ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND
Lewis Carroll
The author
Lewis Carroll was a writer of the nineteenth century, especially known by his books Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the looking-Glass, where he shows his sense of absurd and lots of games of language.
He was born as Charles Lutwidge Dogson on January 27, 1832 in Daresbury, Cheshire, England, and he was the eldest son of eleven children. He was often in charge of the activities of his younger siblings and he showed a great gift for entertaining and instructing children, and it persisted throughout his life. He was a very intelligent child, and was really good in Latin and mathematics.
In 1856 he created the pseudonym “Lewis Carroll” (versions of his first and middle names in reverse order) and began to sign his literary works as it. He was a sensitive man with many interests: he was a painter, an inventor, a photographer and of course a writer. His more than 300 published work comprise poetry, mathematics, logic and children's stories.
He died in Guildford, England, on January 14, 1898.
Summary
The story begins with Alice sitting with her older sister, who was reading a book. Alice thinks there's nothing atractive in reading a book without any picture. Suddenly she sees a White Rabbit, wearing a waistcoast and a jacket and with a watch running and saying to himself “Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall to be late!” She follows the rabbit through a rabbit-hole and there begins her adventures: she eats some food that makes her grow or shrink, swims in a pool of tears with a Mouse, takes part in a race with a lof of animals, meets a Caterpillar who smokes a hookah, becomes a guets at a very special Tea-Party.... and of course meets the Queen of Hearts and hears the famous “Off with his head!”
Some of the characters
Alice
She's the main character of the book. She's a very curious and imaginative girl, she always say what she is thinking and she seems don't to be afraid of all the dangerous situations she lives in the story.
The White Rabbit
Alice follows him at the beginning of the story. He wears a waiscoast and a jacket and he is always running because he is late.
The Queen of Hearts
She is a very bad-tempered woman, fond of playing croquet and all of her subjects have to do what she wants. She has a very famous sentence: “Off with their heads!”
Review
There's so many time that I wanted to read this book, because I have seen some of the film versions, but I have never read it. And it doesn't disappoint you, it's a very funny story, with a lot of surprises and, of course, I will read the sequel Through the looking-glass.
Vocabulary
- Currant: a small dried seedless grape of the Mediterranean region, used in cooking.
- Paw: the foot of an animal that has claws or nails.
- To shiver: to shake or tremble with cold, fear,...
- Hookah: a water pipe with a long easily bent tube which the smoke is drawn through a jar of water and thus cooled.
- Knuckle: any joint of a finger, especially where a finger bends, or where a finger meets the hand.
- Grin: a broad smile.
- Riddle: a puzzling question put so as to make it difficult to answer it or discover its meaning.
- To toss: to throw.
- To twinkle: to shine with a flickering gleam of light.
- Sulky: showing sulking behaviour, moody.
- Crimson: deep purplish red.
- To rub: to put friction on (something), as in polishing or massaging.
- Lobster: a saltwater crustacean that can be eaten, having eyes on stalks, eight legs, and two large pincers.