BiographyLewis Carroll was born Charles Lutwidge Dodgson in Daresbury, England on January 27th, 1832. A precocious boy, he wrote often at an early age. By the age of thirteen he was composing trifling bits of poetry for his family and friends. In 1850 he attended his first year at Oxford. He studied mathematics (a field which …
Curiouser and curiouser! cried Alice. But then, thought Alice. shall I never get any older than I am now? Thatll be a comfort, one way–never to be an old woman–but then–always to have lessons to learn! `Who are YOU? said the Caterpillar. This was not an encouraging opening for a conversation. Alice replied, rather shyly, …
Theme Analysis Alice in Wonderland is a coming of age story. It is the growth of Alice from an undisciplined child to a wise young woman. The principle arrangement of this growth is two-parted. First Alice must learn that rules are essential to civil, adult life. Then she must learn that if rules are adhered …
Metaphor Analysis Food: Food is the used in this novel as a metaphor for growth. Carroll is literalizing the old notion that food helps you grow big and strong, that food is the path to adulthood. Ironically, Carroll is also pointing out that growing up is only half the way to adulthood. Alice can control …
Character Profiles Alice: The young protagonist of the novel, Alice is based on Lewis Carrolls real-life friend, the young Alice Liddell, daughter of Carrolls boss. Alice, in the novel, is a girl struggling with adolescence and her transformation from an idle child to a conscientious adult. White Rabbit: The Rabbit is the through line of …
In her excitement, Alice stands up and knocks over the whole jury box (because she has grown so big). All of the animals tumble out onto their heads. She sets the trial back up and proceeds. All of a sudden Alice seems much more like a girl with her toys, than a character in Wonderland. …
This chapter concerns a trial started to find out if the Knave of Hearts was guilty for having stolen the Queen of Hearts tarts. The King plays judge, and an assortment of animals are the jury. As always, the Queens obsession with death threats puts the rules of justice in jeopardy, making all of the …
In this chapter the Turtle describes a kind of line dance (a quadrille) which is acted out between many assorted sea creatures each paired with a lobster for a partner. However, the principle part of this chapter is actually devoted to the Song sung during the quadrille.After singing the song of the Lobster-Quadrille, the Mock …
Alice finds herself in the beginning of this chapter in the annoying company of the Duchess. They conversed, sort of, about the goings on of the day, but mostly Alice thought to herself and the Duchess tried to find simplistic morals in everything. The conversation, on the whole, ended up being about how boring politeness …
Alice comes into the garden and discovers that it is the Queens garden. There she finds several playing-card-shaped men painting the Queens white roses red. This is because they accidentally planted a white rose bush instead of a red one. Symbol Alert! Many scholars have been concerned with the literal symbolism of this scene. That …
