Why Is A Raven Like A Writing Desk ?

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Why is a Raven Like A Writing Desk ?   Want to read this in a different language ? Change the TO field to your own country and click the TRANSLATE button after going HERE WHY IS A RAVEN LIKE A WRITING DESK ? (A brief study in literature logistics) © August 2013 Written by David Wicker Please do not reprint without permission * * * This article is Rated for: EVERYONE "I know who I WAS when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then ..." To understand the question the Mad Hatter gave Alice, we must first look to its source, Lewis Carroll, who wrote Alice In Wonderland back in 1865. Here we find Alice, The Mad Hatter, The March Hare, and the Dormouse, all partaking of Tea at a mad tea party while Alice is in Wonderland. A fanciful dream to be sure.     "Your hair wants cutting," said the Hatter. He had been looking at Alice for some time with great curiosity, and this was his first speech.  "You should learn not to make personal remarks," Alice said with some severity; "it's very rude." The Hatter opened his eyes very wide on hearing this; but all he said was, "Why is a raven like a writing-desk ?" "Come, we shall have some fun now !" thought Alice. I'm glad they've begun asking riddles. -- "I believe I can guess that," she added aloud. "Do you mean that you think you can find out the answer to it ?" said the March Hare. "Exactly so," said Alice. (there is some playful banter between the four guests before the Mad Hatter returns to the question) ... "Have you guessed the riddle yet ?" the Hatter said, turning to Alice again.  "No, I give it up," Alice replied: "what's the answer ?" "I haven't the slightest idea," said the Hatter. "Nor I," said the March Hare. Alice sighed wearily. "I think you might do something better with the time," she said, "than waste it in asking riddles that have no answers."     And so he might, or so we might think, but this did not satisfy a great number of readers who puzzled over the question. Lewis Carroll was asked this very question in 1896 by agitated readers so he replied and I quote: " Enquiries have been so often addressed to me, as to whether any answer to the Hatter's Riddle can be imagined, that I may as well put on record here what seems to me to be a fairly appropriate answer, 'Because it can produce a few notes, tho they are very flat; and it is never put with the wrong end in front !' " Others might've been satisfied with his curious answer while others figured he was a blithering idiot and couldn't even answer his own elusive riddle. Much like the Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, people were unable to let go of a question once it had been asked and so many to date have tried: "Why is a raven like a writing desk ?" Sam Loyd of 1914 had two possible answers, "Because the notes for which they are noted are not noted for being musical notes." and "Because Poe wrote on both." (referring of course to Edgar Allan Poe). Aldous Huxley of 1928 said, "Because there is a B in both and an N in neither." (ooh, that was bad and not even correct !) An anonymous contributor said: "Back in the 1930s, when I first picked up my mother's dog-eared copy of the works of Lewis Carroll, I asked her why a raven was like a writing desk. She answered with a straight face, 'Because you cannot ride either one of them like a bicycle.' Since this was true, and it was just as true as saying, 'Because neither one of them is made from aluminum,' I always thought Mom was right." Connor Freff Cochran has the correct answer I believe:    Remember that feather pens were a common writing tool of the day, and that writing desks had inkwells " so the answer is, "Because they both come with inky quills." And now you know ! So only after several years later, this single curious riddle of Lewis Carrol's work had finally been solved ! And this is only a small portion of his works, hinting to a much greater and outright genius behind his masterpiece, "Alice In Wonderland." Return back HOME   You are Earth Visitor #

Reviews

[ApplesAreAmazing]

I've never read Alice in Wonderland, and I never watched the movie with Johnny Depp (he kind of frightens me, but don't tell my American History teacher, she loves him) but this was a very helpful story! I really like solving riddles, but this one was very tricky. Keep writing!

[dw817]

While I was not very fond of the new Alice In Wonderland (2009), I did rather like Johnny Depp. Minju the best Mad Hatter I ever saw was in Alice, the miniseries.
https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/uu0aAOqjlRI
Skip about 22-seconds into it.

[Marie]

I have read both "Alive in Wonderland" and "Alice Through the Looking Glass." I also saw the Disney verson.
There is no good answer for that riddle, And Lewis Carroll knew it. He was a skilled mathematician who undertood answers, but he knew how to creat a world in which there were none.

[dw817]

Ah, but I like the answer that Connor came up with ! It shows me, no matter how much silly nonsense there is in the world, it can always ALWAYS be put to some useful means.

[Nikkiela]

This was really interesting~! :D I haven't read/watch the original Alice in Wonderland and I don't recall having to watch the other variations of Alice in Wonderland due to my poor memory. I learn most of the plot through stories and other writings but this was a really interesting answer.

[dw817]

I'm glad you liked it. I'm - trying to remember if I had my own answer before I knew of Connor's. Let's see ... "Why is a raven like a writing desk ?" The only thing I could come up with was some wayward schoolgirl had grabbed a bird from out of the window and stuffed it up in her desk until he squawked and brought the teacher by.

That was as close an answer as I could get into trying to put the two together.

[Nikkiela]

Aahahaha xDDD My answer was that "Maybe if you enlarge a raven, you can possibly write on it top of its body like a desk."

[dw817]

Hmm ... Perhaps, but that's one sure way to get the beak too. :7

[Mark]

I like the last answer. It fits doesn't it? :) By the way, Aldous Huxley was perfectly correct. there is a 'B' in the word both and an 'N' in the word Neither. He was posing the answer to Carroll's riddle as another riddle.

[dw817]

Ah, but both neither has B's from the Raven nor Writing Desk and both either has E's from the same - in that respect. :)

[Mark]

Lost me on that one lol

[dw817]

Trying to be silly and complex. :) There are no B's in Raven nor writing desk. And both the same words carry E's in them.

[Mark]

ahh. gotcha. ;)

[ThoughtsofShyann]

I honestly liked it not mmy favorite but I did enjoy reading this !

[dw817]

The original Alice In Wonderland can be a bit pedantic at times, you might well enjoy the animated colorful and musical version Disney put out, written 15-years before I was born. :)

[MandaBear]

That was a very interesting story. I love the Alice in Wonderland at least the Depp version lol The cartoon was freaked me out weird I know but it did. Still I like his answer I think that does solve the riddle very much so

[dw817]

Johnny Depp was an interesting Mad Hatter. I think I will always prefer Ed Wynn in the Disney version more, however.

*Repairing a watch by adding condiments to the mechanism*
"Mustard !" the March Hare offers.
Mad Hatter nods his head. "Mustard, yes, mustard."
Suddenly he looks angry. "Mustard !? Don't let's be silly." and flips his hand down gaily. "Now lemon. That's different." He squeezes a cut of lemon into it. "That's - there."
And of course the watch goes crazy. As a kid I couldn't stop laughing at that silly scene. :D
https://www.youtube.com/v/26RTlPgg-tA

[Ellie EM]

I'm not sure if I've ever seen the old Alice in Wonderland cartoon(s), so I've never knew the Mad Hatter had asked Alice that riddle...but, now I know an answer to a riddle I've never knew about. :) And also, I've started brain-storming my own version of Alice in Wonderland, but it's a vampire version...cuz I love vampires! :D

[dw817]

I will have you know I am a BIG aficionado of Alice In Wonderland. I have seen many variations of it including a B&W film with stop-motion taxidermy animals from Czechoslovakia.

In fact, tomorrow if you like, I'll share a personal image archive I've had for a few years now of beloved Alice and the characters and creatures she meets in her travels which will include some definite varieties of kinky, cute, killing, and chaos.

As for your story, I would definitely enjoy reading that !

[Ellie EM]

Yeah, I've seen a lot of versions of Alice in Wonderland too-and most of then were anime ones...lol. xD But, anyways, I would like to see the picture of Alice and her friends u r talking about. ^^ And I'm glad to hear you would enjoy reading my version of Alice in Wonderland...maybe I'll post a sneak peek of it. :)

[dw817]

Hmm ... I'm just remembering it. I was gonna post a poem and Nancy Principle today and that was it. Lemme see if my Alice archive is still there, and if so I'll post it too.

[Ellie EM]

Okay then. :)

[dw817]

Oof, I forgot to post NP yesterday ! I should remember today. Try and make my workload a little lighter. Spent too long getting the tables put together for that Alice In Wonderland tribute. :7

[Ellie EM]

Umm okay...

[Riding the Rainbow]

thank you for this..have a good day

[dw817]

UBetcha ! I'm in better spirits today, still catching up to what all I missed yesterday.