9-20 for 10-1

1.       

“’Be a man!’ said the Bellman in wrath, as he heard

The Butcher beginning to sob.

‘Should we meet with a Jubjub, that desperate bird,

We shall need all our strength for the job!’” (page 406)

This part immediately rang a bell because it drew a connection to the Alice books. The Jubjub bird was first seen in the Jabberwocky poem, and later seen again in the 2010 film adaptation of Alice in Wonderland by Tim Burton.

2.       

“Such friends, as the Beaver and Butcher became,

Have seldom if ever been known;

In winter or summer, ‘twas always the same –

You could never meet either alone.” (page 411)

This part felt like a role-reversal of some kind, because we now see a beaver, which is normally at the bottom of the food chain, participating in the hunting of another animal, as if it were a predator. It’s even funnier and stranger given that the Beaver is a victim of the Butcher, since the Butcher hunts beavers. This is a perfect anthropomorphic example, where the Beaver is practically a human character now, like the ape characters in the Planet of the Apes.

3.       

“But while he was seeking with thimbles and care,

A Bandersnatch swiftly drew nigh

And grabbed at the Banker, who shrieked in despair,

For he knew it was useless to fly.” (page 414)

This part did the exact same thing for me as the previous quote did, for it drew a connection to the Alice books. In the second line, Carroll brings up the Bandersnatch once again, which originally appeared in the Jabberwocky poem. The White King then brings up the creature again in Chapter 7 of Through the Looking-Glass, and finally, it makes an appearance in the 2010 Tim Burton film.

4.       

“In the midst of the word he was trying to say,

In the midst of his laughter and glee,

He had softly and suddenly vanished away –

For the Snark was a Boojum, you see.” (page 418)

Is it just me or does this poem not make much sense in its ending? It feels extremely anticlimactic, which is ironically similar to both the Alice books. According to Google’s search results, “snark” means an imaginary animal that is difficult to track down. Then, a “boojum” is defined as an imaginary dangerous animal. So, huh? This feels like one of those x = x moments in Math. In a letter to “The Lowrie Children,” Lewis Carroll himself wrote, concerning the meaning of the Snark, “I’m very much afraid I didn’t mean anything but nonsense!”