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Examples Of Satire In Alice In Wonderland

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Alice in Wonderland Societal Reading Victorian society demanded a specific role of civilians with strict expectations they always adhere to. Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, more commonly recognised by his pen name, Lewis Carroll, is one author who questioned these expectations through the use of satire within his text Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Satirizing the rule and conventions of Victorian society is one manner in which Carroll subverts the nature of this time period by drawing specific attention to the worst aspects and proving how ridiculous they truly are. Two examples of this within Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland can be found within the tea party scene in chapter 7. This chapter depicts a Mad Hatter and his friends, the dormouse and March Hare all sitting around a “large” table, “but all three were all crowded together at one corner of it”. When Alice happen upon this area, she rather quickly seats herself and begins to speak, but is spoken to by the Hare who explains “it wasn’t very civil of you [Alice] to sit down without being invited”. This is the first sign of the strange Victorian Etiquette that not only is there a specific way to approach a table and begin a conversation, but also the insignificant role children were expected to play – as silence was considered the most ‘correct’ way for them to be – especially in the presence of older company. This is reiterated as the dormouse tells his story about “three little sisters” and Alice constantly interrupts
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