9-20 for 9-24

1.       

“’I like the Walrus best,’ said Alice: ‘because he was a little sorry for the poor oysters.’

‘He ate more than the Carpenter, though,’ said Tweedledee. ‘You see he held his handkerchief in front, so that the Carpenter couldn’t count how many he took: contrariwise.’

‘That was mean!’ Alice said indignantly. ‘Then I like the Carpenter best – if he didn’t eat so many as the Walrus.’

‘But he ate as many as he could get,’ said Tweedledum.

This was a puzzler. After a pause, Alice began, ‘Well! They were both very unpleasant characters –“ (AA page 187-188)

I love this exchange in Chapter 4, right after Tweedledee and Tweedledum tell the story of the Walrus and the Carpenter to Alice. The first time I heard this was in the 1951 Disney movie, except Alice did not react the same way afterwards. All she said was “That was a very sad story.” I definitely like this short bit of dialogue in the novel more, because there is an interesting interpretation to make of characters. Here, Alice believes that there must be some way to have one character be seen as innocent while the other is viewed guilty (just like how children would normally think), while Tweedledee and Tweedledum remind her that both characters are guilty because they assist each other in the murder of the Oysters. Therefore, to fit Alice’s frustrated conclusion, they are “both unpleasant.”

Original 1951 Oyster scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00WCEbKM_SE

2.       

“’He’s dreaming now,’ said Tweedledee: ‘and what do you think he’s dreaming about?’

Alice said ‘Nobody can guess that.’

‘Why, about you!’ Tweedledee exclaimed, clapping his hands triumphantly. ‘And if he left off dreaming about you, where do you suppose you’d be?’

‘Where I am now, of course,’ said Alice.

‘Not you!’ Tweedledee retorted contemptuously. ‘You’d be nowhere. Why, you’re only a sort of thing in his dream!’

‘If that there King was to wake,’ added Tweedledum, ‘you’d go out – bang! – just like a candle!’” (AA page 189)

Since the beginning of her adventures in this Looking-Glass World, Alice that that the world is something that she owns and has control over, all in her head. But now, through this exchange with Tweedledee and Tweedledum, she is faced with the possibility that she is in someone else’s fantasy. This is actually quite a mind-boggling trip because it suggests a possibility that Alice is a figment of the Red King’s dream, and that shakes up her already-slippery grip on reality. This part is definitely an eye-opener for me, because it is relatable to those “Top 10 Questions that Make You Rethink Your World” questions. What if nothing exists in this world, but is instead a piece of a divine almighty imagination? Then there’s the fact that every resident in the Looking-Glass World must follow the rules of the chess game through their actions, suggesting that they aren’t really people with free will in this world. This part of the novel screams existentialism.

3.       

“’You couldn’t have it if you did want it,’ the Queen said. ‘The rule is, jam to-morrow and jam yesterday – but never jam to-day.’

‘It must come sometimes to ‘jam to-day,’’ Alice objected.

‘No, it can’t,’ said the Queen. ‘It’s jam every other day: today isn’t any other day, you know.’” (AA page 196)

This moment in Chapter 5 got me to stop and think about exactly what the characters are thinking, along with their philosophical beliefs. After spending a few minutes, I came to the conclusion that the Queen’s words actually make sense. It will always be today, and so if something only happened yesterday or will happen tomorrow, then in a way, the thing never happens. It’s kind of ridiculous nonetheless given that the next day will be known as today soon. I would call this subject the kind where one can lose his mind for thinking about it too long, especially because the subject isn’t even that thought-provoking to think that much about anyways.

4.       

“’I can’t believe that!’ said Alice.

‘Can’t you?’ the Queen said in a pitying tone. ‘Try again: draw a long breath, and shut your eyes.’

Alice laughed. ‘There’s no use trying,’ she said: ‘one can’t believe impossible things.’

‘I daresay you haven’t had much practice,’ said the Queen. ‘When I was your age, I always did it for half-an-hour a day. Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.’” (AA page 199)

This part mainly appeals to me because I can finally connect all the dots. I first heard the “six impossible things before breakfast” from the 2010 film adaptation, and at that time, I already felt that this exercise sounds mad. But the real takeaway from the idea is that imagination is viewed as a skill that can be improved over time by practicing, just like writing. This quote from Chapter 5 stands out to me because even though this is the first time I’ve read the novel, it provokes me the same exact way the line did in the film.

Alice names all 6 in the 2010 film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQ0Ngpax7gw

5.       

“’When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, ‘it means just what I choose it to mean – neither more nor less.’

‘The question is,’ said Alice, ‘whether you can make words mean so many different things.’

‘The question is,’ said Humpty Dumpty, ‘which is to be master – that’s all.’” (AA page 213)

I found this quote to be really cute, mainly because Humpty Dumpty’s behavior here is very similar to my own when I was a child. Yes, I was a dummy back then. In this scene, Humpty Dumpty believes that he has complete control over words, how to use them, and what they mean. However, as Alice puts it, this brings about a problem: If you make words mean anything you want, then practically nobody will understand you. The key to any successful communication is to have both parties agree on shared definitions.

6.       

“’I shouldn’t know you again if we did meet,’ Humpty Dumpty replied in a discontented tone, giving her one of his fingers to shake: ‘you’re so exactly like other people.’

‘The face is what one goes by, generally,’ Alice remarked in a thoughtful tone.

‘That’s just what I complain of,’ said Humpty Dumpty.

‘Your face is the same as everybody has – the two eyes, so –‘ (marking their places in the air with his thumb) ‘nose in the middle, mouth under. It’s always the same. Now if you had the two eyes on the same side of the nose, for instance – or the mouth at the top – that would be some help.’” (AA page 219)

This quote, like the previous one, was really cute to me, since any regular reader knows that Alice’s facial features are distinctive, like every person’s features are. However, to someone who’s not even human, like Humpty Dumpty, Alice looks exactly like other people, which I find humorous. It reminds me of several stereotypical jokes during high school that involves Chinese people looking the same or Indian people looking the same. Even famous comedian Russell Peters loves to joke how all Indian people look the same. Not only is this quote funny to me, but it is still thought-provoking because it still ties back to themes of identity, because each person’s uniqueness depends on how different each person’s details are.