Through The Looking Glass
10/27/09
by Andrew

Have you ever wanted to read a great book? Well, have you? I have one just like that right here. The name of this book is Through the Looking Glass by Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, under the pen name Lewis Carroll. The protagonist of the story is a resourceful and reflective child christened Alice, who is derived from a true person named Alice Liddell. She was also a child. Through the Looking Glass was conceivably recorded for three reasons: to show the power of imagination, to show how obstinate some people are, and to tell an interesting fairy tale.

The power of imagination is shown in this book by Alice, and how she can have fun just sitting in her living room. The story begins with Alice playing with two kittens, a black one and a white one. Alice starts imagining that people could cross from one world to the next by stepping through mirrors. All of a sudden, the mirror in the living room fades to mist and she is able to step through. To find out happens in the looking glass world open the book. The idea of a looking-glass world is very imaginative and the idea of the mirror turning into mist and her stepping through it is very intriguing. Also, she includes many of the mundane things around her, from the two kittens to the chessboard, in her magical adventure. Throughout the book Alice experiences her own imagination and the depth and magic of this adventure astounds even her.

Throughout the book Alice meets and interacts with various and obstinately nonsensical characters ranging from the Red Queen to Humpty Dumpty. In fact, when Alice encountered Mr. Dumpty they had an argument about whether he was wearing a belt or a cravat, which is another for necktie. During most of the encounters, the reader is able to see how Alice feels about the person, usually in the form of Alice making a remark to herself. These remarks usually are full of good sense while Alice is being bombarded by nonsense. Many characters such as the Tweedle brothers are stubborn, obstinate and completely nonsensical. They have a battle over a rattle, all the while dressed in bundles of old clothes and such things as coal scuttles and old pots.

This book is a humorous fairy tale because of the very nature of Alice’s quest. Her whole adventure can be mapped out on a chessboard with Alice as a White Pawn. Each of the characters can be assigned a piece and Alice encounters most of them. Alice’s quest is to reach the other side of the board and become a queen. She travels across the board and the squares are mapped out by giant hedges. Also, her journey is fraught with encounters with talking food. This talking food is extremely miffed when she tries to eat it and chastises her severely, all the while calling it “bad manners.”

This book, which shows three things: the power of imagination, the confrontations between obstinate people and a sensible seven year old, and a hilarious story, is one of the classics which should be read by every child. People should read this book because of the laughter and overall nonsense paraded throughout. It is nice to have a break from stark reality, and just enjoy a story about a little girl confronted with a talking leg of mutton.