The Jabberwocky poem Essay Example

The Jabberwocky poem Paper How Does Through The Looking Glass Compare To The Usual Childrens Stories Acceptable in The Victorian Era And How Lewis Carrolls Childrens Novels May Have Influenced 20th Century Authors. Through The Looking Glass was written by Lewis Carroll in 1872. The story is about a little girl called Alice, a character based on Alice Liddell, one of the daughters of the Dean of Christ Church, Oxford. The book is very different from other stories written at the time; Lewis Carroll takes his heroine, Alice, into a world of fantasy to be found behind her lounge mirror. Alice is made into a very independent little girl, making many of her own decisions and at times being quite rude. This would not have been how a child would have behaved in Victorian Society; they were seen and not heard! Once through the looking glass Alice finds herself in a world where everything is back to front: she has to walk towards the house to walk in the garden and events are felt before they happen: the White Queen puts a bandage on her finger, then screams with pain and then pricks her finger. All the animals and flowers in the book are given human characteristics and can talk. We will write a custom essay sample on The Jabberwocky poem specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Jabberwocky poem specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Jabberwocky poem specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer she spoke again, in a timid voice-almost in a whisper. And can all the flowers talk? As well as you can, said the Tiger-Lily. And a great deal louder. She also meets nursery rhyme characters such as Humpty Dumpty who is acting out his nursery rhyme exactly. Alice finds herself in a long and complicated game of chess in which she is a pawn and has to follow certain moves to become a queen and reach the end of the game; once again the chess pieces are given human characteristics. At the end of the book Alice finds that the red queen has turned into her kitten and that she is still sitting in her lounge. The whole episode has been a dream. There are no morals or messages in this book. Aesops fables are a good example of childrens stories with morals. Mainly using animals, like Lewis Carrolls given human characteristics, to act out a story with a moral ending. In The Hare and The Tortoise two animals race each other. The hare knows he is faster than the tortoise and decides to take a rest; he falls asleep and wakes up just in time to see the tortoise win. Meanwhile, the slow old tortoise had been plodding on doggedly. He passed the tree and the sleeping hare. Then he passed the winning post. The moral of this is Slow and steady can win the race. In Aesops tales animals are used to illustrate stories and the roles they play show their true way of life: In The Hare and The Tortoise the hare was fast and the tortoise slow. In Through The Looking Glass the animals take on roles that are not natural to them and are pure fantasy. Similarly in the Beatrix Potter books animals are clothed, able to speak and take on human characters as can be seen by Mrs Tiggywinkle doing the washing. Roald Dahls book The BFG written in1982 is similar to Through The Looking Glass in some ways. The heroine, a little girl called Sophie, is a normal child and has no strange or imaginary powers. Like Alice she is very independent and makes all her own decisions. Unlike Lewis Carrolls book the main characters in the stories i. e. the giants are totally imaginary and use made up words and eat made up foods. Sophie said: What do you drink? Frobscottle, announced the BFG. All giants is drinking frobscottle. They live a totally imaginary existence unlike any human being. Roald Dahl also introduces some real life characters into his book like the Queen and her staff and the Armed Forces. Like Alice, Sophie is given great influence over these people. In Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone by J. K. Rowling written in 1997 Harry looks like a normal boy and to a certain extent acts like a normal boy but, unlike Alice and Sophie, is given magical powers. Objects are given magical powers like the broomsticks. Harrys broom jumped into his hand at once, but it was one of the few that did. Mystical creatures such as dragons appear, but none of these take on human characteristics. In the nonsense verse, which was so popular at this time, especially that by Edward Lear, creatures are totally imaginary and bear no resemblance to living creatures. In The Dong With The Luminous Nose the Dong is an imaginary creature living in a totally imaginary place and all the names are made up. Landing at Eve near the Zemmery Fidd Where the oblong oysters grow. This is similar to Through The Looking Glass where Alice enters an imaginary world and also to a certain extent in Harry Potter where Harry goes through the wall at the railway station to find platform 9 3/4 and the Hogwarts Express and many of the other place settings are made up. The barrier was coming nearer and nearer-he wouldnt be able to stop-the trolley was out of control-he was a foot away-he closed his eyes ready for the crash- It didnt come.. he kept on running.. he opened his eyes. A scarlet steam engine was waiting next to a platform crowded with people. In The BFG real places are mixed with imaginary as you have the caves where the giants live but then the main parts of the story take place in London at Buckingham Palace. Lewis Carroll uses nonsense poems in his story such as The Walrus And The Carpenter where the walrus and the carpenter take all the little oysters for a walk and end up eating them! But answer came there none- And this was scarcely odd, because Theyd eaten every one! The oysters are again given human characteristics by mentioning their shoes and making them able to talk and walk on two feet. Poems do not play a big part in either The BFG or Harry Potter. The language in Through The Looking Glass is very correct. The grammar is as you would expect a Victorian book to be written. The text is quite clear and easy to follow. Lewis Carroll does use many puns throughout the book. It sounds like a horse, Alice thought to herself. And an extremely small voice, close to her ear, said, you might make a joke on that- something about horse and hoarse you know. The same can be said of Aesops Fables that are written very clearly and for a younger child, using simple words. Some of the language used by Lewis Carroll is very adult and long words are used that a child may not know the meaning of. In Aesops Fables a child could easily read and understand the text. J. K. Rowling also writes in a way that a child can understand, once again the book is very grammatical and clearly written. In some instances she uses made up words to name items, objects and animals that are imaginary and made up purely for the story. This balls called the Quaffle, said Wood. The chasers throw the Quaffle to each other and try to get it through one of the hoops to score a goal. Roald Dahl writes so a child can easily understand what the story is about. In The BFG there are a lot of made up words used by the giants and the BFG, himself, talks very ungrammatically. Is you quite snugly there in your nightie? he asked. You isnt fridgy cold? In Through The Looking Glass all of the speech by the characters is grammatical and correct. However, in the Nonsense verse included in the book Lewis Carroll makes up words, especially in the Jabberwocky poem. Twas brillig, and the slithy toves Did gyre and gimble in the wabe.