Alices Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll Analysis

Alice, the main character, travels this world as she comes across a cast of bizarre personalities and fanciful beasts. It all begins when she falls through a rabbit hole and into a world of pure fantasy (Satoshi, 23). The novel plays with reason, delivering a tale with a lifelong popularity among both children and adults. The book has been enormously influential and is regarded as one of the best illustrations of the literary nonsense genre (Wonderland, 8). However, this literary work tries to pass on several key messages, despite the fact that the narrative is filled with a creative cast and extraordinary scenes. She is neither afraid nor does she care about her safety. She simply lets her curious nature take the best of her.

The “rabbit-hole” which Alice went through has several symbolisms. In popular culture, going down the “rabbit hole” is a common allegory associated with a person exploring anything in the world unknown to them, such as taking drugs. The rabbit hole is the place where it all began in the book. The slow plunge imitates the how someone shifts off to a deep slumber. The fall into the rabbit hole symbolizes Alice’s escape from her sister’s Victorian world. She does this because she is unfulfilled but soon realizes that the wonderland too, is not fulfilling. Her hopes are frustrated in wonderland, at every turn. The theme of frustrated desire is represented by the rabbit. However, it is not always that Alice is unthinking while in wonderland.

“The first thing I've got to do," said Alice to herself, as she wandered about in the wood, "is to grow my right size again; and the second thing is to find my way into that lovely garden. I think that will be the best plan…” (Wonderland, 25). Alice attempts to set about her exploration in an organized way, but she realizes that is not the place. The symbolism of this is indicated when she does not pursue a stipulated plan, instead, exploring haphazardly. Such images are introduced by the author in different scenes or just for a moment, but they are discarded as jokes. “She generally gave herself very good advice (though she very seldom followed it) … she remembered trying to box her own ears for having cheated herself in a game of croquet she was playing against herself, for this curious child was very fond of pretending to be two people” (Wonderland, 39).

According to the above quote, it portrays an image of someone who has many personalities deep within her. Alice does this to get carried away in the roles she plays. Thus, Alice seemed to have multiple personalities. Going back and forth between reason and emotion, Alice simultaneously cries and scolds herself. The author keeps mentioning the image of a changing Alice. This portrays she keeps growing, just as she would in the real world. Therefore, this random development was out of Alice’s control (Wonderland, 66). The reader learns from this incidence that rushing into change can make even the strongest person to easily breakdown. The focus of the whole narrative is Alice. She is privy to everything, because she is always on stage.

The reader of the novel is aware of Alice’s thoughts, which are analyzed and scrutinized by the narrator. Conversely, this story does not come from the point of view of the protagonist (Wonderland, 103). The reader only knows of Alice’s feelings, but there is no experiencing of how she feels. “Lastly, she pictured to herself how this same little sister of hers would, in the after‑time, be herself a grown woman; and how she would keep, through all her riper years, the simple and loving heart of her childhood…” The above quote is the conclusion of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. The tone of this passage is different from the rest of the story, because it is somewhat nostalgic.