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'but I Don't Want To Go Among Mad People,' Alice Remarked. 'oh, You Can't Help That,' Said The Cat. 'we're All Mad Here.' The 'alice' Books Are Two Of The Most Translated, Most Quoted, And Best-known Books In The World, But What Exactly Are They? Apparently Delightful, Innocent Fantasies For Children, They Are Also Complex Textures Of Mathematical, Linguistic, And Philosophical Jokes. Alice's Encounters With The White Rabbit, The Cheshire-cat, The King And Queen Of Hearts, The Mad Hatter, Tweedledum And Tweedledee And Many Other Extraordinary Characters Have Made Them Masterpieces Of Carefree Nonsense, Yet They Also Appeal To Adults On A Quite Different Level. Layers Of Satire, Allusion, And Symbolism About Victorian Culture And Politics, As Well As Revelations About The Intricate Subconscious Problems Of Their Author, Add To Their Fascination And Make Them Impossible To Classify. This New Edition Explores The Phenomenal Range Of Reference, And The Paradoxical Appeal Of Two Of The Most Inventive Books In World Literature. It Also Includes An Episode Removed By Carroll From The Proofs Of Through The Looking-glass, Called 'the Wasp In A Wig'. About The Series: For Over 100 Years Oxford World's Classics Has Made Available The Widest Range Of Literature From Around The Globe. Each Affordable Volume Reflects Oxford's Commitment To Scholarship, Providing The Most Accurate Text Plus A Wealth Of Other Valuable Features, Including Expert Introductions By Leading Authorities, Helpful Notes To Clarify The Text, Up-to-date Bibliographies For Further Study, And Much More.
Alice falls down a rabbit hole into a surreal landscape where the laws of logic and physics are consistently subverted. Alice, a young girl of curious disposition, navigates a series of bizarre encounters with anthropomorphic creatures and eccentric figures. Her primary objective is to make sense of a world that operates on linguistic puns, mathematical paradoxes, and arbitrary social rules. The narrative framework follows a dream-like progression, utilizing a third-person perspective that mirrors the protagonist's own confusion and eventual adaptation to the shifting environment. She faces constant opposition from authority figures who prioritize nonsensical bureaucracy over coherent interaction.
Readers and critics frequently analyze these works as a dual-layered experience that functions simultaneously as a whimsical children's story and a dense intellectual puzzle. Discussion often centers on the author's background in mathematics and logic, which informs the structural instability of the narrative. Many observers highlight the persistent influence of the text on modern surrealism and the development of absurdist literature. The balance between the protagonist's grounded perspective and the chaotic environment remains a primary focus for those examining the book's enduring appeal. Scholars often note that the text serves as a mirror for Victorian anxieties regarding order, language, and the nature of reality itself.
Page Count:
352
Publication Date:
2009-01-01
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
ISBN-10:
0191571296
ISBN-13:
9780191571299