many doors and after snacking on some cakes and beverages that were left on the table, Alice begins to shrink and stretch and will simply not fit through any of the doors. Being a very logical seven year old girl, Alice tries to make sense of everything but out of uncertainty and frustration she asks, “Who in the world am I?”, and eventually she is just swimming in a pool of her own