Lewis Caroll's Unusual Quotes

Lewis Carroll unusual quotes are numerous. From his life to his writing, Carroll was an unusual person. Lewis Carroll, whose real name was Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, was born in 1832 and died in 1898. The Victorian author is best remembered for his two children's books, "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There." His mixture of nonsense, contradictions and political savvy created stories and poems that remain popular to this day.

To understand many of Carroll's unusual quotes, you must understand Carroll himself. Carroll was a gifted mathematician and logician. He loved to create games, puzzles and other activities that both entertained and educated the mind. He often wove complex theories and logical problems into his stories and then simplified the ideas for a child's mind. He also had a gift for weaving nonsense in with his logic, creating fun and fantasy driven tales.

Lewis Carroll Quotes

• "It's a poor sort of memory that only works backwards." Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There. In this quote, the Queen plays with the concept of time. She points out that a memory that can look into the future is much more useful than one that only looks into the past.

• "Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end: then stop." Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. The king's comment to the white rabbit demonstrates how simple any task can be to accomplish. It also hints that the easiest way to start any task, big or small, is to simply start doing what you need to do. 

• "If everybody minded their own business, the world would go around a great deal faster than it does." Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. The duchess scolds Alice with this quote, leaving the read to question what would really happen to the world if everybody minded their own business.

• "Everything has a moral, if only you can find it." Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. This quote is one of the few Carroll lines that are straightforward and easy to interpret. The Queen says this to Alice to help her understand that every experience has a life lesson hidden inside.

• "Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!" Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Though the Queen's line to Alice can have a few meanings, the simplest interpretation is that you have to work extra hard to get ahead.

• "Some children have a most disagreeable way of getting grown-up: I hope you won't do anything of that sort before we meet again." Lewis Carroll, in a letter to Dolly Argles in 1868. This personal quote is a perfect display of the wit and wisdom Carroll included in every aspect of his writing.