Escapism at its best

Alice in Wonderland, a phrase that jolts back childhood memories for millions of people across the world since 1865 has once again resurfaced. Writer Lewis Carroll’s works Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass have inspired adaptations into comics and films. With Tim Burton’s 2010 movie interpretation laughing all the way from the box office to the bank, it would be a good idea to pick up the book for a read.  

The premise of Lewis Helfland’s version has stuck to the basics. Alice sits with her sister at the bank of a river and gets bored of books without pictures. She sees a white rabbit, follows it, and falls down a rabbit hole. Then Alice’s adventures in a fantasy world begin. Every time she drinks or eats something, she would literally change her size. She would meet strange characters like the March hare, the Mad Hatter, the Duchess and the Queen. Each person’s insanity (whatever deg­ree that may be) finds Alice at odds.

There are many occasions where Alice feels left out, and this is partly because of stereotypical human associations. Her pets in the real world are a cat (named Dinah) and a dog. What is the use of her sharing the way they skillfully catch rats to an enchanted being of the same species? She even talks about how Dinah catches birds to others of the same hunted breed. Blame the ignorance on Alice’s age.  

Moving on, it is in this comic book rendering that one sees the spinelessness of the Queen’s soldiers. Shaped like playing cards, when they lay prostate on the ground to greet the Queen, it really proves their lack of character. Cards have always been objects that can either rule you or stay under you.  

Lewis Carroll has definitely painted an elaborate literary picture in the prose version because he can go on and on describing things and get away with expressions like “curiouser and curiouser”. Artist Rajesh Nagula­konda must have struggled to stay as faithful to the original concept as possible. It is evident when the reader spots narration heavily garnishing the graphic novel. Without those descriptions, one will be truly lost in Wonderland, but in this case, not be able to come out of it the way Alice did, unless of course, the reader wants to close the book altogether.  

Among the other things retained in this graphic novel is the caucus race. It is reminiscent of the rat race, devoid of directions other than going in circles. People drop out or join in as and when they want to.  

Then there is the Cheshire cat, which has been creepy in the book as well as both the Walt Disney takes. The Mad Hatter and the March hare hosting their lousy tea party is probably a sarcastic nod to the superficiality in social gatherings. If one starts picking on these elements one by one, you can be sure to understand the society at large, be it back then or now. In conclusion, Alice in Wonderland is the perfect example of the literary nonsense genre that has stood the test of time.  

— Nithin blogs at atlasreborn.blogspot.com