Anthropology 2201F/G Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Lewis Carroll, Protestant Work Ethic, Wild Beasts
19 Jul 2015
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Like edward lear"s nonsense, lewis caroll"s nonsense represents a rebellion against moralistic children"s literature. His mockery of traditional, moralistic and didactic children"s literature takes several forms. First, he writes parodic versions of particular poems: alice finds that these poems, which she has been made to memorize and recite, come out differently in wonderland. For instance, isaac watts" against idleness and mischief ( how doth the busy bee ) is a poem carroll"s readers would know and recognize. The first two verses of this poem (provided in the notes to the oxford edition) focus on the activity of bees as a model of the protestant work ethic. The animal imagery in this poem serves as a concession to the child"s need for entertainment, but the third and fourth verse (omitted from the notes) get the moral message across: Carroll"s parody of this poem in chapter 2 (19) mocks the values of the original poem:
