Nonsense Books · Chapter
Nonsense Stories explained
This chapter includes 'The Story of the Four Little Children Who Went Round the World' and several histories of young animals (Parrots, Storks, Geese, Owls) that end in absurd and fatal mishaps, concluding with the parents' dramatic picklin
What happens
This chapter includes 'The Story of the Four Little Children Who Went Round the World' and several histories of young animals (Parrots, Storks, Geese, Owls) that end in absurd and fatal mishaps, concluding with the parents' dramatic pickling and donation to a museum.
Themes in this chapter
Nonsense and Absurdity
The entire chapter is a prime example of literary nonsense, with impossible events like an island made of water, veal-cutlet and chocolate-drop landscapes, and characters dying in ridiculous ways.
Adventure and Exploration
The four children embark on a voyage around the world, encountering fantastical islands and creatures.
Mortality and Loss
The seven young animals all meet absurdly fatal ends, and the parents commit collective suicide by pickling themselves.
Characters to notice
- Violet
One of the four children who sails around the world; she knits frocks for fishes and inserts parrot feathers into her bonnet.
- Slingsby
One of the four children; administers opium-drops to fishes.
- Guy
One of the four children who set sail to go round the world.
- Lionel
One of the four children who set sail to go round the world.
- The Quangle Wangle
Elderly Quangle-Wangle who cooks and makes tea on the boat; also bites off parrot tail-feathers.
- The Parrots
Sixty-five red parrots with blue tails whose feathers are stolen; also the seven young Parrots who fight and die over a cherry.
Key passages
“So they bought a large boat to sail quite round the world by sea, and then they were to come back on the other side by land.”
They purchased a big boat to circumnavigate the globe by sea, planning to return overland.
Sets up the adventure premise of the four children.
“they found it was an island made of water quite surrounded by earth.”
They discovered an island composed of water, encircled by land.
Illustrates Lear's playful inversion of geography.
“they were all torn into little bits; and at last there was nothing left to record this painful incident except the cherry and seven small green feathers.”
The parrots tore each other apart, leaving only a cherry and seven green feathers.
Absurd and violent end to the seven young Parrots.
“each couple jumped into a separate bottle; by which effort, of course, they all died immediately, and became thoroughly pickled in a few minutes”
Each pair of parents jumped into a bottle, dying and becoming pickled instantly.
The parents' dramatic and nonsensical suicide.