Uke 2/10 - Alice i Eventyrland

Faksimile fra Alice in Wonderland, Kindle-versjon
http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/c/carroll/lewis/alice/

Jeg ble ikke ferdig med å lese Lewis Carrolls "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" forrige uke (kom til 97%!). Jeg fikk ikke lest "Through the Looking Glass" overhodet. 

Ganske artig at jeg da har en side med den lille hvite haren som har det så travelt som illustrasjon på boka som alltid stresser med å bli ferdig og komme noe sted i tide. Det er selvfølgelig et passende tidspunkt å snakke om "Follow the white rabbit"-temaet fra "The Matrix" (se videoen under). 

Jeg var ikke veldig fornøyd med mitt essay for Coursera-kurset mitt denne uken, så jeg tar rett og slett og legger det opp her, klart til å rives fra hverandre. Jeg har allerede fått knusende kritikk av medstudenter på både form, manglende essay-form og innhold, så "give it your best shot" med konstruktiv tilbakemelding! 

Confusing mis-Adventures in Wonderland 

"Alice's Adventures in in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking Glass" are books about being confused and cultural misunderstandings. The main character (Alice) in "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" falls down a hole running after a rabbit, and in the process she starts to question herself. Does she really know anything at all? Is the knowledge she holds of any use? Riddles and rhymes she learned of her tutor (in school) is distorted in Wonderland, and makes no sense. The laws of nature she has accepted as truth is not as fixed as before (example: she can fall for a long time without getting hurt, and she keeps growing/shrinking).

The social rules are also different because she meets with other creatures than she grew up with (humans). The animals in Wonderland are easily offended by things that is natural for Alice, such as her cat catching mice and small birds. Many of the animals being mice and small birds this is something she quickly picks up on, but of habit she keeps saying little things that insult the inhabitants.

After a while she gets tired of the constant confusing differences from what she consideres "normal". In the trial of the Knave of Hearts she grows tired of the constant threats from the tyrant Queen of Hearts and tells them all they are "after all just cards". In a slightly imperialistic view from the turn of century, Alice has realized she is more empowered and has more resources than the inhabitants and stops trying to please them. Instead, she tramples them and ignore their ways (and on them) since it is easier for her than trying to adhere to the culture she is unable or unwilling to understand.

Ja... uhm... bokanmeldelse. Jeg er bare forvirret.