Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

Lewis Carroll

Keep in Mind…

• Alice is a very young English girl from the mid-1800s

• Sheltered from most realities of the world– Including industrialization, poverty, or anything

considered odd, awkward, improper, or silly• Formally dressed in complicated,

uncomfortable clothes• Learned lessons from tutor and school…

Continued

• ….But they would’ve been almost entirely rote learning– This includes memorizing poems to improve her

morals, memorizing songs to entertain adults, and memorizing enough math to make her a useful housekeeper for when she grew up and married

• All of this boredom is dissolved in Alice’s fantasy world that she creates.

• **Goes along with travel motif

“Down the Rabbit Hole”

Things to Consider

• Boredom until the White Rabbit appears• As she’s falling, Alice starts applying the

knowledge she’s learned to the situation.– Uses fancy long words

• Tries to practice curtseying• Alice is constantly thinking and talking to

herself; she even critiques and corrects herself

Continued

• How does she react when she finds the bottle labeled “Drink Me?”

• She remembers a story about what?• Cries when things go wrong or out of

frustration• Growing up and growing down

“The Pool of Tears”

Things to Consider

• Improper language/talking nonsense• Scolding herself, like an adult would• Questions who she really is– Is she Mabel? How does she attempt to prove that

she’s not• Alice the imperialist• Insults the mouse by mentioning Dinah the cat

and the terrier that catches rats

“A Caucus Race and a Long Tale”

Things to Consider

• Caucus Race– Parody of the electoral process and politics since

they lack clarity and decisiveness– Dodo suggests it because it’s the “driest” thing he

knows a.k.a. the dullest• Play on words

• Argument with Lory• Insults the creatures• More crying

“The Rabbit Sends in a Little Bill”

Things to Consider

• Issues with growing/changing sizes– Alice realizes she can’t grow up because she’s

stuck in a room and can’t get any larger• Good because she’ll never grow old, but bad because

she’d remain a child

• Puppy– Despite it being much larger than Alice, the puppy

is one of the only comforts in Wonderland because it is familiar to her.

“Advice from a Caterpillar”

Things to Consider

• “Who are you?” – What changes have you noticed in Alice up until

this point?– She cannot answer the Caterpillar, due to all the

different experiences she has had.– She compares her changes to the metamorphosis

of a caterpillar.• Caterpillar critiques Alice

“Pig and Pepper”

Things to Consider

• Behavior of the footmen• The Duchess– How is she portrayed?– How does she uphold or challenge Victorian

ideals?• The Cook• Cheshire Cat– “We’re all mad here.” (Including Alice)

IF you haven’t already, make sure that you’ve finished reading the book in preparation for your test

on Friday.

“A Mad Tea Party”

Things to Consider

• Satires the Victorian tradition of afternoon tea– Highly formalized occasion where everything was

ordered by social custom• Ex. Who pours the tea, who has the first plate of cake…

• The Hatter, Hare, the Dormouse, and even Alice, completely overthrow the custom– Eating and drinking from dirty plates, spilling

things, making rude remarks…

“The Queen’s Croquet Ground”

Things to Consider

• The Queen’s portrayal– It is said that she resembles Queen Victoria; so, if

that’s the case, then it’s safe to say that the author didn’t particularly like her

– Anger issues; obsession with beheading people• Why is the Duchess in prison?• Croquet game is chaos because everything is

alive and squirming around, plus nobody takes turns

Continued

• The Cheshire Cat reappears to cause trouble.• Flattery saves Alice from losing her head.• Ridiculous argument with the executioner

over beheading the Cat. – Executioner: no can do, he doesn’t have a body– King: It can be beheaded because it has a head– Queen: do it or else!

“The Mock Turtle’s Story”

Things to Consider

• Duchess is much calmer this time• She insists that everything has a moral, even

the remark of mustard being a vegetable– What kind of comment does this make?

• King pardons all the condemned while the Queen takes Alice to the Mock Turtle

• Nobody is every really executed

Continued

• The Gryphon introduces Alice to the very sad Mock Turtle– He doesn’t feel sorrow; he just imagines it

• Lots of examples of plays on words and parodies

• All of subjects listed by the Mock Turtle are an effort to prove that his education is just as good as Alice’s, if not better.

“The Lobster Quadrille”

Things to Consider

• This is an example of a Quadrille: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsWxRZfTquQ – She’s fascinated by the dance, but more glad it’s

over than anything else.• Alice learns from her prior mistakes– She avoids offending the Mock Turtle and Gryphon

when describing seafood• More plays on words• They tell her she’s talking nonsense

“Who Stole the Tarts?”

Things to Consider

• The King is the judge• 12 little animals she has encountered are the

jury members– Alice is irritated by Bill

• Knave of Hearts is on trial• King is ready for a verdict before they’ve even

begun to question the witnesses

Continued

• All of the witnesses are horrible• Nothing makes sense– This trial mocks the corrupt British legal system

• The Queen represents the authority and its willingness to jump to conclusions.– “Sentence first – verdict afterwards.”

• Alice continues to grow

“Alice’s Evidence”

Things to Consider• Everything that’s considered important by the

king is absolute nonsense in Alice’s eyes.– The poem’s meaning– The flawed reasoning and laws

• Even though Alice attempts to defend herself, the Queen still presumes her to be guilty.– Calls for Alice’s execution– Critique of how the lower classes are treated

• Alice doesn’t care at this point.

Continued

• Doug, what’s up with that ending?– It’s all a dream; nothing has changed– Final scene with Alice’s sister by herself• She reflects on Alice and all she had told her• Appreciate the imagination even if it is fantasy