9/6 Lewis Carroll intro

1.       

“In another moment down went Alice after it, never once considering how in the world she was to get out again.”

(AA page 12)

Yes, this quote is one of the most popular quotes because it describes Alice as she falls down the rabbit-hole. Now, we can all agree that the phrase “falling down the rabbit-hole” is already so popular in pop culture. Novels, songs and even movies have referenced it here and there (The Matrix is a fantastic example). But what many of these pop culture references fail to remember is that in the original novel, Alice herself made the conscious decision of going down the rabbit-hole after the rabbit. In other words, she made a careless act because her curiosity took the best of her. This carelessness is the catalyst for Alice’s experiences, as she learns more about the adult nonsense-based world that she is stuck in, and the first thing that comes her way is the constant change of her shape and size, leading her to question herself.

2.       

“No, I’ve made up my mind about it: If I’m Mabel, I’ll stay down here! It’ll be no use their putting their heads down and saying ‘Come up again, dear!’ I shall only look up and say, ‘Who am I, then? Tell me that first, and then, if I like being that person, I’ll come up: if not, I’ll stay down here till I’m somebody else.’”

(AA page 24)

Wonderland is practically a mirror of Alice’s own imagination, and we can prove that later on with the ending of the novel. But here, since Alice has trouble grasping the sense and logic to Wonderland, she realizes that it is actually her identity in question. Since Wonderland constantly changes and is a place with no rules, Alice speaks the quote above, determined to let herself constantly change until she is finally satisfied with herself and can return to the “real world.” But during this time, Alice produces tons of tears when she was nine feet high, which shows just how easily Wonderland can distract her from her emotional feelings. This entire self-conversation is a conflict among reason, logic, and emotion.

3.       

“During the 17^th and 18^th centuries some historians and lawyers saw William’s reign as imposing a ‘Norman yoke’ on the native Anglo-Saxons, an argument that continued during the 19^th century with further elaborations along nationalistic lines.”

This is a short description of William the Conqueror and his actions during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I of England, the time when England was invaded by the French. Take note on the words “imposing a ‘Norman yoke,’ because this will be referred to again in my description of the next quote.

4.       

“I daresay it’s a French mouse, come over with William the Conqueror.”

(AA page 26)

Alice fears the Mouse the same reason why English citizens would fear French citizens. This is because in history, England was invaded by the French, specifically William the Conqueror. The fact that the Mouse angrily responds to Alice when she speaks French to it scares her, even though the literal reason why the Mouse leapt is because it heard the word “cat.” The allusions become clearer when the Mouse starts to impose his history tale/tail onto Alice, while parodying boring scholars who recite English history. This can be viewed as similar to how William imposed his beliefs and philosophies onto his conquered people. In the historians and lawyers’ words, this imposed concept is called the “Norman yoke.” The way the Mouse imposes his tale is further emphasized by how upset the Mouse is when Alice is distracted by the Mouse’s tail.