Essay questions for discussion

王成林

1.     Relate aspects of enchantment to the nostalgia that Alice experiences in Wonderland. Why is Alice both fascinated and frustrated by her encounters below-ground?

2.     Describe some of the ways that Carroll achieves humor at Alice's expense.

3.     Give an analysis of the use of nonsense in Alice.

4.     How does the question "Who am I?" relate to the wish to eat and the fear of being eaten in Alice?

5.     Describe the White Rabbit's function in Alice.

6.     What is the significance of the Cheshire-Cat in the Queen's Croquet-Ground scene?

7.     Compare the Duchess' lullaby to the "You Are Old, Father William" verse.

8.     Explain the sentiment of the Mouse's long tale, the Mock Turtle's story and the "Lobster-Quadrille."

2021-10-17

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  吴悠
  I have never watched the 2010 film adaptation of Alice In Wonderland or the 1951 Disney movie even though I have heard of them many times before, but I guess I am about to watch them in the near future because this book deepens my impression that this is a classic and fantastic story.

  2022-01-06 刪除 喜欢(0)

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  吴悠
  My favorite thing associated with the idea of Wonderland is a song called “Wonderland”. It is a bonus track from the Deluxe Edition of Taylor Swift's fifth studio album titled 1989. The story of Alice In Wonderland serves as the inspiration for this song, which describes the twists and turns in a toxic romantic relationship as well as dangers that came along with them.

  2022-01-06 刪除 喜欢(0)

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  吴悠
  ​While reading this original story, I was pretty delighted and excited to find all those literary references to the story in the lyrics of one of my favorite songs, for instance: 
  

  • We found wonderland/You and I got lost in it/And life was never worse but never better
    
    • Quotes from Alice: 'and things are worse than ever' 
      

  • Didn't you calm my fears with a Cheshire cat smile?
    

  • You searched the world for something else to make you feel like what we had/And in the end in wonderland we both went mad
    
    • Quotes from the characters in the book: 'they're both mad', 'we're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad.' (Cheshire cat) and 'We quarreled last March—just before HE went mad, you know—'

  
  

  
  

  2022-01-06 刪除 喜欢(0)

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  吴悠

  This piece of reply is largely based on the Genius Annotations of the lyrics on the above mentioned website.

  • nothing's as it seems/and spinning out of control
    
    • Now the relationship moved from the sweet beginning phase to becoming a frantic, anxiety-filled one. 
      
  • Haven't you heard what becomes of curious minds?/Didn't it all seem new and exciting?
    
  • We found wonderland/You and I got lost in it/And we pretended it could last forever
    
    • As the saying goes, “curiosity killed the cat.” In the story, the curious mind, Alice, ended up in the Wonderland.
      
    • Alice wakes up after her experiences in the dreamy, whimsical world in Wonderland and realizes it was all a dream. The protagonist in the song may regret getting so caught up in her own dreamlike, idealized relationship that she left herself vulnerable and endangered. Their whirlwind romance could not survive the amount of publicity it attracted, because they were so infatuated with each other that they hadn’t even weighed out the pros and the cons before.

  
  

  2022-01-06 刪除 喜欢(0)

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  吴悠

  This piece of reply is largely based on the Genius Annotations of the lyrics on the above mentioned website.

  • Flashing lights and we/Took a wrong turn and we/Fell down a rabbit hole
    
    • Metaphorically “down the rabbit hole”, the two of them entered into the unknown of chaos and confusion, experienced things they could really not comprehend, but knew it was divine and inspiring, but also life changing. I like this phrase and the way it can also be used in describing the state of mind where people become obsessed with and addicted to the internet, scrolling down the screen to see what have happened, what is happening and what will happen.

  
  

  2022-01-06 刪除 喜欢(0)

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  吴悠

  This piece of reply is largely based on the Genius Annotations of the lyrics on the above mentioned website.

  • Flashing lights and we/Took a wrong turn and we/Fell down a rabbit hole
    
    • The flashing lights could symbolize camera flashes from paparazzi and how the strain of the public caused a shift in the relationship. The protagonist in the song along with her partner didn’t even know they were going the wrong way until it was too late because their eyes had been sort of blinded by the lights.

  
  

  2022-01-06 刪除 喜欢(0)

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  吴悠
  I think the lyrics of the song "Wonderland" boast some of Miss Swift’s wonderful songwriting so I refer to the world’s biggest collection of song lyrics, videos and crowdsourced musical knowledge — a website called genius(  https://genius.com  ). The next three replies are largely based on the Genius Annotations on the above mentioned website.

  2022-01-06 刪除 喜欢(0)

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  吴悠
  8.     These tales and stories are long ones which I have not read that carefully, so it would take too much time for me to re-read these parts and explain the sentiment within them but apparently, there is not enough time for me to do this...

  2022-01-06 刪除 喜欢(0)

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  吴悠
  7.     I assume these are just poem parodies and honestly have no idea how to compare them.

  2022-01-05 刪除 喜欢(0)

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  吴悠
  6.     I think in the story it has been there to help Alice relieve boredom. As a rather mischievous and naughty character, it shows up in that scene to confuse the creatures present. As I see it, its appearance and disappearance create a sense of humor.

  2022-01-05 刪除 喜欢(0)