The Walrus and the Carpenter

Fiction | Poem | Middle Grade | Published in 1871

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Summary

Background

Poem Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Symbols & Motifs

Nature

Nature—and the reversal of the natural order—is a motif that runs through the poem. The poem begins with the sun “shining on the sea” (Line 1) as the moon shines “sulkily” (Line 7) because the sun is shining in the middle of the night, the moon’s domain. Carroll emphasizes the wetness of the sea and the dryness of the sand, as well as the cloudlessness and birdlessness of the sky overhead. The Walrus and oysters of the poem are also representative of the natural world. Of course, the natural world of “The Walrus and the Carpenter” is distinctly unnatural. The Walrus talks to the Carpenter and the oysters and even weeps, while the oysters have brushed coats and neat shoes. The Walrus wonders “why the sea is boiling hot” (Line 65) and “whether pigs have wings” (Line 66). These reversals of the natural order reflect the unnaturally cruel behavior of the Walrus and the Carpenter, who invite the oysters to join them on false pretenses before eating them, a truly “dismal thing to do” (Line 82).

Talk

Talk features as an important motif throughout the poem. Most of the characters of the poem who talk are creatures that would not normally talk. Thus, the moon says that the sun is “very rude” (Line 11) to shine in the middle of the night; the Walrus talks with the Carpenter; and the oysters, who also talk, are invited to join the Walrus and the Carpenter for “[a] pleasant talk, / Along the briny beach” (Lines 33-34).

Talking is how the Walrus manipulates the oysters and lures them to their doom. The oysters wait in a row—perhaps lined up by the Walrus himself, given that he picks out “[t]hose of the largest size” (Line 100) later in the poem—expecting “to talk of many things” (Line 62), and when they begin to suspect his intentions, he deflects their attention by talking about the “fine” (Line 83) evening. The Walrus continues to talk as he eats, lamenting his treachery and telling the oysters that he “deeply” (Line 98) sympathizes with them. However, the Walrus continues to eat the oysters, suggesting that there is a discrepancy between his stated intentions and his actions. What somebody says does not always reflect their behavior and true character, as in the case of the Walrus.

Food

Food and eating are also important motifs in the poem. The oysters deceived by the Walrus and the Carpenter become food, and they even recognize that they can be eaten—“But not on us!” (Line 79)—when the Walrus begins to list food items that go well with oysters:

‘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’ (Lines 73-78).

The Walrus’s words to the oysters are ambiguous—when he asks if the oysters are “ready,” he could either be asking whether they are ready to eat or whether they are ready to be eaten. The oysters immediately intuit that this is what the Walrus might mean, and indeed it is. The rest of the poem describes the Walrus and Carpenter’s feast as they devour the oysters.

The Walrus and the Carpenter enjoy their meal differently. The Walrus enjoys his meal in tears, claiming to sympathize with the oysters, even as he selects “[t]hose of the largest size” (Line 100) for consumption. The Carpenter, meanwhile, only speaks to ask for more bread or to complain that “[t]he butter’s spread too thick” (Line 96).