Bandersnatch

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For other uses, see Bandersnatch (disambiguation).

The Bandersnatch is a fictional creature mentioned in Lewis Carroll's poems Jabberwocky and The Hunting of the Snark. The form or size of the creature is not described, nor is it clear whether Bandersnatch is singular, like the Phoenix.

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[edit] Description

The only description given of it is that the hero should "shun the frumious Bandersnatch," this particular adjective being a concise way of describing the creature's fuming and furious nature.[1] Other advice given to the beamish hero proving quite accurate, one must dismiss the possibility that the speaker within the poem was uninformed about the Bandersnatch, which, however, does not actually make an appearance in "Jabberwocky." Thus it is clear that the Bandersnatch is not of a size or character to be embraced. Elsewhere in Through the Looking-Glass, however, it is implied (but not stated) that a Bandersnatch is quick-moving, and that there may be more than one of it when the White King says: "She runs so fearfully quick. You might as well try to catch a Bandersnatch!"

It is not stated whether there are non-frumious Bandersnatches, or whether these can be approached safely, merely that the hero of the poem must shun a Bandersnatch that is frumious. At the same time, it may be that 'frumious' is not a merely descriptive adjective, but a definitive one, describing the essential quality of the Bandersnatch.[2]

Carroll's The Hunting of the Snark (Fit the Seventh) settles some of these questions: in an encounter with a bandersnatch it is described as moving swiftly, having a neck it can extend, and having snapping, frumious jaws, with which it tries to grab the Banker.

[edit] Further developments

[edit] New Alice

The book A New Alice in the Old Wonderland, 1895, by Anna M. Richards, contains a broader description given of the Bandersnatch with the poem Bandersnatchy.

In this poem another hero sets out to slay the frumious Bandersnatch so as to gain respect from his people against the hero who slew the Jabberwock (a story he would sit and tell till after ten o'clock).

It is necessary to be armed with a vorpal sword or a winxy pistol, because one never can tell what a Bandersnatch might do. According to the hero, the Bandersnatch is a queer thing that whizzles overhead causing him to believe it is up a tree, only to his surprise its legs are awfully high. It pleads the hero not to shoot only to fool him and fly away. The hero grabs its tail and cuts it off as his trophy.

 "Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
   The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
 Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
   The frumious Bandersnatch!"

The hero describes the creature as being extremely long legged with a long tail as well and the ability to fly extremely fast. It could be understood that the Bandersnatch perhaps camouflages itself as a tree, given the explanation understood by the hero's description.

There is also an added illustration by Anna M. Richards of the hero's encounter with the Bandersnatch.

[edit] Omar

The book Omar: A fantasy for animal lovers by Wilfrid Blunt (ASIN B0006BVCT6) states that bandersnatch is in fact a rock hyrax, which is only dangerous when it is frumious.

[edit] Known Space

In the Known Space novels by Larry Niven, there is a heavy-gravity species somewhat resembling a giant slug, which upon their discovery were immediately given the genus and species "Frumious bandersnatch." Additionally, in these books the plural is bandersnatchii.

[edit] Other Appearances

  • In 1967, a relatively obscure psychedelic rock band called Frumious Bandersnatch was formed in San Francisco in the "second wave" of psychedelic rock bands in the Bay Area. A collection of their music was issued on Ace Records/Big Beat Records in 1996.
  • Final Fantasy VII: In the video game Final Fantasy VII by Square-Enix (then Squaresoft), there is a monster type called Bandersnatch - a being similar to a wolf, living in snowy terrain. In Final Fantasy IX, the Bandersnatch is a gigantic dog with green, marble-like eyes and a spiralled tail, which are unleashed on the party by Queen Brahne. Other similar monsters called Bandersnatches appear in other installments in the series.
  • Resident Evil Code: Veronica: The fourth of the popular video game series contains a monster called the Bandersnatch. It is a tall humanoid with a single long arm. This arm can extend up to twenty feet in length to attack the player from distance.
  • American McGee's Alice: The load/save game screen is designed to look like a machine. An engraving on the machine reads: Bandersnatch Opticals.
  • 8-bit Theater: The Bandersnatch also gets a brief mention in the webcomic, when Fighter recalls the words of Story Master Vargus (Episode 173). Master Vargus's words also appear to be identical to the poem "Jabberwocky".
  • Achaea, Dreams of Divine Lands: There is an event called "Shoot the Bandersnatch" which involves shooting a "Frumious Bandersnatch" with an item called a "Banderbow."
  • Computers and Intractability, a Guide to the Theory of NP-Completness by Michael R, Garey and David S, Johnson. The Bandersnatch is used as a showcase for the beginners to understand NP-Completness.
  • Rock band Forgive Durden's debut album Wonderland's first single is entitled "Beware the Jubjub Bird and Shun the Frumious Bandersnatch". The entire album's track titles are derived from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
  • Deus Ex: The Conspiracy: In this PS2 game, the first time a player enters Smuggler's Abode there is a book on a table upstairs titled "The Modern Terrorist's Handbook" which has a chapter excerpt titled "Section 7C: Computer Virus Cultivation". Near the end of this text, it mentions "Bandersnatchv128" as a "typical virus".
  • In the tabletop strategy game Battletech, one Battlemech design is named the Bandersnatch.
  • A 1970's Long Island rock group
  • An obscure 1970's plastic children's game similar to Cootie.
  • On the "Alice in Wonderland" Disney DVD there is a song called "jabberwock" which features a picture of the bandersnatch looking like a moose faced creature with a body bearing three horizontal stripes (or bands) and a butterfly net tail (presumeably to snatch victims).
  • Ringworld the sci-fi novel by Larry Niven, Bandersnatch were kept as pets by the builders of the Ringworld, they were also hunted as game.

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://varatek.com/scott/jaber_defs.html
  2. ^ The preface of "The Hunting of the Snark" by Lewis Carroll
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