9-13 for 9-15

1.       

“Alice began to feel very uneasy: to be sure, she had not as yet had any dispute with the Queen, but she knew that it might happen any minute, ‘and then,’ thought she, ‘what would become of me? They’re dreadfully fond of beheading people here: the great wonder is, that there’s any one left alive!’” (AA page 85)

I found this quote to be rather interesting because it’s not that different from the real world –people are so fond of hurting one another via war, crime, or even just psychological bullying. There is an unavoidable unpleasantness to society, and science has proved that humanity is the source of the planet’s sixth mass extinction. It is amazing how humanity is such a self-destruct species and yet “there’s [someone still] alive.” This is where Lewis Carroll’s mad world blends almost perfectly with the real world.

2.       

“The executioner’s argument was, that you couldn’t cut off a head unless there was a body to cut it off from: that he had never had to do such a thing before, and he wasn’t going to begin at his time of life.

The King’s argument was that anything that had a head could be beheaded, and that you weren’t to talk nonsense.

The Queen’s argument was that, if something wasn’t done about it in less than no time, she’d had everybody executed, all round.” (AA page 88-89)

I laughed out loud when I first read this because of its dark sense of humor. The quote basically says that anything that sounds philosophically reasonable can be immediately shut down by a straightforward tyrant. This reminds me of casual debates I have had with my friends before where one person casually explains why a film/novel is good because of Reason 1 and the other person says Reason 2, and then a third person would just shut down the conversation by saying he/she hated it. Not only do we learn in this quote that the executioner and the King both have an understandable and possibly relatable personality, but we also learn just how ridiculous, one-sided, and bloodthirsty the Queen is. Everything must be done her way.

3.       

“’Tut, tut, child!’ said the Duchess. ‘Every thing’s got a moral, if only you can find it.’” (AA page 91)

This line from the Duchess is in similar lines to how Alice thinks ever since she fell into Wonderland. Alice tries to make sense of her environment, wherever she goes, and this is just like how the Duchess claims that there is a moral in everything. However, the more interesting thing about this quote is what follows afterwards. Alice fails to notice that her behavior in wanting to understand everything is just like the Duchess’ words. This only shows that Alice is not yet “mature” enough to understand herself –she has not yet achieved a sense of self-awareness that she has power over Wonderland.

4.       

“’Reeling and Writhing, of course, to begin with,’ the Mock Turtle replied; ‘and then the different branches of Arithmetic – Ambition, Distraction, Uglification, and Derision.’” (AA page 98)

Definitely one of my favorite parts in the entire novel. This quote is a clever parody on real subjects that we learn in school. Reeling is reading, writhing is writing, ambition is addition, distraction is subtraction, uglification is multiplication, and derision is division. But what’s incredibly fascinating about Carroll’s word choices here is that his words are not far off of what students actually experience in school. We definitely learn about ambition because we see our potentials due to good grades or applying to college. Of course, there are a million things that distract us from studying. As for uglification and derision, it is a bitter truth that school is definitely an environment that makes students look down on one another. It’s all part of the competitive stressful world in education.

5.       

“’I could tell you my adventures –beginning from this morning,’ said Alice a little timidly; ‘but it’s no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then.’” (AA page 105)

The past is a story we tell ourselves. Sometimes it is difficult to recall a memory that you’ve had because you now look at the memory differently. That is because you are presently more experienced and wise than you were before when that memory occurred. This is definitely true to Alice, given that she has not only changed metaphorically throughout the novel, but physically as well. Ever since the first chapter, Carroll invites us to relate to Alice as she finds herself feeling upset constantly over being too big or too small or just not the right size. It’s no wonder why when she was asked by the Mock Turtle and the Gryphon to tell her stories, she feels reluctant about sharing.