Believing in the Impossible

Kayla's latest blog regarding Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass talked about adult nostalgia in relation to the texts. She said, in her final sentence, "Could children's books be adults way of believing in impossible? If only for a moment, maybe." Which led me to thinking about how adults fit into the world of children's literature, if we do at all. As suggested in class, do adults have to become as a child to read children's books, or better yet do adults have to read children's books to become as a child. By believing in the impossible are we able to become, if only for a moment, like a child. When Alice sees the white rabbit, "it occurred to her that she ought to have wondered at this, but at the time is seemed quite natural." Had Alice been an adult, her adventure might never have happened because a sensible adult would hardly believe in the impossible: a white rabbit with a waistcoat-pocket or a watch to take out of it saying, "Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be too late."

I like reading smart literature where I am supposed to learn somthing and appreciate it for it's literary genius. I also love reading fiction. I love the Harry Potter Series, His Dark Materials, and Eragon etc. When I read these books I read them in a way that can be detrimental to school, work, and life. My mom would get really mad because I never did any of my chores, now Sutter feels ignored and neglected, and so do my dogs when I start reading those kinds of books because I sit there and I do not move from my spot on the couch unless for absolute necessaries (food and bathroom) or until I've finished the book. I delve into the world of the impossible and live it and breathe it without coming back to reality. I always wondered why I could never put one of these books down and maybe I know, because I finally get to believe in the impossible, and no one likes to come back to reality after such adventures.

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While reading Alice's Adventures in Wonderland I was reminded of My Book and Heart Shall Never Part on page 45 when Alice was thinking to herself, "When I used to read fairy tales, I fancied that kind of theing never happened, and now here I am in the middle of one!" Much like in Lynda Sexson's visual essay when the little girl (Devita Sexson) reading the book can't tell which side of the page she is on and becomes the character she is reading. While Alice is physically transported to another world through a rabbit hole (portal), Devita is transported to another world through reading a book (another portal). Like I am transported to another world when I read a book for pure pleasure and I forget I am sitting on a couch and my mother repeats herself until she has to take my book away from me so I can hear her, because at that moment I am no longer Samantha Clanton, but I am Lyra Silvertongue, my dog curled at my feet is my deamon, and I am riding on the back of a polar bear, traveling to other worlds, fighting evil, reading the alethiometer, speaking to angels, on a quest of great importance to the future of the world. When I come back to reality I have to wake up and go to class......where would you rather be?