Mai anh Do, Anghelle Anderson, Lana Al Any, Tatyana Ali

Psychological Criticism

1. Background:
● Psychological Criticism emerged in the
1960s, stemming from psychoanalysis
theory invented by Sigmund Freud, who
found the theory to treat mental illness
patients. Freud focused on three different
parts of the psychic anatomy, the id (basic
desires, a.k.a “inner child''), superego
(overly critical, knowledge of societal
norms), and ego (balance between both,
“reality filter”). Freud believed that this
method released repressed emotions in
order to heal the patient. Freud is often
criticized for oversimplifying the
complexity of the human mind, often
leaving out important factors in his thinking methods that pertain to each patient. The
theory interprets literature as a psychological matter, Freud’s work being the primary
source of the criticism, especially The Interpretation of Dreams. Psychoanalytic thinking
is believed to allow for literature to be interpreted in more complex ways, Freud’s
research providing more insight and different perspectives when dissecting passages from
a text. A student of Freud, Carl Jung, further explored the connection between literature
and what he called “collective unconscious”, “through which the spirit of the whole
human species manifests itself”. “Jungian criticism, which is closely related to Freudian
theory because of its connection to psychoanalysis, assumes that all stories and symbols
are based on mythic models from mankind’s past.(1)” Jung developed archetypal myths
such as, Shadow, the Anima, the Animus, and the Spirit to help interpret the text.

● This theory focuses on analyzing psychological conflicts → Argues that the author
expresses his/her unconscious motives and fears in literary texts.

2. Critical Question examples:

● What motivates the character? Are they consciously or unconsciously motivated?
● How have the character’s experiences with society/their family shaped their
behaviors/mindset?
● How have the character's actions shown growth?
● How does the book reflect the author's personal psychology?
3. Text Analysis:
a. Summary: Alice is dozing off while listening to her sister reading a story when she
suddenly sees a rabbit in a fancy suit. She follows the mysterious rabbit into a hole that
leads to a world full of insanity, travels to different places, and meets all kinds of odd
creatures imaginable. Alice later gets herself in trouble by infuriating an influential figure
in that world and wakes up from her dream as she was going on a rampage. Afterwards,
she tells her sister about the dream she had and goes inside for a tea party.
b. Analysis:
1. Reading and interpretation are limited to the work itself. The reader examines
conflicts, characters, dream sequences, and symbols.
● Alice falling into wonderland: Young adults running from a society ruled
by conflicts and chaos by escaping to literature (since the author mentions
bookshelves lying around inside the hole she fell into).
● Alice eating and drinking the size potions: Alice finds herself inside a
room all alone with a small door she can’t use the moment she stepped
foot on the new world and has to consume some weird drinks and candies
in that room that allows her to shrink or enlarge herself for the purpose of
fitting through the tiny door. In the story of Allice in Wonderland, Alice is
constantly changing physically throughout the story. She shrinks and
grows and she struggles with maintaining a comfortable size. It reflects the
ups and downs of adolescence (sometimes feel mature and sometimes act
childish).
● Following the Dodo bird: Alice is all soaked and wet after washing up on
the shore with some weird animals and a Dodo bird. The bird tells her to
run in circles to dry off, and she does so despite knowing how ridiculous
the command is → Childish ignorance → Does whatever the grown-ups
say
● Alice’s answer to the caterpillar’s question: It asks her who she was, and
she replies with “I hardly know”. It shows how Alice is starting to lose her
sense of identity → Reflect a problem many people face once they reach
adolescence.
● Alice not getting help from anyone: She has to overcome challenges and
face obstacles on her own in order to mature → shows a child's
progression through life in the industrial world.
● Alice standing up to the queen: She begins to act differently and more
mature in different situations. She experiences that in order for others to
take her seriously she has to stand up to authority, like the Queen of
Hearts. When the Queen of Hearts tries to kill her, Alice refuses to be
intimidated by their threats and stands her ground firmly → Final obstacle
in adolescence → Alice faces and overcomes her fears → Growing up
 2. An important relationship exists between the author and the work itself. To
understand a work of literature, the reader must understand the author’s life and
beliefs. Not all works are autobiographical, but psychoanalysts feel that there is
always something of the author in a text.
● Born on January 27, 1832
● Well-known for his unhealthy and pedophilic relationship with the Liddell
sisters, notably Alice Liddell, a girl he befriended in his neighborhood.
● Was a math lecturer at Oxford University, but resigned to become an
author because of his love for writing → reflected by the symbolism of
Alice falling into a wonderland (may talk about his desire to escape from
reality through literature)
● The character Alice is based on a real-life girl named Alice Liddell.
● He suffers from Todd’s syndrome, a disease that causes strange
hallucinations and affects the size of visual objects in the eyes of the
victim.
● Lewis Caroll meets a girl named Allice who was the daughter of the Dean
at Christ Church college and told her about this idea he had. When he
explained to Alice and her two sisters the story he visioned they begged
him to write it down. Which motivated him to create this story.

c) Explanation of critical theory:

● This theory focuses on analyzing psychological conflicts → Argues that the author
expresses his/her unconscious motives and fears in literary texts.

d) Answers to critical questions:

1) What motivates the character? Are they consciously or unconsciously motivated?
● Alice is unconsciously motivated to escape the strict and logical environment she had
been put in since birth. Although Alice doesn’t actively protest having to act formally and
follow the rules all the time, an obligation that comes with her high social status, the
girl’s suppressed curiosity and imagination eventually leads to the creation of
wonderland in her subconscious mind.
2) How have the character’s experiences with society/their family shaped their
behaviors/mindset?
● As a member of a wealthy English family, Alice is obsessed with good manners and feels
the need to maintain her sense of nobility in front of the creatures in wonderland despite
them never taking her seriously. For instance, whenever Alice requests help with
directions from the Cheshire cat, a mysterious creature she encounters after entering the
Tulgey woods, he not only doesn’t give her practical answers but also tries to goof off
with random questions that serve no purpose other than to waste the girl’s time.
3) How have the character's actions shown growth?
 ● Throughout the little girl’s long journey in wonderland, Alice is shown to have learned
from her mistakes and undergone major developments in her character by means of
experiential learning. She accumulates knowledge from previous learning experiences in
order to face new challenges and take control of her own circumstances. An example of
this growth would be an instance where Alice finally being able to control her
consumption, using this newfound knowledge to grow to an enormous size, and crushing
the Queen of Heart’s army when she orders her execution.
4) How does the book reflect the author's personal psychology?
● The main theme of Alice in Wonderland is growing up. Lewis Carroll wrote about the
unprejudiced and innocence from a child’s perspective of the world. In Alice in
Wonderland, he wanted to create a vision of how a child sees the adult world. Along with
egos and bad habits that have been developed in an adult’s life. Alice’s Adventure in
Wonderland is a representation of how a child is confused about how to approach an adult
world. To survive the adult world Alice has to become more open-minded and mature to
overcome the characteristics of children and become more like an adult. Overall, Lewis
Carroll creates a view of how children see the adult world.

e) Textual response stated above

f) An explanation of how each student contributed to the project:

● Mai anh Do: Summarizes + analyzes the story, and answers critical questions

● Anghelle Anderson: Provides a background of critical theory and creates slideshows for
presentations

● Lana Al Any: Provides a background of critical theory and creates slideshows for
presentations

● Tatyana Ali: Cites sources, provides critical question examples, and answers critical
questions.
 Works Cited

Alice. “An Analysis of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.” Alice, 14 Jan. 2020,

www.alice-in-wonderland.net/resources/analysis/interpretive-essays/an-analysis-of-alices-

adventures-in-wonderland/.

“Psychological Criticism.” Knowing Haroun, 1 May 2017,

knowingharoun.wordpress.com/psychological-criticism/.

“Psychological Criticism.” Writing Commons, 7 Nov. 2020,

writingcommons.org/section/research/research-methods/textual-methods/literary-criticism/

psychological-criticism/.

Purdue Writing Lab. “Psychoanalytic Criticism // Purdue Writing Lab.” Purdue Writing Lab,

owl.purdue.edu/owl/subject_specific_writing/writing_in_literature/literary_theory_and_sch

ools_of_criticism/psychoanalytic_criticism.html.

stranger941. “Deeper, Hidden Meanings and Themes in Alice in Wonderland.” Owlcation,

Owlcation, 5 May 2009,

owlcation.com/humanities/Alice-in-Wonderland-What-Intriguing-Message-Does-it-really-H

old.