Children stories often carry a moral message. This is not a new thing, and has been the case since millennia and across many cultures around the globe.
Sometimes, the moral story is not direct, and indeed can be very deep,and sometimes it is enveloped in satire or even cynicist philosophy.
One such deeply symbolic and satirical story is Lewis Carroll's poem of The Walrus and the Carpenter. In his book, Through The Looking Glass, which is the sequel to his Alice in Wonderland, the following story is told. Bu in the Disney 1951 animated film, Alice in Wonderland, it appears.
Here is an excerpt of the relevant parts from the poem. The full poem can be read at the above link.
"The time has come," the Walrus said,
"To talk of many things:
Of shoes--and ships--and sealing-wax--
Of cabbages--and kings--
And why the sea is boiling hot--
And whether pigs have wings.""But wait a bit," the Oysters cried,
"Before we have our chat;
For some of us are out of breath,
And all of us are fat!"
"No hurry!" said the Carpenter.
They thanked him much for that."A loaf of bread," the Walrus said,
"Is what we chiefly need:
Pepper and vinegar besides
Are very good indeed--
Now if you're ready, Oysters dear,
We can begin to feed.""But not on us!" the Oysters cried,
Turning a little blue.
"After such kindness, that would be
A dismal thing to do!"
"The night is fine," the Walrus said.
"Do you admire the view?"It was so kind of you to come!
And you are very nice!"
The Carpenter said nothing but
"Cut us another slice:
I wish you were not quite so deaf--
I've had to ask you twice!""It seems a shame," the Walrus said,
"To play them such a trick,
After we've brought them out so far,
And made them trot so quick!"
The Carpenter said nothing but
"The butter's spread too thick!""I weep for you," the Walrus said:
"I deeply sympathize."
With sobs and tears he sorted out
Those of the largest size,
Holding his pocket-handkerchief
Before his streaming eyes."O Oysters," said the Carpenter,
"You've had a pleasant run!
Shall we be trotting home again?'
But answer came there none--
And this was scarcely odd, because
They'd eaten every one.
The very telling verses are where the Walrus says:
"I weep for you," the Walrus said:
"I deeply sympathize."
With sobs and tears he sorted out
Those of the largest size,
Holding his pocket-handkerchief
Before his streaming eyes.
How often do we see Walruses with tears in their eyes?
Whether they are persons, or companies, or nations!
Those who pretend that they are doing what is best, but in reality doing exactly the opposite, but trying to present evil as good?
For example, is the US invasion and occupation of Iraq really for democracy and freedom?
If one takes a darker view, the Walrus and the Carpenter can be symbolic of intentionally luring other people with sweet talk, then preying on them (or their money, or their emotions, ...etc.)
Other interpretations can be found on the Wikipedia article.
Comments
Anonymous (not verified)
The Walrus and the Carpenter
Sat, 2009/01/31 - 06:45This poem certainly could have the symbolic meaning of exposing false religion, and it's aim to destroy mankind. However we must not confuse false religion with true religion revealed in the Bible.This wise Book warns in great detail of religious leaders duping their followers into self-destructive behaviors such as living by dangerous beliefs, sacrificing their children to "religious" sexual predators, and blindly following without investigating, as the oysters do. And what about forced contributions, while the leaders live in luxury("we made them trot so quick")? Sometimes a member will realize they're being distracted by the entertainment of these frauds("do you admire the view") while being spiritually devoured by these phony teachers. But unlike the poor oysters, we can listen to the Bible's warning before it's too late.
Anonymous (not verified)
:) I liked the poem, and
Wed, 2010/02/24 - 19:19:) I liked the poem, and think the moral is to listen to your elders/always think things through, because the oldest oyster stayed at home, and the younger ones got eaten. If you are an oyster, WHY would you go with a walrus?!
panda (not verified)
false
Tue, 2010/03/09 - 20:46Besides! Oysters look nothing like sheep....
Anonymous (not verified)
?????????
Mon, 2010/05/03 - 22:16they're not meant to
Anonymous (not verified)
I think it teaches that
Sun, 2010/04/04 - 23:37I think it teaches that oysters are not meant to wear shoes, and that oysters who break the natural law by doing so will be punished by being consumed by a walrus - the symbol of god's wrath
Anonymous (not verified)
Symbolic Meaning?
Thu, 2010/04/15 - 17:14First off, this poem appeared in "Through the looking glass and what Alice found there", not in "Alices adventures in wonderland". While I believe everyone is free to interpret what they want from poetry, I don't feel there is much to analyze in this poem. When Carrol Lewis submitted the text for this poem to his illustrator, he actually told him he could draw either a carpenter, a butterfly or a baronet since they are the same syllables. The illustrator chose to draw a carpenter. Since it could have been "The Walrus and the Butterfly" and Carrol wouldn't have cared kinda tells me he didn't put as much underneath the characters as we try to project into it.
Khalid
Still ...
Thu, 2010/04/15 - 17:28Thanks for the correction on the book which this appeared in.
You said Carrol Lewis, although his pen name is Lewis Carrol.
Also, the use of a butterfly, baronet, or carpenter does not invalidate my proposed analysis. It was the walrus who was crying while eating the oysters, not the carpenter (or butterfly or baronet).
As they say in Arabic المعنى في بطن الشاعر meaning : "The meaning is within [the heart of] the poet", i.e. only the poet knows for sure what the poetry means.
Anonymous (not verified)
My God, can't a child's poem
Tue, 2010/07/06 - 18:21My God, can't a child's poem simply be that...a poem to entertain children...why read religion into everything. Any organized religion is just another way to control people...one of the truest things ever said is that religion is the opiate of the masses...God is in your heart, not some a special building nor a moronic book written centuries ago.
Anonymous (not verified)
This poem is deep.
Wed, 2010/09/15 - 15:30This poem is deep.
Anonymous (not verified)
Because of the time era that
Sun, 2012/05/27 - 13:15Because of the time era that this poem came out it would lead me to believe religion would play a huge part in this poem. It reminds me of genesis from the old testament, the way Carroll describes the sun and moon. Its almost like man(sun)is over stepping his boudries and how moon(she)thinks he is very rude! Plus their are a few quotes that resemble genesis("if 7 maids with 7 mops")genesis states that the earth was created in 7 days and 7 nights. So why did Carroll use 7 as the time periond to clean this so called mess up?
The walrus being symbolized as buddah or eastern religion kinda makes sense he seems to do most of the talking and seems to be the knowledgable one. Same with the carpenter being of christianity. In my opinion there are parts of this poem that that makes me feel like its in the mist of a imperfect genesis.The sun and moon are not cooperating and they both have attitudes. Somehow there is a sky but no birds exist yet. But oysters and a walrus havew been created. It also seems that the walrus and carpeneter see the beach(world) as a mess and are weeping beacuse they do not like the way the beach was created. The attention gets diverted to the oysters and I understand that they are to suppose to resemble man kind or people being duped by religion as it consumes us. I think this poem has a deeper meaning plus a personal meaning to the author. Alomst like something like this poem is actually happenned or is happening in the authors life. Carroll is being very symbolic and some of the versus don't really make sense to us but leads you to believe that there is a meaning to the verse not relavent to us! Never the less and excellent poem and keeps me digging for more answers!
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