The Absurd Adventurer
Apr. 14th, 2011 04:28 pmI think for everyone who has an interest in reading, there's a book that always sits in the back of the mind. Whenever a new book is read, that one book is conjured in the head, simply because those are the themes and archetypes you relate to the most. For me, it's always been Alice in Wonderland. Every creative work I read or watch, Alice is always in the back of my head, and I see her in the heroes of my books. Most recently, The Brothers Karamazov, in which Dostoevsky had a note about how readers have a hard time seeing Alyosha as the hero of the novel. I could even take this back to RahXephon, where a character like Ayato was more of an observer in a new world.
Alice in Wonderland is a story of an absurd world, one that people have a difficult time categorizing. And I've discovered that when people have a hard time categorizing something, they desperately want to categorize it. Take nearly every film adaptation of Alice's adventures. What is a world with no meaning becomes a world fraught with meaning. There was a TV special where Wonderland was created simply to help Alice gain self-esteem so she could sing in front of an audience. Alice's journey has no tangible rewards. Her journey is of reflection and observing, possibly allowing herself to further understand who she is. Through not understanding, she comes to an understanding.
( Down the rabbit hole . . . )
Alice in Wonderland is a story of an absurd world, one that people have a difficult time categorizing. And I've discovered that when people have a hard time categorizing something, they desperately want to categorize it. Take nearly every film adaptation of Alice's adventures. What is a world with no meaning becomes a world fraught with meaning. There was a TV special where Wonderland was created simply to help Alice gain self-esteem so she could sing in front of an audience. Alice's journey has no tangible rewards. Her journey is of reflection and observing, possibly allowing herself to further understand who she is. Through not understanding, she comes to an understanding.
( Down the rabbit hole . . . )