Character Relations And Literary Elements In Alice In Wonderland

"Go on a journey, And roam the streets. Can't see the way out, And so use the stars. She sits for eternity, And then climbs out." These lyrics, taken from Sigur Rуs' Glуsуli, depict a sort of awakening or beginning of new life. In the novel Alice's Adventures In Wonderland and Through The Looking-Glass And What She Found There by Lewis Carroll, Alice undergoes a kind of awakening or embarkation on a life journey when she enters Wonderland because she learns many things about life there that she would not have in the real world. When Alice meets the Caterpillar, the Queen of Hearts, and the Mock Turtle, she learns a lot about life, etiquette, and people's personalities outside of her childish rules and learned manners. Alice matures and learns many life lessons through her curiosity and childlike manner of interacting with characters.

Childhood is a stage of life in which one's personality is defined, but identity still searched for. Of course this is not to say that one's personality at age 7 is the same as his traits at age 21, but not too often does one change so drastically from their former selves. Children grow, and they learn, and they change, and they develop, but some pieces stay with them throughout their lives. In Alice, Alice has a problem with the way Wonderland works. She constantly grows and shrinks in size when she eats and drinks various items. When she shrinks to a height of 3 inches, she tells the Caterpillar, "I'm afraid I am sir [changed],' said Alice, 'I can't remember things as I used- and I don't keep the same size for ten minutes together'" (Carroll 33). She says this when the Caterpillar "...repeats it contemptuously- 'Who are YOU?'...Indeed in the light of Alice's many previous troubles about self-identity, the direct question becomes far more than a matter of ordinary impoliteness" (Rackin 64). These three simple words affected Alice so deeply, and made her question her own identity due to her underdeveloped, childlike mind. When the Caterpillar prompts Alice to turn and receive important advice, she feels hatred for him in wasting her time. "'Come back!' The Caterpillar called after her. 'I've something important to say!' This sounded promising, certainly: Alice turned and came back again. 'Keep your temper,' said the Caterpillar.

'Is that all?' said Alice, swallowing down her anger as well as she could" (Carroll 32). In "Alice's Journey to the End of Night," Rackin takes this event and illustrates the finer points of it. "As his demands upon her patience reach fantastic heights, she makes it a point to address him as 'Sir' and to reply 'very politely' to his ridiculously unfair criticisms of her speech, 'swallowing down her anger as well as she [can]'" (Rackin 64). In this excerpt from his essay, Rackin relays the message Carroll attempts to send the reader which is to always be kind, even when "doing unto others as other do unto you," may not seem to work or help the situation.

In a childlike state of mind, most understand nothing of authoritative power, and to some extent, respect. The following is blurted from Alice's mouth as she is growing to a large size in the Queen's courtroom: "'Who cares for you?' said Alice, *she had grown to her full size by this time.) 'You're nothing but a pack of cards!'" (Carroll 95). Since Alice has grown to an immense size, she feels she has the right to retaliate against her oppressors. She freely voices her objections towards the Queen of Hearts when she grows to an enormous size, as opposed to when she is as small as everyone else, she is sheepish and quiet. The truth to this excerpt lies in the minds of children. "Changes in size represent a variation of the self-identity theme, since as a child differences in size represent definite changes in actual identity" (Rackin 63). Children equating size with power is another childlike manner and trait which changes as one grows older.

Another aspect of thought which changes as one grows older is their amount of ignorance. As a child, ignorance is bliss. For children, life is a game in which every situation is win-win. Life is a vast sea of information and opportunity; a "Wonderland" of sorts if you will. "The Queen turned crimson with fury, and, after glaring at her for a moment like a wild beast, screamed 'Off with her head! Off--'

'Nonsense!' said Alice, very loudly and decidedly, and the Queen was silent" (Carroll 61). If one imagines themselves in this situation, I'm sure they would not shout, "Nonsense!" as they are speaking to a Queen. Alice's ignorance allows her to intimidate the King, who nervously consoles his wife that Alice is "only a child". This allowed the Queen to tolerate Alice more through her stay in Wonderland. Alice's mannerisms, had she learned them above-ground, would not have prevailed in this account, for she disrespectfully spoke outward to an authority figure, an act most certainly not tolerated by her real world peers and betters. "Significantly, most of her rules consist of