Classics and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
Written By Lewis Carroll, 1865
Alice went on, Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?
That depends a great deal on where you want to go, said the cat.
Lewis Carroll, whose real name was Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, was born in 1832. Before he was a writer, he was a church official and a mathematician. He changed his name to Lewis Carroll when he began writing.
In 1856 Carroll met Alice Liddell, the four-year-old daughter of a church official. During the next few years Carroll often made up stories for Alice. In July 1862, while on a picnic with the Liddell family, Carroll made up the story of the adventures of a little girl who fell into a rabbit hole. Alice asked him to write the story down for her. He did, and he gave the story the title Alice's Adventures Under Ground. After several revisions, this work was published in 1865 as Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
Today, we still know about this novel that is almost 150 years old. Kids still read the book (maybe for their reading class), and there are now 16 movies based on the story! The 2010 film just won Academy Awards for Best Art Direction and Costume Design.
We are now going to focus on an important opening scene from the book, the one in which Alice falls down a rabbit hole. We will (1) read the scene from the novel, (2) watch the scene from a 1951 Disney film, and then (3) watch the same scene from the 2010 Academy Award-winning film. As you read and watch this scene, try to determine what is classic about it. Why does this story continue to be interesting to people? Why does it still matter?
I think Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is considered classic because ______
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1) Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (1865)
After Alice falls down a rabbit hole, she has many adventures with magical creatures and people. They help her learn about the world!
2) The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain (1876)
Tom Sawyer and his best friend Huckleberry Finn witness a midnight murder, run away to an island in the river, and become lost in local caves in this adventure story.
*The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn follows Tom Sawyer
3) The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway (1952)
Santiago, an old Cuban fisherman, has not caught a fish in many weeks, but this day will be different. A story about Santiago and the catch of his life!
4) Animal Farm by George Orwell (1945)
This is a story about animals taking control of a farm from humans. It is a fable and is also largely read as a commentary about communist Russia.
5) The Black Stallion by Walter Farley (1941)
A young man named Alec purchases a prized stallion and must learn to control, train, and care for his powerful horse.
6) Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie (1904)
Peter Pan is a boy with magical powers who refuses to grow up and become a man. He lives his adventurous and fantasy life on an island called Neverland.
7) Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (1931)
Jane grows up in an orphanage, but then becomes a governess to a wealthy man’s family. She falls in love with Mr. Rochester, her boss, but soon learns his terrible family secret.
8) 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne (1870)
This is the adventure story of Captain Nemo traveling in his submarine through the seas of the world to find a horrible sea monster.
9) A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith (1943)
Francie Nolan and her family live in a poor neighborhood in Brooklyn, and this story is about Francie growing up in very hard times with her family and friends.
10) Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (1868)
The four March sisters live with their mother (their father is often away due to the Civil War) in Massachusetts, and have many interactions with their neighbors and friends. There is a death in the family and an engagement by the end!