The stories of Alice’s adventures in Wonderland have always been a favorite of mine. I was excited to read Lewis Carroll’s book again from a different perspective now that I am older. One of the first things that surprised me was when Alice was drinking the “drink me” potion, and eating the “eat me” cake. Alice checks the bottle to see if it says poison, and when she sees that it doesn’t she drinks it. When I was younger this didn’t strike me as odd. Now, I think of all the different things that could have happened to Alice other than a change in size. In todays society it does not matter if a drink says poison or not because it could very well be drugged and very dangerous. The fact that Alice drinks and eats what she finds led me to start thinking about how crucial it is that Alice is a child. Any adult in Alice’s position most likely wouldn’t have followed a strange rabbit down a hole in the ground, let alone drink and eat random things they find along the way. A child can sometimes be seen as curious, and naïve. Alice doesn’t imagine this drink as dangerous at all as soon as she sees that it is not marked poison because she is naïve enough to believe that no one would purposely deceive her in such a way. Alice is also a very curious child, but still believes in things many people believe are impossible. Alice’s imagination and curiosity bring her to the amazing world of Wonderland where nothing is impossible. All of her adventures in Wonderland only happen because she doesn’t question whether or not this strange talking rabbit is real or not, but simply, where is he going?
Daily Archives: 4 Oct ’14
Alice in Wonderland
As reading Alice in Wonderland, it very much reminds so of children growing up. As Alice was a very curious girl, so are many young boys and girls growing up. For example, children are very wondrous and want to seem to know the answer to everything, such as “Why do I have to go to school”, and sometimes even more difficult questions such as “Where do babies come from?” Just as how Alice was very curios about many things, such as seeing the rabbit with a waist-coat pocket, it really has her young mind wandering all over. What I noticed is that Alice constantly uses the term “I wonder”, which means she is repetitively using her mind and imagination. This could not be anymore relevant to children today, who are also constantly always wondering why things are the way they are. Also like children, Alice is very careless and carefree. Not caring whether a Wednesday falls on a Monday. As Alice continues to shrink, instead of panicking and behaving frantically, she just continues to wonder what would happen if she continues to get smaller. This innocence shows me that this story is directly for children, as they can relate to it so much.
Alice
In Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, throughout the story, Alice is very curious about the new things she encounters. We first see Alice being curious when she sees a rabbit going about while she is thinking about what to do. She finds it peculiar that the rabbit had a “waistcoat-pocket” (2) on and even pulls out a pocket watch from it. Out of her curiosity of this peculiar rabbit, she immediately follows him and even jumps in with him when he jumps down a hole “never once considering how in the world to get out again” (3). By jumping in without considering her next actions and the consequences of her actions, Alice appears to be curious because she follows her instincts to learn more about this rabbit which she finds peculiar. In the hole, she begins her journey exploring a new land. To these new things she always says “I wonder.” The usage of “I wonder” shows the reader that she is curious because she’s always questioning things and wondering about them. For example, when she’s falling down the hole, she says to herself, ” I wonder how many miles I’ve fallen by this time” (4) thinking about what is going on. She continues to wonder her location. In addition, later on, she discovers a drink that makes her shrink. She thinks of it as a “curious feeling” (11). She didn’t fear for her life when she continued to shrink but wondered instead, “what [she] should be like [when she goes out] like a candle” (11). Therefore, with her constant wondering and disregard for her safety, Alice seems to be a very curious child.
When to Be Big and When to Be Little
I loved to read as a kid, but I didn’t read Alice in Wonderland all the way several years later when I was well into adulthood. I made plenty of attempts as a child, but the book stressed me out. This most recent reading was my third time through the book. I’d say I got over my aversion.
When I was young, during the first attempt, I do remember Alice changing sizes really stressed me out. This happens well before I’d meet the Caterpillar, Cheshire Cat, or the Mad Hatter- all characters I’ve come to really enjoy. I never made it very far into the story because I got so uncomfortable with Alice’s fluctuating height.
Alice isn’t exactly comfortable during these shifts either. She often seems too big or too small to get where she’s going. It occurred to me that I didn’t like when I was a kid because Alice couldn’t be the right size the situation. She was either too big or too small; she was either too much a child or too grown up. It’s hard for Alice to know what’s expected. On this most recent reading I got the impression that, like Alice, I got treated like was supposed to be more “grown up” when I was little. I also got treated like was I was “too little” when I knew I was capable of more. As I got older, matured, I started to learn how to act my size.
Alice in Wonderland
For years I loved the idea of getting lost in a fantasy world. It seemed exciting to wander off and encounter unusual things. Alice in Wonderland is great because the protagonist does just that; nothing has to make sense in this place and it’s one long wondrous adventure. However, the story does mostly consist of Alice facing challenging situations and various forms of discomfort. The mouse, rabbit and caterpillar have strong personalities. This demonstrates that there will always be others who will challenge you in some way. Also, she continues to experiment with her physical growth and trying to “fit in” and be accepted. As much of a fantasy world this might be, Alice deals with issues that all people must face throughout their lifetime. When people speak about “growth” they’re usually not referring to physical growth issues that Alice is dealing with but this a great way to relay information about psychological and emotional development to children. The nonsensical language can be either confusing or humorous and charming but either way it does make the reader think.
I loved a few parts of the story because they really made me laugh and are quite relatable. When Alice is in White Rabbit’s house and physically outgrows the house after drinking from one of his bottles, she starts to think about how much pleasanter it was at home than everything she is currently dealing with and at one point she says to herself,”…That’ll be a comfort, one way-never to be an old woman-but then-always to have lessons to learn! Oh, I shouldn’t like that!” I interpreted this to mean that she figures she won’t grow old because she is literally as big as she can grow, therefore in one way she is now a “grownup” but because she is still young age wise, she will still have to continue learning, unlike adults who know everything they need to know. When I was a child I used to believe that adults knew everything because they are the ones who governed children, so of course I wanted to hurry up and become an adult so that I could know everything too. I find this line humorous because Lewis Carroll found a way to communicate messages that not only children can relate to but adults as well, since after all, they were once children and will understand the naivety. My favorite character thus far is The Caterpillar, it appears to have a strong sense of self, which is intimidating to Alice but it’s ironic because it’s not even a butterfly yet so it actually has a lot more transformation and learning to experience. What comes across as a strong sense of self through condescending and contemptuous language is actually another form of ignorance/naivety, which contrasts Alice’s self-doubt and shyness. Both characters have things that they can learn from one another just as in real life.
