Alice's Adventures in Wonderland: Motifs | SparkNotes (2024)

FAQs

What is the theme and motif of the Alice in Wonderland? ›

Related to the theme of 'growing up', is the motif of 'identity'. In Wonderland, Alice struggles with the importance and instability of personal identity. She is constantly ordered to identify herself by the creatures she meets, but she herself has doubts about her identity as well.

The dream motif explains the abundance of nonsensical and disparate events in the story. As in a dream, the narrative follows the dreamer as she encounters various episodes in which she attempts to interpret her experiences in relationship to herself and her world.

One of the most prominent symbols is that of the Cheshire Cat, which serves as a representation of wisdom and guidance. It is through conversations with this enigmatic creature that Alice begins to make sense of her situation and gains insight into who she really is.

While this might be explained away by his supposed 'madness', some critics and readers believe Carroll made the Hatter this way in order to highlight some of the most irritating and unpleasant traits in our human nature, which, although not life-threatening, can still make life quite unbearable.

In the story, Alice experiences numerous situations similar to those of micropsia and macropsia. Speculation has arisen that Carroll may have written the story using his own direct experience with episodes of micropsia resulting from the numerous migraines he was known to suffer from.

The Mad Hatter`s colors were orange with green which signified madness and passion. The Red Queen`s red dress and blue make up represented countrified and evil. The White Queen`s all white dress and hair, black eyes and vivid red meant purity and nobility.

Symbolism of Time: The White Rabbit's obsession with time is a prominent symbol in the story. As he constantly checks his pocket watch and exclaims, "I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date!", he embodies the concept of time slipping away and the pressure of keeping up with societal expectations.

The Caterpillar's use of the hookah has often been interpreted and expanded as proof of the theory that most of the text of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland represents the experience of being under the influence of halucinogenic drugs.

The garden may symbolize the Garden of Eden, an idyllic space of beauty and innocence that Alice is not permitted to access. On a more abstract level, the garden may simply represent the experience of desire, in that Alice focuses her energy and emotion on trying to attain it.

In the 18th century, before Carroll created the characters, the words tweedledum and tweedledee were used to describe the sounds of low and high instruments, respectively. By the 19th century, the phrase had come to indicate people or situations that were virtually interchangeable.

Who does the Mad Hatter represent in Alice's life? ›

The Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland actually represented a person suffering from dementia. This syndrome often accompanied people, who worked in British facilities; where hats were made or manufactured. That is because mercury was used in the creation of felt hats.

I'm mad. You're mad.” In one of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland's most iconic lines, the Cheshire Cat suggests that Alice cannot escape the madness of Wonderland, as everyone there, including her, is insane.

In honour of his valour, a longstanding tradition arose whereby Cheshire cheese-makers would mould their cheeses into the shape of a cat, and carve a wide grin upon its face. Once again, Carroll would certainly have seen such cheeses, and would have known the origin of their unusual form.

to do a big smile, often because you are pleased with yourself.

Alice's experiences in Wonderland can be taken as a kind of exaggerated metaphor for the experience of growing up, both in terms of physically growing up and coming to understand the world of adults and how that world differs from a child's expectation of it.

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