Disney’s Alice in Wonderland. The Walrus and the Carpenter

The Walrus and the Carpenter or the story of the curious oysters…
Without question, the best depiction of this story within a story.
The Walrus and the Carpenter are the titular characters in the poem, which is recited by Tweedledee and Tweedledum to Alice. Walking upon a beach one “sunny” night, the Walrus and Carpenter come upon some oysters, four of whom they invite to join them – however, to the disapproval of the eldest oyster, many more follow them. After walking along the beach, the two titular characters get hungry and eat all of the oysters. Afterward, the Walrus regrets his actions and cries, mostly because now there are no more oysters for him to eat.

In the movie Dogma (directed by Kevin Smith), a fallen angel named Loki explains his theory that the poem is really an indictment of organized religion (despite Carroll being an Anglican clergyman), with the Walrus representing Eastern religions (either Buddha or Ganesha) and the Carpenter referring to Jesus and Western religions in general. Loki chides them for eating the innocent oysters, which represent the masses under their sway. A further twist to this satirical episode is that Loki, who uses this interpretation specifically to undermine and test the beliefs of a Catholic nun with whom he is speaking, knows these beliefs to be right through his own first hand knowledge of God. Loki states he does this to the clergy to “keep them on their toes” implying he does this to test their faith and later strengthened it should they recover.

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