Misreading Signs. The Uncanny and Language in Lewis Carroll's 'Alice in Wonderland' and 'Through the Looking-Glass'

Seminar paper from the year 2011 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 2,0, University of Constance, language: English, abstract: The aim of the dissertation is an analysis of Lewis Carroll's 'Alice in Wonderland' and 'Through the Looking-Glass' in regard to the uncanny and its relation to language. For the purpose of the study on the psychoanalytical concept of the uncanny in connection with linguistic theory, the most important theories have been evaluated in the first chapter of the dissertation, titled 'The Concept of the Uncanny and its Relation to Language'. Afterwards the chapter 'The Uncanny and Language in Lewis Carroll's 'Alice in Wonderland' and 'Through the Looking-Glass' applies the acquired theoretical framework to the two selected texts in order to understand the different ways in which Carroll manipulates language in order to create an uncanny atmosphere.