The Walrus and the Carpenter
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
Interpretations
In the movie Dogma (directed by Kevin Smith), one of the characters explains his theory that the poem is really an indictment of organized religion: The good natured Walrus either represents Buddha, or (since he has tusks) the Hindu elephant god Ganesha, and the Carpenter is an obvious reference to Jesus. They eat the innocent oysters, which represent the masses under the sway of religion. It should be noted the movie is highly satirical, and this interpertation, although valid, is presented by a character who specifically uses it to pick on the Catholic nun with whom he is speaking.
It must also be noted that when Carroll gave the manuscript for Looking Glass to illustrator John Tenniel, he gave him the choice of drawing a carpenter, a butterfly, or a baronet (since each word fit the rhyme scheme). Tenniel chose a carpenter.
Alternately, the poem could be interpreted as a lesson about life. When viewed this way, some days you are the walrus or the carpenter, and on others you are an oyster. It is suggested in the fourth stanza, that willing things to be different than they they are brings unhappiness. Also, in the thirteenth stanza, the oysters plead for thier life, meaning 'one man's pleasure is another man's pain'.
Inspired works
- The poem is said to have inspired the 1967 song "I Am the Walrus" by The Beatles.
- Donovan set "The Walrus and the Carpenter" to music on his 1971 children's album H.M.S. Donovan. The song features many segments acted and sung by Donovan and his friends. Paul McCartney appears with Donovan on a bootleg recording of the song dating from around 1968.
External Links
- Text of the Walrus and the Carpenter (http://www.jabberwocky.com/carroll/walrus.html/)
