Novel Essay Topic

I wanted to do something with Alice's character but was unsure if I would have enough substance to fulfill the page requirements. It also seems like a good number of classmates are choosing to do Alice's growth so I thought I would try to do something different. My goal is to compare and contrast the main characters in both novels. I would like to somehow incorporate their reliance on extrinsic factors and how they use them to guide their decision but with Santiago being more cowardly in his decisions than Alice. I found a few good articles agreeing with my stance on Alice as a stronger character but could not find much of anything on The Alchemist or Santiago specifically. My thoughts are rather jumbled right now but hoping to come up with a strong thesis soon.

The Alchemist

The most prominent thing going on in the book is obviously this idea of finding your "Personal Legend." I think a lot of people in class can relate to this because we are all trying to figure out what we want to do with our lives. However, very few of us will probably attain our personal legend. Simply because this isn't the time in our country to chase your dreams. It's the time to get an education, try to get a job, and make enough money to get ourselves out of the debt we already have from our student loans. It's easy to relate to not only Santiago, but the baker, the candy shop seller, and the crystal merchant because we so such much of ourselves in them. We may not be doing what we want to do right now in the hopes that we can do it later. Like the crystal merchant, we think the dream is better than the reality. Another thing happening is an idea of a higher power guiding our lives. Santiago meets the King who knows a lot of important aspects of his life and says he'll be there whenever he needs him and to look for the answers in omens. A lot of the book relies on fate, faith, and almost supernatural things like the stones. This aspect is very controversial since many don't place that much belief in faith, instead their belief lies in diligence. 

Burton's Alice

I thought Burton portrayed the characters very well. In the short clip we got to watch the mannerisms, personalities, and outward appearance seemed to closely resemble what I had envisioned while I was reading Alice. Seeing it on screen adds to what we've read. I found it helpful to visualize the happenings going on and look at it from other vantage points. One differences was that a few situations portrayed on the screen were different than those depicted in the book. For example, during the tea party the Cheshire cat wasn't there in the book yet he made an appearnance in the movie and there was no one interrupting the tea time (besides Alice originally) when that man on the horse rode up (I have not watched the movie so I don't know what his purpose was). I imagined Alice to be taller than she was in the movie, especially looking at the picture on page 61. She appears to be the same size as the March Hare and Mad Hatter but in the movie she was significantly smaller. For the most part the storyline followed very closely to what we've read in the book, even with exact quotes. The major difference I found, and what stood out for me the most, was that Burton's vision was extremely dark and almost forboding. I viewed Wonderland as a more colorful place. It would be interesting to watch the rest of the movie and see all the aspects that have been altered by Burton's view.

Character's View & Discussion Q's

       Who is this creature? How did she get down here? Is she talking to me? Maybe if I stay here and play dumb the thing will think I can't speak. Quiet... Quiet... Oh no not the cat word. I can't stay quiet now. She has gone much too far. She seems sorry enough. I'll stay here a while and chat I have nothing better to do.
      Not again! The blasted cat. I can't handle this. Just swim away... She's too preoccupied with herself she won't even notice... Oh she's calling my name. Suppose I do give her another chance. She seems harmless enough. Annoying, even quite rude, but harmless. I'll take her to the shore and tell her my history. Maybe then she'll understand.

1. What is the meaning behind the "You are old, Father William" poem?
2. Why can't Alice answer who she is?
3. When the Cheshire cat says that you have to be mad to be in Wonderland does that imply Alice was already mad before she came? Or had some disability?
4. Is there an answer to the riddle?
5. What would happen if the Mad Hatter, March Hare, and Dormouse were to just leave the table?

Victorian Aspect

I did not know much of anything about the Victorian Era before the assignment but I chose to look deeper into arranged marriages. From the research I did it seems as though your freedom as a woman in choosing your partner depended mainly on which social class you were in. According to "Romance Through the  Ages," romantic love was "almost an art form among the upper classes." It went on to say that if a man was interested in a woman he would have to be introduced and could not even speak to her at first because it was considered inappropriate for a man to speak to a lady or for a couple to be seen out in public together at that time. Once they started to see each other (always with a chaperon) the man could request to marry the woman by giving her a card. If she received multiple cards she would notify the man of her choosing by giving him her card in return. These marriage proposals were frequently written. Woman of lower social classes, however, did not have these same luxuries. Their marriages were almost always arranged and after the marriage the woman and her belongings (if she had any) became property of the husband.

Favorite Book

My favorite book would have to be The Polar Express. The first time I encountered the book was in 1989, the year I was born. While I obviously have no recollection of this my mother would read it to my brother and I every Christmas Eve. My mother no longer reads it to us since we are fully capable of reading it ourselves but the tradition continues as we alternate between watching the movie and reading it to our younger cousins.