The Analysis Of The Book "Alice In Wonderland" By Lewis Carroll
The idea that I have chosen for my project is based on the book Alice in Wonderland. Before doing anything I wanted to do some research into the original story and about the author. Alice in Wonderland (originally titled Alice's Adventures in Wonderland) was written by Lewis Carroll and was published 26th November 1865. At the time of publication mental health was a rather taboo topic therefore many people were seen as being 'mad' and put into an asylum. Mental health was typically seen as a "decent journey into a dark subterraneous realm".
One of the most famous lines in the film is "We're all mad here" which reflects many parts of the story. I have found that there are three main mental illnesses portrayed in the story, the first being Alice and her issues with eating. She is portrayed as to have an eating disorder which is defined as 'an unhealthy relationship with food'. This can been seen when she goes down the rabbit hole into wonderland where she finds food and drinks labelled 'eat me' and 'drink me'. When she does as the labels instructs she changes sizes rather dramatically and then she constantly feels as though she is too big or too small.
Another hint at Alice dealing with an eating disorder is seen when she eats the food as she doesn't take a small bite of the food, instead she binges on it and then regrets her decision later on; so much so that she cries a pool of tears that she has to swim through. In addition to this she drinks a potion that makes her so big she fills the room. In this part of the book it seems as though Alice relies on food to solve her problems, as many people suffering with eating disorders do.
Later on in the book Alice is talking to the caterpillar about how she is unhappy with her current size and again she wishes to be different. This causes the caterpillar to give her a mushroom that can control her size. Alice then uses this mushroom to find her ideal size through trial and error. Something to note is that all of this is happening in her own imagination and it mainly focuses on her dreams and struggled with her own body image.
Throughout the film there continues too many food references, things such cakes, custards, tarts, cookies and sweets. This is seen to represent all the food that Alice wishes that she could enjoy in real life. The Mad Hatter is a character who displays traits of borderline personality disorder (BPD) and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In the 'Mad Tea Party' scene he goes through many thoughts and feelings; he first gets annoyed with March Hare, then he calmly pours hot tea on Dormouse and then moves on to ask Alice if she has solved his riddle yet.
Furthermore Hatter gets angry at Alice because she asks too many question which then causes the story telling to take too long for Hatter's liking. He appears to have an issue with staying in the same chair for too long as he makes everyone rotate every so often. Something else to note is that the Mad Hatter's Tea Party breaks almost every etiquette rule, for example they all have their elbows on the table, Hatter pours hot water on Dormouse, they shout at each other and finally by the end of the meal their guest, Alice, hadn't had a bite to eat.
