Alice in Wonderland - Week 1

[Gem , Moderator]

Hi folks, welcome to our discussion about Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Here are a few questions to get our week started...

1) Alice is well known even among people who have not read the books. There have been many movies and many TV shows with Alice parodies or references. Some examples of well-known ideas from the books include “going down the rabbit hole,” a white rabbit with a watch, the Cheshire Cat who can disappear bit by bit until only his smile is left, the riddle “why is a raven like a writing desk,” “curiouser and curiouser,” the eating of the mushroom and other items to alter one’s size, the Walrus and the Carpenter, and the cry, “Off with their heads!” Why is Alice such a popular cultural icon?

2) Why does the opening of Alice in Wonderland emphasize Alice's boredom and sleepiness?

3) In Alice in Wonderland, what is the significance of Alice's reflecting, "I wouldn't say anything about it, even if I fell off the top of the house!"

4) At one point in the in Alice in Wonderland, Alice asks, "Who in the world am I?" What does this question reveal about Alice's state of mind?

5) How does the image of the Caterpillar relate to the themes of identity and growing up in Alice in Wonderland?

6) What distinguishes the Cheshire Cat from other characters Alice has met?

[Robin P, Moderator]

I had forgotten that Alice was one of the few children's books my family owned when I was young (as opposed to borrowing from the library), so I read it multiple times. I always liked books with magic in them and with wordplay and this must have been about the first I read. You can see that The Phantom Tollbooth is a descendant of Alice, as well as books like The Eyre Affair. If you don't have a copy with the original illustrations, you should try to get one from a library, as they are a big part of the story. Disney largely kept them in his cartoon movie.

It seems to me that the emphasis on boredom and sleepiness is so that the adventure can later be dismissed as a dream. It certainly has dreamlike qualities, such as the background changing suddenly, time being sped up or slowed down, odd things happening that seem rather normal.

There are a lot of conversations about manners, with Alice complaining about the manners of her acquaintance, and they about hers. Some of this is because they have literal interpretations of words and expressions. It's hard to avoid giving offense. Maybe it's also because so much of childhood at the time was about being trained in manners.

The caterpillar denies that he is going to change, although Alice knows he is. I hadn't thought of it, but the way Alice gets bigger and smaller could be seen as adolescence where one shifts between maturity and immaturity sometimes very quickly.

[Rafael]

Robin wrote: "It seems to me that the emphasis on boredom and sleepiness is so that the adventure can later be dismissed as a dream. It certainly has dreamlike qualities, such as the background changing suddenly, time being sped up or slowed down, odd things happening that seem rather normal. "

I agree. I started it before I read your comment and i agree that this could be the idea behind this emphasis.

Robin wrote: "There are a lot of conversations about manners, with Alice complaining about the manners of her acquaintance, and they about hers. Some of this is because they have literal interpretations of words and expressions. It's hard to avoid giving offense. Maybe it's also because so much of childhood at the time was about being trained in manners. "

The story would not be Victorian English without it.

[Gem , Moderator]

Robin wrote: "It seems to me that the emphasis on boredom and sleepiness is so that the adventure can later be dismissed as a dream. It certainly has dreamlike qualities, such as the background changing suddenly, time being sped up or slowed down, odd things happening that seem rather normal. "

Great insight Robin. I think you're right, I've only read this book once so (and don't remember it all).

the way Alice gets bigger and smaller could be seen as adolescence where one shifts between maturity and immaturity sometimes very quickly.
I never would have connected the two, but given the author's history with Alice, this very likely could be.

I'm actually listening to the story so I haven't seen the pictures. Jim Dale is the narrator (absolutely my favorite... I love the various voices he does for the different characters). I highly recommend this audio version.