An analytical response to comparing the original novel with a modern day text: ‘Alice in Wonderland’ - the movie

Since the literary recognition of ‘Lewis Carroll’, many adaptations of his novels both in prose and on screen have been created. The film ‘Alice in Wonderland’, directed and produced by American director Tim Burton, is a popular and recent appropriation of Lewis Carroll’s ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’. The characters, themes and values remain true to the original 18th century text, however several plot events and contextual elements of the novel are transformed in order to appeal to the 20th century audience - a genre exploring issues of heartbreak, rebellion and growth in a captivating way. Morally different ideas are introduced into the modern appropriation and in the same way, several core ideas pertaining to the 18th century lifestyle are lost. The modern interpretation in essence addresses modern day values through the use of the “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” world, whilst retaining the plot line of the original text and presenting the story in a new textual form: film. In addition, both texts sustain features that are of the satirical and ‘literary nonsense’ genres. Set in the 18th century, the ideas surrounding the evolving self of Alice are transformed, particularly through the visual textual form of film.

Lewis Carroll incorporates the value of one’s identity, and the way ‘Alice’ distorts, changes and questions her identity. This exploration of the power of transformation is fuelled by the recurring theme of deception, questioning what is real, and what is a dream. The characters in ‘Wonderland’ continually ask Alice who she is. As a result, she questions her identity, and the novel becomes a journey of her exploring who she is, and deciding whether or not this reality is one that she likes. This questioning of identity is particularly seen by the poetic and deceptive nature of the language ‘cat’ uses in the novel. “Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?” “That depends a good deal on where you want to get to”, said the