The Importance of Storytelling for Children and Adults Alike: Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and J. M. Barrie’s Peter Pan

Abstract

Since the publication of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Peter Pan (1904), much has been studied and said about these two stories and their authors Lewis Carroll and J. M. Barrie, respectively. They have undoubtedly become classics of children’s literature, and have been retold, reinterpreted, and performed over the years. Through their fantasy, both Alice and Peter deal with themes highly relevant to any child’s – and adult’s – development. However, during my study of the two tales, I found a lack of interest and research towards the actual concept of storytelling. Both Carroll and Barrie originally created the stories to tell them to real children; and within each tale, the characters constantly tell stories to one another. Societies and communities are shaped by their stories, and telling them to children can serve many purposes, such as teaching a valuable lesson, learning how to cope with one’s own struggles, creating a strong bond between narrator and child, or simply – but not less importantly – taking pleasure in them. The aim of this dissertation is to explore the process of storytelling in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Peter Pan, as well as its roles, in order to explain its significance, as an essential part of growing up and becoming oneself.