Perception of reality. Comparison essay on Alice in Wonderland, Waiting for Godot, Screwtape Letters
Each of the three authors, Lewis Carroll, Samuel Beckett, and C.S. Lewis are able to create their own perception of reality through the manipulation of characters and use of literary devices. However, reality is an individual concept and thus each author has a distinct perception of it that becomes apparent in his writing: in Carroll 's Alice 's Adventure in Wonderland, Alice goes beyond the boundaries of reality into a dream world, only to discover the fantasy is actually the reality of the adult world; Beckett, through Vladimir and Estragon present the readers with the idea of existentialism in Waiting for Godot; and finally in The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis uses the vantage point of a demon, Screwtape, in order to show the human condition.
To begin with the obvious, each character is not only physically, but mentally different in each piece, which enables the author his characters as instruments to illustrate his key idea. The protagonist in Alice 's Adventure in Wonderland is a young, innocent, Victorian girl named Alice. Like many children, she is has an active imagination that leads her past the realms of reality into a "wonderland", that ultimately becomes her reality of the adult world. She is not yet tainted by the evils of the adult world and can still see a more beautiful world that exists outside of her environment. Her nativity leads her to believe she is in the perfect world. However, Alice still cannot allow herself be totally free as she still tries to maintain her Victorian manners. "Come, there 's no use in crying like that!" said Alice to herself, rather sharply. "I advise you leave off this minute!" In a situation that would normally render a child to cry for help even though no one is there, she on the other hand becomes her own mother and scolds herself. She even finds it decidedly uncivil for the Footman to stare "stupidly up in the sky" when speaking to her. In Wonderland, there is no need for conformity and Alice is under no pressure to
To begin with the obvious, each character is not only physically, but mentally different in each piece, which enables the author his characters as instruments to illustrate his key idea. The protagonist in Alice 's Adventure in Wonderland is a young, innocent, Victorian girl named Alice. Like many children, she is has an active imagination that leads her past the realms of reality into a "wonderland", that ultimately becomes her reality of the adult world. She is not yet tainted by the evils of the adult world and can still see a more beautiful world that exists outside of her environment. Her nativity leads her to believe she is in the perfect world. However, Alice still cannot allow herself be totally free as she still tries to maintain her Victorian manners. "Come, there 's no use in crying like that!" said Alice to herself, rather sharply. "I advise you leave off this minute!" In a situation that would normally render a child to cry for help even though no one is there, she on the other hand becomes her own mother and scolds herself. She even finds it decidedly uncivil for the Footman to stare "stupidly up in the sky" when speaking to her. In Wonderland, there is no need for conformity and Alice is under no pressure to
Bibliography: 1.Baldick, Chris. Oxford Concise Dictionary of Literary Terms. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1990. 2.Beckett, Samuel. Waiting for Godot. New York: Grove Press Inc, 1954. 3.Carroll, Lewis. Alice 's Adventure in Wonderland. London: Chancellor Press, 1907. 4.Fletcher, Beryl S., et. Al. A Student 's Guide to the Plays of Samuel Beckett. Great Britain: Faber & Faber, 1978. 5.Lewis, C.S. The Screwtape Letters. New York: C.S. Lewis Pte. Ltd., 1942. 6.Lyons, Charles R. Samuel Beckett. New York: Grove Press Inc, 1983. 7.www.gradesaver.com/ClassicNotes/Titles/wonderland/links.html. Date visited: November 27th, 2001