Summery:
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is about a girl who follows a white rabbit into a strange world. She falls into its burrow for what feels like forever, At the end of the tunnel, she finds herself in a hall of locked doors and eats and drinks mysterious substances in an effort to escape. She eats a cake that turns her too large to escape. Frustrated, she cries a sea of tears, shrinks and nearly drowns. she swims to land with a mouse who hates cats and dogs, which Alice brings up constantly. The mouse responds with disgust, and Alice asks why it dislikes them so. Both her and the mouse meet a group of birds who are also soaked from the tear flood. They think of ways to dry off, and settle on a caucus-race, which means they will run on a track until they dry off. Alice inquires about the mouse's hatred for cats, but again ends up offending it and it runs off. Alice tries to catch up to it, commenting that her cat Dinah is very good at catching mice and birds. This offends the group of fowl around her, and they all make excuses to get away. Alice is again scared, confused and alone, but soon she will only be scared and confused.
She encounters the white rabbit again who is on his way to play croquet with the Queen, ordering around his servants and being a pompous rodent. She enters his house and drinks yet another mysterious liquid which turns her bigger than the house. They think of several ways to get her out, from sawing off the limbs that stick out of the windows, to throwing pebbles at her. The pebbles turn into cakes which she eats to become smaller. She escapes the angry mob awaiting her outside, encounters an arrogant caterpillar that smokes, a Duchess who has questionable mothering skills, a smiling cat who seems to be the only one who acknowledges he is crazy, a March Hare and Hatter celebrating their Un-birthdays, and finally, The Queen of Hearts who is all too eager to behead half her court. She gets in trouble with the queen, and discovers their court system enacts sentences before verdicts. Alice is angry, and scolds the Queen, who then sends her card guards to seize her. Alice wakes up in her sister's lap, commenting on how weird her dream was.
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is about a girl who follows a white rabbit into a strange world. She falls into its burrow for what feels like forever, At the end of the tunnel, she finds herself in a hall of locked doors and eats and drinks mysterious substances in an effort to escape. She eats a cake that turns her too large to escape. Frustrated, she cries a sea of tears, shrinks and nearly drowns. she swims to land with a mouse who hates cats and dogs, which Alice brings up constantly. The mouse responds with disgust, and Alice asks why it dislikes them so. Both her and the mouse meet a group of birds who are also soaked from the tear flood. They think of ways to dry off, and settle on a caucus-race, which means they will run on a track until they dry off. Alice inquires about the mouse's hatred for cats, but again ends up offending it and it runs off. Alice tries to catch up to it, commenting that her cat Dinah is very good at catching mice and birds. This offends the group of fowl around her, and they all make excuses to get away. Alice is again scared, confused and alone, but soon she will only be scared and confused.
She encounters the white rabbit again who is on his way to play croquet with the Queen, ordering around his servants and being a pompous rodent. She enters his house and drinks yet another mysterious liquid which turns her bigger than the house. They think of several ways to get her out, from sawing off the limbs that stick out of the windows, to throwing pebbles at her. The pebbles turn into cakes which she eats to become smaller. She escapes the angry mob awaiting her outside, encounters an arrogant caterpillar that smokes, a Duchess who has questionable mothering skills, a smiling cat who seems to be the only one who acknowledges he is crazy, a March Hare and Hatter celebrating their Un-birthdays, and finally, The Queen of Hearts who is all too eager to behead half her court. She gets in trouble with the queen, and discovers their court system enacts sentences before verdicts. Alice is angry, and scolds the Queen, who then sends her card guards to seize her. Alice wakes up in her sister's lap, commenting on how weird her dream was.
Themes:
Life is unpredictable: Your expectations of your life or what you hope to become might not be what will happen. Alice is thrown into a world that she knows nothing about, and anything she thinks she knows is turned onto its head.
Loss of Childhood Innocence: Alice starts out cool and level-headed, but her sense of order is shaken upon entering Wonderland. She must grow and adapt to her situation if she wants to thrive. When confronted with the Queen, she is met with injustice and violence, a very adult situation.
Violence is everywhere: There is danger at almost every corner, whether its drowning in a flood of your own tears, getting chased into the woods by an angry mob of animals for breaking and entering, and almost getting beheaded by an angry monarch
Violence is everywhere: There is danger at almost every corner, whether its drowning in a flood of your own tears, getting chased into the woods by an angry mob of animals for breaking and entering, and almost getting beheaded by an angry monarch
Favorite Quote:
“Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and of having nothing to do: once or twice she had peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it, ‘and what is the use of a book,’ thought Alice ‘without pictures or conversations?’” (1).
This book was written in a time where children’s literature was written to teach a moral or lesson. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’s sole purpose is to be nonsensical and entertaining. This book inspired the likes of Narnia, Harry Potter, etc.
Children have the same mindset as Alice. They’re stuck into school daze by the literature and instructional texts they read. Likely sharing the same sentiment of pictures and conversations. They leap into their own proverbial rabbit hole to explore thoughts they're interested in,
“Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and of having nothing to do: once or twice she had peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it, ‘and what is the use of a book,’ thought Alice ‘without pictures or conversations?’” (1).
This book was written in a time where children’s literature was written to teach a moral or lesson. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’s sole purpose is to be nonsensical and entertaining. This book inspired the likes of Narnia, Harry Potter, etc.
Children have the same mindset as Alice. They’re stuck into school daze by the literature and instructional texts they read. Likely sharing the same sentiment of pictures and conversations. They leap into their own proverbial rabbit hole to explore thoughts they're interested in,
Argument: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is about growing up and facing unusual and difficult situations
Essay:
Kately M. Cockrell
Mr. Pace
English IV
Alice in Wonderland Essay
January 1, 2020
As Quiet As a Mouse, As Big As a House
Children have often been compared to sponges, soaking up information, growing as they do, but never really retaining the knowledge. It’s not uncommon for a child to daydream in class, especially when they have no real interest in the subject at hand. Teachers often have to bring a student back to reality with discipline, as reverie during a lecture is frowned upon, but perhaps not as much as it was in 1800s England. A classroom is a place to prepare a student for the real world, there is no room for antics. Children will grow and face overwhelming challenges, marveling at the world around them, but often becoming frustrated at what they don’t understand. Much like Alice in her ventures down the rabbit hole.
As Alice would put it, a book has no use without “pictures or conversations”(1). Like any other child, Alice likes entertainment and fun, merely sitting at the back with her sister leaves her in a complacency she almost can't stand. That’s why she jumps to chase the white rabbit even before she notices its “unusual characteristics.” She pursues something she is wholeheartedly interested in by herself, which sent her barreling down its burrow into an unfamiliar world. This is like the introduction of growing up. The moment she falls through is unexpected and feels like it might never end.
From the time she finally stops falling, she encounters a cake which makes her grow, and later, mushroom halves that have the same effect. The change in size is a common occurrence in Alice, not only because growing up comes with body changes, but also situations that make someone feel as small as a mouse. They are uncomfortable with their changes, or they might use them to their advantage, just like Alice used her larger stature to hers.
As opposed to her larger stature, Alice might have had a very difficult time when the same size as the mouse she encounters. She is insensitive to the mouse’s fear of cats when she mentions Dinah, her pet cat. She continually makes this mistake, even with a whole group of fowl. She talks about a subject that she cannot empathize with another group on, she learns from this mistake.
After some time exploring, Alice begins to question who she is. Everyone at some point questions their identity, and because of all the growing and shrinking she is doing, she might be considered a different person. People are sometimes told they are too young or too old for certain things, almost never finding a balance. This can also be interpreted through Alice’s rendition of “You are old, Father William” which talks about William’s youthful mannerisms despite his old age and son’s questioning. Perhaps this is Carroll’s way of saying it’s never shameful to have fun at any age.
At the very end of her journey, Alice is confronted with an aggressive queen who threatens to slay her entire court every few minutes. Alice confronts the queen at the very end and stands up for herself. Sometimes the hardest thing is standing up for one’s self against a difficult person, especially when others around don’t dare to. She wakes up in her sister’s lap with a start.
At the end of the day, Alice is a girl faced with growing up, confronted with challenges that she might find unusual, but will become more familiar and easy to combat as she learns about the world around her. These lessons, coupled with its unusual content are what make Alice a timeless classic, constantly being retold and modified by people who admire it.
Essay:
Kately M. Cockrell
Mr. Pace
English IV
Alice in Wonderland Essay
January 1, 2020
As Quiet As a Mouse, As Big As a House
Children have often been compared to sponges, soaking up information, growing as they do, but never really retaining the knowledge. It’s not uncommon for a child to daydream in class, especially when they have no real interest in the subject at hand. Teachers often have to bring a student back to reality with discipline, as reverie during a lecture is frowned upon, but perhaps not as much as it was in 1800s England. A classroom is a place to prepare a student for the real world, there is no room for antics. Children will grow and face overwhelming challenges, marveling at the world around them, but often becoming frustrated at what they don’t understand. Much like Alice in her ventures down the rabbit hole.
As Alice would put it, a book has no use without “pictures or conversations”(1). Like any other child, Alice likes entertainment and fun, merely sitting at the back with her sister leaves her in a complacency she almost can't stand. That’s why she jumps to chase the white rabbit even before she notices its “unusual characteristics.” She pursues something she is wholeheartedly interested in by herself, which sent her barreling down its burrow into an unfamiliar world. This is like the introduction of growing up. The moment she falls through is unexpected and feels like it might never end.
From the time she finally stops falling, she encounters a cake which makes her grow, and later, mushroom halves that have the same effect. The change in size is a common occurrence in Alice, not only because growing up comes with body changes, but also situations that make someone feel as small as a mouse. They are uncomfortable with their changes, or they might use them to their advantage, just like Alice used her larger stature to hers.
As opposed to her larger stature, Alice might have had a very difficult time when the same size as the mouse she encounters. She is insensitive to the mouse’s fear of cats when she mentions Dinah, her pet cat. She continually makes this mistake, even with a whole group of fowl. She talks about a subject that she cannot empathize with another group on, she learns from this mistake.
After some time exploring, Alice begins to question who she is. Everyone at some point questions their identity, and because of all the growing and shrinking she is doing, she might be considered a different person. People are sometimes told they are too young or too old for certain things, almost never finding a balance. This can also be interpreted through Alice’s rendition of “You are old, Father William” which talks about William’s youthful mannerisms despite his old age and son’s questioning. Perhaps this is Carroll’s way of saying it’s never shameful to have fun at any age.
At the very end of her journey, Alice is confronted with an aggressive queen who threatens to slay her entire court every few minutes. Alice confronts the queen at the very end and stands up for herself. Sometimes the hardest thing is standing up for one’s self against a difficult person, especially when others around don’t dare to. She wakes up in her sister’s lap with a start.
At the end of the day, Alice is a girl faced with growing up, confronted with challenges that she might find unusual, but will become more familiar and easy to combat as she learns about the world around her. These lessons, coupled with its unusual content are what make Alice a timeless classic, constantly being retold and modified by people who admire it.