Alice's adventures show her that life itself is absurd; all that she can do is try to find enjoyment in the things around her. Alice has a secret craving for organization and meaning, and when the things around her are nonsensical she is irritated and frustrated. In your opinion, do you believe that "life itself is absurd" and all we can "do is try to find enjoyment in the things around [us]"?
* In order to receive credit for this assignment you must
- answer the question in a complete sentence or sentences
- provide evidence from one or both novels to support your answer
- (Optional) comment to another classmates response...this will give you extra credit. Make sure you are nice and that you address the student by name, so that I know who's response you are commenting to.
Last Day to Post: Sunday, November 21, 2010 at 11pm.
Mariella C. Zavala - 5th/6th Period
ReplyDelete"'Have you guessed the riddle yet?' the Hatter said, turning to Alice again. 'No, I give it up,' Alice replied: 'what's the answer?' 'I haven't the slightest idea,' said the Hatter. 'Nor I,' said the March Hare.
Alice found this a waste of time. However, for the Hatter, and the March Hare, and even the dormouse, the absurdity of this situation was absolutely invisible to them. If a person truly enjoys something and makes this a way of life, then the elements that were once contributors to "it" being absurd, slowly fade away. It is for this reason that I believe that life itself is not absurd. In a contradicting way, what one perceives as an absurdity is someone else's way of life and thought that makes perfect sense. By the same token, someone's perfect sense is someone else's absurdity. People don't just try to find enjoyment in the things around us, we are born with a natural feeling of order in what we percieve as normal. The idea that we only try to find enjoyment in the things around us makes our realities souless while at the same time takes major parts of the qualities of human nature away.
i believe that at times life itself is absurd depending the situation. at good times it may not seem absurd because everything is going well. but at other times when one is having difficulties or is bored, life may definetely seem absurd due to the disenjoyment of the person
ReplyDeleteRicardo U. Beltran 7-8 Pd.
ReplyDeleteAt certain points in my life, I feel nothing is right either by unfairness, or just a strange question that I have so much trouble comprehending. Really to me its the never ending unanswered questions life has that tend to make me feel useless, but just thinking of putting myself in wonderland or even Looking-Glass, I might die from absurdity. For Alice, I'm amazed at how much stuff she can go along with, up until the end of the first novel, of course, she finally cracks under the frustration of the Queen and in a fit of rage releases her anger upon the court and is eventually woken up by her sister. We are all human beings that have are breaking point, similar to Alice.
life is absured depending on the situation your in, like squares said if your having a bad day your vision for that day would be horrible, and if your having a good day youllkeepyour eyes away from the horrible and absured world. Like Alice, she fell into a never ending rabbit hole went through crazy and absured things and still she kept herself together.
ReplyDeleteI think life would be absurd when you have it has no meaning, but when u have goals in your life you dont think your life is absurd because you have something to work for that would make you happy.
ReplyDeleteRoberto Reyna 7th/8th
"If a fish came up to me, and told me he was going on a journey, i should say with what porpoise?
ReplyDelete"Don't you mean purpose"? said Alice.
"I mean what i say," the Mock Turtle replied.
Although the Mock Turtle's use of the words purpoise and purpose were reversed, i believe that he was correct, to question about why one carries on a journey in life. I believe that life is not absurd because everyone comes to a point where they think about their lives and where they want to be in the future. without such thinking, life would seem absurd because people would question things but merely do things that seem enjoyable to them, without thinking about how it makes feel at the end. For example, if a person spent most of their playing video games just because they had nothing better to, they would be living an absurd life, because they dont think about anyting else. On the other hand, if someone spent their time reading books and studying their life would not be absurd because they chose to study and hope to sue that knowlegde in the future.
I think life can be absurd because on an average person their daily routine would be a job. They wake up, go to work, get out, meal when they have to during the day, and then go to sleep; and the next day its the same thing. We have to squeeze in some time for free time or at least try to enjoy our job to find enjoyment around us.
ReplyDeleteThe Duchess
"Tut, tut, child! Everything's got a moral, if only you can find it."
Robert Vasquez 7/8
Gladys Ornelas 5th/6th pd.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I think that life is absurd. As a part of human nature, we try to rationalize everything around us so we must feel as though we know the context in its entirety. However, how can you try to make sense of everything around you without missing its true meaning or purpose? A flower named, classified by science is not the same as just a flower whose meaning is to nurture life, make it beautiful in its own way. Life is absurd to those that try to keep it constrained and “meaningful.”
“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”
“That depends a good deal on where you want to go,” said the Cat.
“I don’t care where—“ said Alice.
“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat.
…
“But I don’t want to go among mad people,” Alice remarked.
“Oh, you ca’n’t help that,” said the Cat: “we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad.”
“How do you know I’m mad?” said Alice.
“You must be,” said the Cat, “or you wouldn’t have come here.”
Through the situations that the author places Alice, it may be that he is only trying to teach her how everything around us must not be fit to make sense. Unlike the characters from Wonderland and the Looking-Glass, they try to find no meaning in anything but rather accept it as it is.
Although I believe that life is absurd, I can agree with Mariella's point of view. The statement in which she states that "what one perceives as an absurdity is someone else's way of life and thought that makes perfect sense" is absolutely true. One may go through their life thinking another's is absurd but to the other it can make perfect sense.
ReplyDeleteIn addition to my previous comment and in response to Robert's comment, I would like to add that a way of life of monotonous repetition shapes a person's sense of "normality." So when a different type of occurrence interrupts our lives which are full of the same daily habits, we might perceive those differences as absurdities. Adaptation takes time and change plays with people's minds as they confuse the meaning of something new with just simple absurdity. Lewis Carroll taunts a society's sense of "normality" with some exaggeration by symbolically presenting the fact that all sorts of different people have all sorts of different ways of living their lives.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, I don't believe "life itself is absurd" BUT i do believe it's best to try and find enjoyment in the things around us. I agree with what Mariella said, Carroll does in fact "taunt a society's sense of normality with some exaggeration..." It changes someone's perception of life and how to live it. Now, the part I believe would be normal in a situation like Alice's is to at least find SOME enjoyment in the things around us. Like one of those, "might as well enjoy it while I'm here" moments. But of course, if anybody's like Alice, they wouldn't find any enjoyment but more frustration growing.
ReplyDeleteI do believe that "life is absurd." Yes the book seems out of the ordinary but it takes something like that to show us how our lives are the same. One thing many people look for is meaning. There's always the "why that?" or "why this?" Just like when something bad happens some people asked that why it has happened to them. It's just a part of life. When we can't find the answers and it doesn't make sense, we get frustrated with the situation.
ReplyDeleteWe can't control those bad instances and we are told to make the best of it. What is it..."What doesn't kill you makes you stronger"? right? So all we really can do it try to enjoy what's around us, even those bad times.
Alice got through her journey with all types of situations with animals, people, and even flowers. Some liked her and some disliked her. Nonetheless, she survived and enjoyed what she could in her absurd world.
I agree with Mariella and her comment that life is not absurd because of people's different ways of thinking. Everyone thinks differently and to certain people what they think makes perfect sense to them, but it'd make no sense to someone else. To Alice, everything in Wonderland seems absurd, however, to the characters in Wonderland there is nothing absurd about their lives.
ReplyDelete'— I believe I can guess that,' she added aloud.
'Do you mean that you think you can find out the answer to it?' said the March Hare.
'Exactly so,' said Alice.
'Then you should say what you mean,' the March Hare went on.
'I do,' Alice hastily replied; 'at least — at least I mean what I say — that's the same thing, you know.'
'Not the same thing a bit!' said the Hatter. 'You might just as well say that "I see what I eat" is the same thing as "I eat what I see"!'
'You might just as well say,' added the March Hare, 'that "I like what I get" is the same thing as "I get what I like"!'
'You might just as well say,' added the Dormouse, who seemed to be talking in his sleep, 'that "I breathe when I sleep" is the same thing as "I sleep when I breathe"!'
I my opinion, life is not absurd. However, I believe Alice is too young to fully comprehend the world around her, let alone keep everything in her life organized. It is impossible to have organization and meaning all the time, even in the "real" world. Natural disasters are a perfect example of how quickly things can change. Items people hold dear to their hearts can quickly become junk if they aren't useful anymore. I doubt the people struck by hurricane katrina were waiting for the next line of smart phones. They were however, wondering whether relatives and loved ones were safe despite the fact that they were separated and had no form of communication. In cases such as this it is extremely difficult to not "try to find enjoyment in the things around us."
ReplyDeletePersonally, I don't think life is absurd. I think that seeing life as absurd or not absurd depends on the person's mood and feelings. If a person is having a bad day, he/she will probably think that there is no purpose on trying to live a happy life or in even being alive. But if a person is having a good day, he/she will feel that there is a lot to live for, that there is so much waiting ahead. I think that in Alice's case, she felt irritated and frustrated when things around her were nonsensical because as a seven and six months old very curious little girl, she was more interested in meaning than in anything else. For example, when the Hatter asked Alice to solve the riddle, "Why is a raven like a writing-desk?", and Alice found out that neither the Hatter nor the March Hare knew the answer to it, she told them that they should do "something better with the time than wasting it in asking riddles that have no answers." Unlike the Hatter and the March Hare, she wanted to know the answer to the riddle because the answer was what interests her.
ReplyDeleteI believe that life itself is not absurd, but I have to agree that all we can "do is try to find enjoyment in the things around [us]" because that is what makes the journey of life fun.
ReplyDeleteI'd have to agree with both Mayra's and Martin's statement because Alice was indeed too young to understand life. Alice would look for many ways to make her life interesting since she didn't hold any responsibilities or duties (so was the author).
I belive that as the world we live in is not to be considered to be like Alice's, in normal day life the fact we we know what makes sence and what does not, and then we dont do it it makes you think that we do love in a world filled with nonsence. the quote that mariella uses
ReplyDelete""'Have you guessed the riddle yet?' the Hatter said, turning to Alice again. 'No, I give it up,' Alice replied: 'what's the answer?' 'I haven't the slightest idea,' said the Hatter. 'Nor I,' said the March Hare."
make alot of sence to what in saying because since the mad hatter asked the riddle " lifes riddle" and does not know the answer him self makes you belive that our authorirty figures " the madd hatter in this case" know what they are saying but when the time comes they act like they do not. making us want to try to find order and enjoyment to this messed up society.
Life, i think, isnt absurd. If you notice people only complain about life when they dont get their way. People are always saying different things, but as soon as they get what they want, everything changes. Alice was a young girl, going through a lot of crazy things, she was so use to a normal and "perfect" world that when things werent going "her" way, she didnt like it. Just like people in our society today. Make enjoyment of everything around you and stop complaining of what you dont have yet be greatful of what you do have. Thats MY opinion. :)
ReplyDelete-Jodie Gomez 1/2
I believe that life is absurd, that's why we look for enjoyment in our surroundings. If life was simple, there wouldn't be chaos, problems, nevertheless questions or curiosity. Even though life seems pretty "normal" to us, it takes something out of the ordinary to help us understand how complicated our lives are. Just like "the Hatter's remark seemed to have no sort of meaning" to Alice even though "it was certainly English," it was pure common sense.
ReplyDeleteWith these things in mind, I agree that life is absurd because without absurdity, we wouldn't know what is "normal" and what is pure "nonsense."
Samantha Gonzalez 1/2
ReplyDeletePersonally, I agree with both Lizzy and Vanessa in saying that life can be absurd in many aspects of life although different aspects in life can control the situation to come out looking as if it isn't absurd. For instance, in "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland", Alice believes that by receiving "only a thimble" after the "Caucus Race" was not enough. She wanted what the animals received which was a comfit. Even when the animals who did not believe a thimble was any different than a comfit surprised her with a ceremony persenting her with the thimble. According to Alice, while she was already outside of her comfort zone, she "thought the whole thing was absurd ...and she simply bowed down, and took the thimble, looking as solemn as she could" (16). In this case, Alice can not find enjoyment in just accepting the things around her. In life things can be absurd but it is the way you may go about dealing with the situations you are confronted with that makes life easier.
No i dont think life itself is absurd. I think if life wast absurd life would be boring and perfect. Who wants that honestly. If we look at Alice she is a 7 yr old who escaped into this absurd life to be a kid without i guess her perfect world wouldnt judge her. As we see Alice go through her fears of imagination that are absurd shes happy and wants to return thats why she made the looking glass. So in my opinion i dont think life is absurd.
ReplyDelete-Mandy Guajardo 1/2
Samantha Gonzalez 1/2
ReplyDeleteAlthough i do agree with Jodie's comment about life. I disagree when it comes to Alice because Alice did not live in a perfect world, there is no perfect world even in this novel there always has to be some kind of conflict. The conflict with Alice going into the rabbit whole was because she wwas "begining to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and of having nothing to do"(1). Alice was indeed a young girl who went down a rabbit whole into a world unknown. In my opinion as a little girl a comfit might have been all that meant to Alice. Sure it may have seemed absurd that Alice was being picky , but like in real life different people will have moments that they think are absurd but they really arent. As i said before in life things can be absurd but it is the way you may go about dealing with the situations you are confronted with that makes life easier.
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is a perfect example of how society in the book and our own socity are absurd. Although Alice's experiences differ from ours, the idea is present in both societies. According to Alice, "It was much pleasanter at home, when one wasn't always growing larger and smaller, and being ordered about by mice and rabbits." The author uses Alice by expressing the rarities that are present in Wonderland. Some rarities in our society would be corruption and crime.
ReplyDelete-Jesus Sanchez
1/2 A/B
Although he's opinion differs from mine, Moses's argument is understandable because although we cannot control the outside environment, we can still manage to get around with what we have got.
ReplyDelete-Jesus Sanchez
1/2 A/B
I agree with what robert and square said, that life may seem absurd when things aren't going your way. That's why Alice thinks life is absurd, because things never happened the way she planned out until she just cracked. You never know what is going 2 happen until it does that's why you just do what you can to make the best of things, and to find the enjoyment in the things around us, and hopefully things will turn out ok.
ReplyDeleteI think it depends on how you're feeling, for example you can be happy and feel like life is beautiful and everything is worth living for,and then for the ones who are going through a hard time, they might think the opposite,they will say things are not worth living for. And for Alice i think she was just frustrated because she didn't knew what was going on everything around her was strange but she tried to make the good out of it.
ReplyDelete-Alejandra Macias
1/2 A/B
I agree with Mayra it all depends how the person feels
ReplyDeleteAlejandra Macias 1/2
Selina Soto 5th/6th period.
ReplyDeleteI do believe that life is absurd. However, as Mariella, Lizzy and others have stated, I think that to ourselves our lives and the way we live them is normal but in someone else's eyes it might seem "absurd". And taking this into consideration, if we look at the world with all it's different people we encounter who have different mind sets then our own we get to see how different,odd,weird, or "absurd" the world around us really is (including ourselves).
For example:
"You couldn't have it if you did want it," the Queen said. "The rule is, jam to-morrow and jam yesterday – but never jam to-day."
"It must come sometimes to 'jam to-day,'" Alice objected.
"No, it can't," said the Queen. "It's jam every other day: to-day isn't any other day, you
know."
"I don't understand you," said Alice. "It's dreadfully confusing!"
(Looking-Glass ch5 pg.44)
What the Queen is saying is that it's always today. If something were to happen before today and after today, then it never really happens.
It's an odd way to think of time but I guess that just highlights the absurdity of it. And the way that people live. The Queen lives "backwards" and that's what she's used to. But Alice doesn't live that way. So she is introduced to this different lifestyle that seems "absurd" to her but normal to the Queen. Just like here in the real world with different cultures and religions.
Christina Aguilera (5/6th)
ReplyDeleteNo one, knows the true key to life.
No one, knows the perfect right and the perfect wrong.
No one, can label life as simple unless they have a specific routine that they rehearse everyday with no interruptions, yet, that is what life is, full of interruptions.
Therefore, it ties back to what mariella mentions that "So when a different type of occurrence interrupts our lives which are full of the same daily habits, we might perceive those differences as absurdities."
Absurd:a situation in which life seems irrational and meaningless
^
That is one of the defientions i found in my dictionary. Personally, i think that "absurd" add's more meaning to our lives because we must dig more into that pecuilar whole that we call actions and words to discover what we need or want to know. Now, thats where we start to find enjoyment with the things arounds us but to our own satisfaction.
For instance --->
"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 Cat.
"I don’t much care where--" said Alice.
"Then it doesn’t matter which way you go," said the Cat.
"--so long as I get SOMEWHERE," Alice added as an explanation.
"Oh, you’re sure to do that," said the Cat, "if you only walk long enough."
:)
Therefore, not everything goes as planned, interruptions take place, "absurd" (unnormal things happen to you), and life doesnt always throuw you what you want. Life is what you make it, life is absurd only if you think it is, but we can't ONLY use what's around us, we got our own tools as well. We catch what life throws us and create, create, CREATE! :D
I agree that life is absurd and all you can do it try to find enjoyment. Life is not always going to be fair and you never always get what you want, but all you could is make the best of the situation and hope for the best. Alice is finding herself in absurd situations but she is tryingt o find enjoyment, the garden for example although she is finding it hard to get into the door because of her size she manages to get through after she had problems.
ReplyDeletechrisitna aguilera (5/6th)
ReplyDeletecorrection:
throw*
& to further add, the cat didn't tell alice exactly where to go, she had to work with what he gave her, just like us and our tools.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteYes, I do believe that “life itself is absurd” and though we may want to “find the enjoyment in the things around [us]” as humans, I believe, we crave structure and organization. However, we should try to enjoy life as it is and not set a strict definition for what we expect it should be.
ReplyDeleteThe characters we meet in Wonderland do not find their actions or life irrational at all. It is the way their life is and they simply accept it. However, Alice comes from structured Victorian England and the way of life in Wonderland to her lacks order, thus her frustration. To the people of Wonderland she is the one that may be absurd for she does not accept life the way it is.
When Alice is at the Mad Tea Party, the March Hare tells her to tell them a story. She doesn’t know one so the Dormouse begins telling a story about three sisters who live at the bottom of a well. However, Alice keeps interrupting him with questions, trying to make sense of the story.
“ ‘Tell us a story!’ said the March Hare.”
“ ‘Yes, please do!’ pleaded Alice.”
“ ‘Once upon a time there were three sister…and they lived at the bottom of a well....”
“ ‘What did they live on?’ said Alice….”
“ ‘They lived on a treacle,’ said the Dormouse….”
“ ‘They couldn’t have done that, you know.; Alice gently remarked. ‘They’d have been ill.’ ”
" 'Alice tried a little to fancy herself what such an extraordinary way of living would be like, but it puzzled her too much; so she went on; 'But why did they live at the bottom of a well?' "
Alice becomes flustered throughout the book because she cannot make sense of the world around her, but if she could that would simply take away from what Wonderland really is.
I agree with squares, and jesus because life is basically a big obsticle thats uncontrollable.Things are not always going to go our way.So the best thing to do is make the best of it with what we've got and have fun while doing it. So yea,i think life is absurd!
ReplyDelete5/6
cilla
Now that I think about it, I guess life itself is abusurd. Since we are human we tend to think that the world can be rational and decent but we sometimes forget that the world is irational and unpredictable. We can't control life or figure out a way to make sense of it. Throughout "Wonderland," Alice tries to make sense out of the chaotic dream rather than enjoy it which is why she has so much trouble in the first book. Just like in the book, our world is a puzzle and we spend much of our time trying to find meanings and morals behind it even if there is nothing there. I guess all we can do is acknowledge that the world is absurd and enoy theses moments that suround us.
ReplyDeleteEdgar Ortiz 7th & 8th
I agrees with assertion that Velma made about absuriy. We wouldn't know what it is if the world was normal.
Time is officially up for blog #2. I have enjoyed your responses thus far. I hope that tomorrow the gradebook will up and running so that I may update your grades. Have a good night and see you tomorrow for our two day week.
ReplyDeleteI believe that life is not absurd and the only time it is absurd is when someone lives a questionable life. By this I mean that sometimes people do things that seem absurd, but it's mainly their fault. Life can only be as sane as you make it. Once a person's life is labeled as "absurd," it's usually because of how that person lives their life. As far as Alice's Adventures go, because the characters CHOOSE to live a curious, happy-go lucky life, some of the things they say and do makes us wonder, "Why did they do that?" "Why would they say that?" etc. Again, it depends on what people do in life. For example, when the Mad Hatter asks for the similarity between a raven and a writing desk, people tend to question exactly what he means by this. In turn, we label that "riddle" as weird or obscence. Like I said before, life is not absurd out of the gate, but after a few of these remarks and actions, is starts to look the part.
ReplyDelete"Begin at the beginning, continue till you get to the end, then stop.”
ReplyDeleteIn my perspective, I believe that life is absurd because we are not given a reason. If life is the purposeful cause for an effect, yet we know not this grand end, life cannot be seen with any amount of certainty as logical. Sometimes life is so absurd, you just have to laugh; otherwise, you would break down and cry.
But I can really see Mariella's point of view, she is right when she says, "we are born with a natural feeling of order in what we percieve as normal." And the greatest thing about life is not having a purpose, its finding a purpose
Ch. 3 - A Caucus-Race and a Long Tale
The Mouse's Tale
'Stigand, the patriotic archbishop of Canterbury, found it advisable — "'
'Found what?' said the Duck.
'Found it,' the Mouse replied rather crossly: 'of course you know what "it" means.'
'I know what "it" means well enough, when I find a thing,' said the Duck: 'it's generally a frog or a worm. The question is, what did the archbishop find?'
At last the Dodo said, 'everybody has won, and all must have prizes.'
Alice thought the whole thing very absurd, but they all looked so grave that she did not dare to laugh; and, as she could not think of anything to say, she simply bowed, and took the thimble, looking as solemn as she could.
When I read Alice in Wonderland, I found myself trying to make sense of an illogical story. Alice also experiences similar frustrations. But in the end, she emerges wiser with the learning involved in each situation. Everyone faces absurd choices in life. If you shrug off these choices as anomalies to your perfect life, you gain nothing. But if you try to learn from these absurdities, you will gain a lot of wisdom.
Gabriela Pedraza
1/2 A/B
Life isnt absurd, just the way we percieve life is. Perception draws the line between the normal and the absurd in the Alice books and in real life. To us and to Alice, the irregular events that occur in wonderland seem absurd to us and at the same time the characters in wonderland thought alice was absurd because she wasn't drinking tea from an empty cup or spreading butter on a time piece or some other pointless activity that seemed to occur quite often there. so is it potato or potato? It just depends on what side of the line you are on. Normality is relative just like the absurd and for this reason life cannot be absurd unless it is both absurd and normal at the same time.
ReplyDeleteI believe life has meaning. Not just one but many with a domino effect. The adventures in life happen because you allow them to. We as human make life absurd or with meaning whether it is good or bad. Although many people are ungrateful or sometimes not so lucky to be at least grateful, we do have the option to make it how we want it.
ReplyDeleteI do not necessarily believe that life is absurd, but I do believe that it is unpredictable and spontaneous both negatively and positively. Obviously, nothing in our lives happens according to plan. For example, a person might just one day win the lottery or find out that after so many years of marriage, their spouse ends up cheating on them. No matter what you do in life, you can never really control what will happen next. Which is why I agree in the belief that people make the best of what they can out of life because in reality, that's what makes life worth living for.
ReplyDeleteSorry once again, I understand that I have missed the deadline. Just wanted to do my assignment, thank you.
Definitely…
ReplyDelete“Alice had been looking over his shoulder with come curiosity. “What a funny watch!” she remarked.”It tells the day of the mouth, and doesn’t tell what o’clock it is!”
“Why should it?” muttered the Hatter. “Does your watch tell you what year it is?”
In this following passage the reader can truly see the real nonsense of this story… and although wonderland is a made up world created by “Lewis Carroll” who WAS HIGH during most of that time. You can see the real world in small parts of this selection whether it be the mockery of the English government I believe Carroll is trying to emphasize with the “Queen of Hearts” you still can see the same yet scuttle effect on today’s technology just as a simple watch that can tell the time, date, news reports and can go under two feet of water. Humor is what makes the world go round so yes I do believe the world id in other words WEIRD but we just need to stop and smell the roses.
christina aguilera
ReplyDelete(5/6th)
lmao, esteban!