Alice in Wonderland Essay

Nonsensical absurdities are encountered by the reader throughout Lewis Carrolls

Alices Adventures in Wonderland, but the final chapter presents Alices exit from
Wonderland, breathing meaning into an utterly confusing story. n the concluding scenes,
Carroll re!eals that Wonderland truly existed for Alice to begin her departure from
childhood and into adulthood, by finding inner strength.
Carroll ta"es full ad!antage of the power of point of !iew to demonstrate Alices
change in maturity, completely switching perspecti!es to that of Alices sister. #he
sisters !iewpoint ta"es hold as Alice lea!es the story, and the reader witnesses her
attempt to enter the realm of Alices fantastical dream world. $owe!er, Carroll does not
let her because she is not the child that Alice was at the beginning of the story. %&half
belie!ed herself in Wonderland, though she "new she had to open 'her eyes( again&and
all the other )ueer noises, would change *she "new+&, *--./--0+. #he sister might ha!e
!ery been in Wonderland, but %she "new, that it was a false reality, whereas Alice did not
understand that it was only a dream until the !ery end. 1ecause the sister is older than
Alice, she is too mature and does not need Wonderland to facilitate a departure from
childhood or to spar" a )uest for inner strength.
#he e!ents leading up to Alices departure are rich with !i!id imagery, allowing
Carroll to portray Alices transition using the same strangeness that has accompanied the
story up until that point. As the White 2abbit reads the !erses, the last piece of e!idence,
the reader is no doubt confused and has an extremely difficult time with the imagery in
the poem, as it !ery difficult to piece together logically. t is as this point that Alice truly
unco!ers the self/confidence she needs to stand up to the insane world she is dealing
with. #he readers mind is not )uite sure what to ma"e of the passage, but that lea!es it
open to completely ta"e in the most important imagery in the boo". Alice, after firmly
stating that the !erses are indeed nonsensical, is attac"ed by the patrons of the court. #he
cards fly up and shower down upon her, a frightening moment. 1ut Alice has been
steadily growing for two chapters and she is now at her full height, reflecting her growing
courage to stand up to absurdity around her. #he image of a dec" of cards showering a
full si3e girl is actually )uite tame, and is perfectly characteri3ed by Alice4 %5our nothing
but a pac" of cards6, Alice then wa"es up and reali3es the world and its characters that
had terrified, angered, and upset her were nothing but a dream.
Carroll cle!erly crafted Alices exit from Wonderland to ma"e it seem as if she
was scared out of Wonderland, and did not lea!e of her own accord but in fact she did.
Alice had been trying to lea!e Wonderland the whole no!el, but she could not find the
will power. n the final scene, Alice is certainly scared of the cards flying down upon her
and of course she wants to lea!e Wonderland, but this time she finally does, signifying
she has found her inner strength. #hrough !iewpoint and imagery Carroll de!elops this
theme of maturity, but he also lea!es the reader with the comfort that Alice will %&
"eep&the lo!ing and simple heart of her childhood,, for the rest of her life.
7trength4 8ood theme and interesting ideas about the meaning of Alices 9ourney through
Wonderland
Wea"ness4 Not enough e!idence, ideas were not connected !ery well from sentence to
sentence, didnt flow