Cross Roads: A fantastic Journey from Alice's Advantures in Wonderland to the Chronicles of Narnia

This qualitative-analytic study has been designed to compare two fantasy novels: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and The Chronicles of Narnia. The current study reveals many similar points between the works of Lewis Carroll and C.S. Lewis. The commonality of the two writers lies in the fact that they apply fantastic elements and anthropomorphic beings as tools to discuss the problems in their society and it wouldn't be wrong to say that, these stories serve both children and adults. Another commonality of the works under study is that the writers no longer apply Realism or Naturalism. Their claim is that there is no actual truth and everything is relative, that literature is self-contained and everything is in the hand of the writer. Even though they belong to different times, they are of the same opinion concerning Modernism and modernist perspectives. Both writers move from reality to subjectivity which is a representation of Modernism. This can be explained by their emphasis on mind. Mind has the significant role in Lewis Carroll's fantasy world and C.S. Lewis's ideological world. Lewis Carroll's focus is more on the role of mind since he takes the reader on a journey in to a fantasy world that requires mental engagement in the story. The mental engagement is a necessity to proceed with the journey and to enjoy the scenes delineated by the writer. C.S. Lewis's work requires a mental presence as well. However, what makes it different from Lewis Carroll's book is the theological color. According to the current analysis, it can be argued that despite the fact that both writers share the same modernist style, a slight difference exists between their works regarding the main themes. While C.S. Lewis's work is more engaged at theological and ideological themes, Lewis Carroll's work takes the reader into a fantasy world which is not necessarily based on religion and religious concepts. This is in keeping with Brazier's view who argues that C. S. Lewis is critical of Modernism and deals with new aspects and changes on human existence which result in rejecting God. From another perspective, this analysis brings up the two concepts of childhood and adolescence. In an attempt to compare childhood and adolescence stages in Alice in Wonderland, it is revealed that Alice tries to find out who she is through her journey. Carroll adopts many childlike and adult features at the same time. As Alice keeps changing, she begins questioning the real-world issues which are in line with the writer's interpretation of Realism. Alice enters into a stage of uncertainty. She feels confused since the dominant rules that she used to be familiar with do not apply anymore. Wonderland represents a world which is run by a totally different system. This finding is in keeping with Johannessen's study who argues that Alice tries to understand who she really is since nothing seems right anymore. C.S. Lewis's work on the other hand, is more theological and religion-oriented. He mainly issues the existence of God and includes Christian elements in his stories. In general, it can be argued that both Lewis Carroll and C.S. Lewis were religious men of their time and fantastic literature has made it possible for them to imply common issues of their time.