Marion J. Ruiz
Professor Selina Youngren
English 353
15 September 2013
Alice and Dorothy: Adolescents
In the two tales of Carroll’s Alice’s Adventure’s in Wonderland and L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz there are some commonalities. Both young ladies are living a boring humdrum life on a farm. Their lives are lacking excitement and adventure. It is interesting that Dorothy’s world is dull and lacking in vibrancy and Alice felt the same way while sitting under a tree while her sister read a boring picture less book. Both ladies end up running off to where they are not supposed to go. Eventually leading to their fantasy destination. Both going down the rabbit’s hole and getting sucked into the tornadoes “hole,” are to me symbolisms for big life changes of the unknown.
The young ladies arrive in two similar, vibrant, colorful lands. Both mystical with anthropomorphic characters, Baum and Carroll used talking animals in their stories and, “put them to use in a purposeful distortion of reality,” (Bruke, Copenhaver 206). They are faced with many difficult challenges that seem far too complex for an adolescent to endure. At first both characters are confused and scared of their new surroundings and along their adventures, they encounter some frightening events. At times they enjoy their new explorations and at other times they wish they were home in the comforts of their regular boring world. The characters in both stories seem to be there to help Alice and Dorothy grow into their identity as young women. In Alice’s world, the characters seem to lack empathy, leaving Alice to think and make decisions for herself. She eventually proves that she can achieve great things on her own. Most of the characters seem to be consumed with fear over the Queen’s chronic threats of beheading. In both tales, the characters are all dealing with their own problems. The Munchkins look up to Dorothy in hopes she will kill the wicked witch and save them, the Scare Crow feels he is too dumb to help with any planning, the Cowardly Lion is too scared to protect Dorothy, and the Tin Man feels he is too heartless to be of any comfort. Dorothy finds herself having to wise up and encourage them all in order to save herself and Toto too.
It is refreshing when the dynamic characters, (Russell 43) Alice and Dorothy find their voices and stand their ground to the antagonist, (Russell 43) characters in these stories. The evil Wicked Witch and the mean-spirited Queen in both tales are surprised when the young ladies are able to overcome their fear and find the courage to overpower them. The Wicked Witch of the North was so surprised by Dorothy’s accomplishments; she reacts by saying, “My world, my world... How can such a good little girl like you destroy all of my beautiful wickedness,” (GoodReads). Proving that Dorothy is not such a “little girl” anymore. Alice’s bravery and growth could be seen at the end of the story when she finds the Queen’s decision to have the sentence first and verdict afterwards in court unjust and she finally takes a stand to help save the innocent,
“‘Stuff and nonsense!’ said Alice loudly. ‘The idea of having the sentence first!’ ‘Hold your tongue!’ said the Queen, turning purple. ‘I won’t!’ said Alice. ‘Off with her head!’ the Queen shouted at the top of her voice. Nobody moved. ‘Who cares for you?’ said Alice, (she had grown to her full size by this time.) ‘You’re nothing but a pack of cards!’’ (Carroll 87).
Both characters “wake” up from their dreams and are happy to be safe in their ordinary worlds with a more mature outlook on life.
Works Cited
Russell, David L. Literature for Children: A Short Introduction. Boston: Pearson, 2009. Print.
Bruke, Carolyn L., and Joby G. Copenhaver. "Animals As People In Children's Literature." Language Arts 81.3 (2004): 205. ERIC. Web. 17 Sept. 2013.
Caroll, Lewis. Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland. The Millennium Fulcrum Edition 3.0,
2013. Kindle.
GoodReads. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Quotes, 2013. Web.
Professor Selina Youngren
English 353
15 September 2013
Alice and Dorothy: Adolescents
In the two tales of Carroll’s Alice’s Adventure’s in Wonderland and L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz there are some commonalities. Both young ladies are living a boring humdrum life on a farm. Their lives are lacking excitement and adventure. It is interesting that Dorothy’s world is dull and lacking in vibrancy and Alice felt the same way while sitting under a tree while her sister read a boring picture less book. Both ladies end up running off to where they are not supposed to go. Eventually leading to their fantasy destination. Both going down the rabbit’s hole and getting sucked into the tornadoes “hole,” are to me symbolisms for big life changes of the unknown.
The young ladies arrive in two similar, vibrant, colorful lands. Both mystical with anthropomorphic characters, Baum and Carroll used talking animals in their stories and, “put them to use in a purposeful distortion of reality,” (Bruke, Copenhaver 206). They are faced with many difficult challenges that seem far too complex for an adolescent to endure. At first both characters are confused and scared of their new surroundings and along their adventures, they encounter some frightening events. At times they enjoy their new explorations and at other times they wish they were home in the comforts of their regular boring world. The characters in both stories seem to be there to help Alice and Dorothy grow into their identity as young women. In Alice’s world, the characters seem to lack empathy, leaving Alice to think and make decisions for herself. She eventually proves that she can achieve great things on her own. Most of the characters seem to be consumed with fear over the Queen’s chronic threats of beheading. In both tales, the characters are all dealing with their own problems. The Munchkins look up to Dorothy in hopes she will kill the wicked witch and save them, the Scare Crow feels he is too dumb to help with any planning, the Cowardly Lion is too scared to protect Dorothy, and the Tin Man feels he is too heartless to be of any comfort. Dorothy finds herself having to wise up and encourage them all in order to save herself and Toto too.
It is refreshing when the dynamic characters, (Russell 43) Alice and Dorothy find their voices and stand their ground to the antagonist, (Russell 43) characters in these stories. The evil Wicked Witch and the mean-spirited Queen in both tales are surprised when the young ladies are able to overcome their fear and find the courage to overpower them. The Wicked Witch of the North was so surprised by Dorothy’s accomplishments; she reacts by saying, “My world, my world... How can such a good little girl like you destroy all of my beautiful wickedness,” (GoodReads). Proving that Dorothy is not such a “little girl” anymore. Alice’s bravery and growth could be seen at the end of the story when she finds the Queen’s decision to have the sentence first and verdict afterwards in court unjust and she finally takes a stand to help save the innocent,
“‘Stuff and nonsense!’ said Alice loudly. ‘The idea of having the sentence first!’ ‘Hold your tongue!’ said the Queen, turning purple. ‘I won’t!’ said Alice. ‘Off with her head!’ the Queen shouted at the top of her voice. Nobody moved. ‘Who cares for you?’ said Alice, (she had grown to her full size by this time.) ‘You’re nothing but a pack of cards!’’ (Carroll 87).
Both characters “wake” up from their dreams and are happy to be safe in their ordinary worlds with a more mature outlook on life.
Works Cited
Russell, David L. Literature for Children: A Short Introduction. Boston: Pearson, 2009. Print.
Bruke, Carolyn L., and Joby G. Copenhaver. "Animals As People In Children's Literature." Language Arts 81.3 (2004): 205. ERIC. Web. 17 Sept. 2013.
Caroll, Lewis. Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland. The Millennium Fulcrum Edition 3.0,
2013. Kindle.
GoodReads. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Quotes, 2013. Web.