Lewis Carroll Trivia

1. Alice appears in which book (or books) by Lewis Carroll?

From Quiz Alice's Looking Glass Wonderland

Answer: Both books

The Oxford mathematician Charles Dodgson, published his books using the pseudonym Lewis Carroll. The character in the book was almost certainly named for the daughter of Dodgson's Oxford colleague Henry Liddell, dean of Christ Church Oxford. In 1862 Dodgson retold his stories, which he had begun some years before, to ten-year old Alice and her two sisters as they were being rowed on the Isis, and she asked him to write them down, which he did. He gave her the manuscript, using the title "Alice's Adventures Underground". Three years later the story was published as "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" by Lewis Carroll. It is generally accepted that the Alice in the book was about seven years old, which is what the real Alice was when the story-telling began.

From Quiz Six Impossible Things

Answer: The Cheshire Cat

The wide grin of the Cheshire Cat appears first in "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland", and the Cat both amuses and perplexes Alice during her adventures. The book was written for a young friend named Alice Liddell, and Dodgson (who took the pen-name Lewis Carroll) presented her with a hand-written copy before its publication in 1865.

From Quiz Jabberwocky: The Meaning Behind the Nonsense

Answer: Four o'clock in the afternoon: the time when you begin broiling things for dinner.

"You seem very clever at explaining words Sir," said Alice. "would you kindly tell me the meaning of the poem 'Jabberwocky'?"

From Quiz Lewis Carroll and his Parodies

Answer: How doth the little crocodile/ Improve his shining tail

Isaac Watts first wrote: How doth the little busy Bee Improve each shining Hour, And gather Honey all the day From every opening Flower! Lewis Carroll later wrote: How doth the little crocodile Improve his shining tail, And pour the waters of the Nile On every golden Scale. Alice recites this to prove she is not Mabel.

From Quiz Alice's Adventures in Wonderland II

Answer: A pipe

This lengthy blue caterpillar sits atop a rather large mushroom smoking its hookah, a water pipe with a long tube that draws smoke through a water bowl. This cheeky caterpillar gives Alice quite a hard time, but ultimately proves to be able to provide the young lady with some useful advice.

From Quiz Alice's Adventures in Wonderland I

Answer: Rabbit

A tiny white rabbit dressed in a sharp-looking waistcoat and sporting a pocket watch is the creature that lures Alice into a the myserious hole that leads to Wonderland. Soon, Alice finds herself in freefall with enough time to contemplate many things, and to converse with herself unhurriedly.

From Quiz The Hunting of the Jabberwock

Answer: Brillig

"`Twas brillig, and the slithy toves Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:" As Humpty Dumpty puts it '"Brillig" means four o'clock in the afternoon--the time when you begin broiling things for dinner.'

From Quiz Curiouser and Curiouser

Answer: Alice Pleasance Liddell

In the last poem in the book "A Boat beneath a Sunny Sky", the first letter of each line reads "Alice Pleasance Liddell".

From Quiz The Hunting of the Snark

Answer: 8

Each section of the poem is designated by ordinal number - "Fit the First," "Fit the Second," etc. - and a title. "Fit the First" is titled "The Landing."

From Quiz Lewis Carroll

Answer: "The Walrus and the Carpenter"

"The Walrus and the Carpenter" was a story told to Alice by Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum in "Through the Looking Glass."

From Quiz Poetry of Lewis Carroll, from the 'Alice' books

Answer: How Doth The Little Busy Bee

From "Alice's Adventures In Wonderland." "How Doth The Little Busy Bee" begins: "How doth the little busy bee Improve each shining hour, And gather honey all the day From every opening flower?" While Lewis Carroll's "How Doth The Little Crocodile" begins "How doth the little crocodile Improve his shining tail, And pour the waters of the Nile On every golden scale!"

From Quiz Lewis Carroll

Answer: Charles Lutwidge Dodgson

Dodgson got his pen name by transposing and Latinizing his first two names.

From Quiz Alice in Wonderland (Book)

Answer: The White Rabbit

"There was nothing so VERY remarkable in that; nor did Alice think it so VERY much out of the way to hear the Rabbit say to itself, 'Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be too late!' But when the Rabbit actually took a watch out of a waistcoat pocket, and looked at it, and then hurried on, Alice started to her feet."

From Quiz Alice's Looking Glass Wonderland

Answer: Wonderland

Smiling by showing one's teeth was called "grinning like a Cheshire Cat" before Carroll introduced him in his Wonderland book. Its trick of disappearing gradually from the tail up led to an interesting philosophical discussion in the book when the King of Hearts ordered it to be beheaded. Can you behead someone who has no body?

From Quiz Six Impossible Things

Answer: The Walrus

The poem "The Walrus and The Carpenter" was another gem found in the 1872 novel "Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There". In this nonsense poem, at which Carroll excelled, the Walrus was walking with the Carpenter, idly wondering if the sand could be cleared away. Some young oysters chose to walk along with them and discoursed about the sea and the weather... but never made it home to their beds, as the Walrus and Carpenter ate them up! The poem of "The Walrus and the Carpenter" was told by the characters Tweedledum and Tweedledee.

From Quiz I Feel a Little Snarky Today

Answer: 42

42 is an interesting number - apart from being the meaning of "life the universe and everything" there are some odd coincidences associated with it: molybdenum is the 42nd most common element in the universe and the Starship Enterprise from "Star Trek" has 42 decks. Do a search on 42 and you'll find enough information for a hundred quizzes.

From Quiz Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Answer: A thimble

The mouse brings Alice to the shore and many other creatures soon follow. As the mouse begins to tell a story, the other animals stop him numerous times complaining that they must all get dry. Alice agrees with this for fear that she might catch cold and the Dodo suggests a caucus-race in which they all run around in a circle, beginning when they want, and ending when they want, until they finish. After a half hour, they cease their running now dry. When the animals ask who the winner is, the Dodo explains that they all won and should all receive prizes from Alice. Worried, Alice digs in her pockets for prizes and finds enough comfits to hand out to everyone. When she is asked where her prize is, she explains that all she has left in her pockets is a thimble. The Dodo takes this from her and elegantly presents it back as her prize. Now dry, Alice asks the mouse to explain why he does not like Cats nor Dogs and he begins his long 'tail', but after noticeable interruptions, he decides not to finish and instead departs. The remaining animals stay behind until Alice mentions her cat, Dinah, and how she misses her. Realizing that she's referring to a cat, the animals flee worrying for their safety. Alice sits alone once more.

From Quiz Jabberwocky: The Meaning Behind the Nonsense

Answer: Flimsy and miserable

"When I make a word do a lot of the work like that," said Humpty-Dumpty, "I always pay it extra."

From Quiz Lewis Carroll and his Parodies

Answer: "You are old Father William", the young man said/ "And your hair has become very white"

Robert Southey first wrote: "You are old Father William," the young man cried, "The few locks which are left you are grey; You are hale, Father William, a hearty old man, Now tell me the reason I pray." Lewis Carroll later wrote: "You are old Father William," the young man said, "And your hair has become very white; And yet you incessantly stand on your head- Do you think at your age it is right?" The caterpiller asks Alice to repeat this for him.

From Quiz Alice's Adventures in Wonderland II

Answer: Father William

The first two verses of this madcap poem read: "You are old, father William," the young man said, "And your hair has become very white; And yet you incessantly stand on your head-- Do you think, at your age, it is right?" "In my youth," father William replied to his son, "I feared it might injure the brain; But now that I'm perfectly sure I have none, Why, I do it again and again." Magnificent!

From Quiz Alice's Adventures in Wonderland I

Answer: Dinah

Alice concerns herself with Dinah as she falls down the rabbit-hole. Later, when Alice mentions Dinah and her predilection for eating birds (among other things), the various animals in Wonderland are either extremely offended or utterly frightened.

From Quiz The Hunting of the Jabberwock

Answer: Mome raths

"All mimsy were the borogoves, And the mome raths outgrabe." If you are curious `Well, a "rath" is a sort of green pig: but "mome" I'm not certain about. I think it's short for "from home"--meaning that they'd lost their way, you know.'

From Quiz For True Alice-philes

Answer: Ou est ma chatte?

Alice thinks the Mouse may have come over with William the Conqueror, and she asks him "Where is my (female) cat"? (Yes, I know there should be a grave accent on the u in 'Ou', but this template does not allow diacritics).

From Quiz "The Walrus and the Carpenter"

Answer: On the sea

In the poem the sun was shining on the sea. The strange thing about that was in was nighttime and the sun was still up. Maybe someone should tell him!

From Quiz Lewis Carroll

Answer: The Hunting of the Snark & Hunting of the Snark

"The Hunting of the Snark" is about a group of guys hunting an animal called a Snark that sometimes turns out to be a dangerous animal called a Boojum. Boojums can take somebody with out leaving a trace.

From Quiz Poetry of Lewis Carroll, from the 'Alice' books

Answer: Head

"In my youth', Father William replied to his son, 'I feared it might injure the brain; But, now that I'm perfectly sure I have none, Why, I do it again and again.'" From "Alice's Adventures In Wonderland". The caterpillar asked Alice to recite this.

From Quiz The Best of Lewis Carroll

Answer: Charles Lutwidge Dodgson

Charles Lutwidge Dodgson and Lewis Carroll are both the same person. This is called a pseudonym.

From Quiz The Works of Lewis Carroll

Answer: Oysters

From Quiz Lewis Carroll

Answer: deacon, mathematician

He was deacon and math teacher at Oxford.

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