Jacob Liguez
English IV- 4
November 17, 2010
Research Paper
Lewis Carrolls Alices Adventures in Wonderland
Famously known for his childrens books such as Alices Adventures in Wonderland,
Lewis Carroll is considered one of the best authors of his time with his unique writing
structure and amazing stories. Chelsea House Publishers say, “Lewis Carroll is popularly
considered the greatest of English nonsense writers.”€ (Bloom) and this should live on
forever. Many people wonder if his piece Alices Adventures in Wonderland has real
meaning to it. Many people want to know if its influenced literature in todays society and
if so in which ways.
Lewis Carroll was born January 27, 1832 in Cheshire, England. He was born as
Charles Dodgson but his pen name is Lewis Carroll. The reason for creating a pen name
was to “keep his two professional lives separate.”€ (Moss). He was a writer and a
professor. He was the “eldest of eleven children”€ (Carroll) with four boys and seven girls.
Pretty big family if you ask me. Growing up, he didnt go to school until he reached twelve
years old and was sent to Rutland, a nearby school. When he was 14, he then went to
Rugby and earned excellent grades in classical languages and mathematics. There wasnt
much excitement in his life up until he reached eighteen years of age.
“At 18, Carroll entered college at Christ Church College, Oxford University”€ (Lewis).
He went to school to become a mathematics teacher and earned his bachelors and masters
degrees. Once he reached these degrees, he then began teaching mathematics at Oxford
where he had received his schooling. Carroll taught at Oxford for most of his life. He
really didnt want to do anything other than teach.
While he was growing up, he always enjoyed making up games for his younger
brothers and sisters. He loved being around his younger siblings and making them enjoy
their youth. As an adult, he would put small parties together for the younger children he
knew. The children were the main purpose for why he started writing his stories. He began
writing them in short sequences but as other authors read them, they persuaded Carroll to
publish them all as one story which became Alices Adventures in Wonderland. It was
published in 1865. He got ideas for his story from all around him. His main character Alice
came from a young girl named Alice Liddell. He met her while trying to photograph the
