The Great Fall of Authority :: Essays Papers

The Great Fall of Authority As Alice journeys through Wonderland and Looking-glass Land, she encounters a variety of characters whose nonsensical assertions call into question her tacit ontological assumptions. The strange logic these characters introduce to Alice forces her to acknowledge and reevaluate learned perceptions that she had previously accepted as objective truths. Because many of Carroll’s absurdities bear an exaggerated but recognizable resemblance to observable phenomena in society, the paradoxically meaningful nonsense causes Alice (and the reader) to experience epiphanies about the nature of the phenomena Carroll satirizes. In this way, Carroll cleverly, and ironically, uses nonsense to raise consciousness. Specifically, Carroll employs nonsense in the Alice books to construct a satirical, dystopian view of authority. One example can be inferred from Alice’s humorous inability to remember her lessons, or memorized propaganda from schoolmasters (who have authority over knowledge). Because Alice suddenly cannot remember what these schoolmasters have forced her to learn, the lessons are consequently illustrated as useless and asinine, and the teachers as senseless, counterproductive and undeserving of the position of authority they have secured. Carroll ultimately ridicules authority figures, pedagogues in particular, through the character, Humpty Dumpty. His hyperbolic depiction of Humpty Dumpty as a narcissist, a pedant, and a charlatan exposes authority figures for what they often are: unnecessary, and even disadvantageous. Humpty Dumpty’s narcissism is immediately apparent. As soon as Alice stumbles upon him, Humpty Dumpty proclaims his self-importance and implies Alice’s inferiority. He is extremely defensive and unwilling to consider any remark that he perceives as potentially criticizing, since he believes himself to be a superior creature. The egg therefore responds to Alice’s unintentionally insulting comments by ridiculing her, thereby shifting the negative attention to Alice so that he can preserve his inflated self image and gain control over the conversation. In addition to belittling Alice to demonstrate his power, Humpty Dumpty egregiously boasts about his connection with the King to illustrate his elite status. Humpty Dumpty’s arrogant behavior, including bragging about his affiliation with the King, can primarily be attributed to the power and authority he believes he deserves for being an intellectual. Humpty Dumpty clearly views himself as extraordinarily bril liant; he is so inordinately intelligent that he knows the answers to all questions (232). While Humpty Dumpty knows everything, everyone else, particularly Alice, knows nothing: â€Å"’Wrong!’ Humpty Dumpty exclaim[s] triumphantly.... ‘You don’t know what you’re talking about!’† (235, 237).