Reading Notes: Alice in Wonderland, Part A

Bibliography: all notes from stories in the Alice in Wonderland unit. Story source: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (1865).

Here are this week's reading notes, part A!

I want to focus on beautiful/strong/interesting sentences for this week, one of my favorite ways to take notes for this class. 

In the first chapter of the book, "Down the Rabbit-Hole" (which is familiar to most of us), Carroll describes Alice after following the rabbit into the rabbit-hole: "In another moment down went Alice after it, never once considering how in the world she was to get out again." I love the concept of going somewhere on an impulse without considering how you might return home. This sentence highlights the reckless spirit of adventure that can be so fun to be captured by. 

Later on in the story, after Alice has made it down the rabbit-hole, Carroll pens another great sentence: "For, you see, so many out-of-the-way things had happened lately that Alice had begun to think that very few things indeed were really impossible." This imaginative world has been building and building, increasing in creativity and extraordinary features as the story progresses. This is an acknowledgement of the wildness of this creative world, which seems to be without limits. I enjoyed this sentence, as it indicates what Alice (or any of us!) would be thinking after those experiences.

In chapter five, called "Advice from a Caterpillar," Carroll writes, "The Caterpillar and Alice looked at each other for some time in silence: at last the Caterpillar took the hookah out of its mouth and addressed her in a languid, sleepy voice." This sentence sets a vivid scene instantly. Carroll helps us imagine this otherworldly scene and uses powerful adjectives to describe the tone of the caterpillar's voice. This type of sentence can help immerse readers in the world of a highly imaginative tale.

Buried in a fast-paced scene in the "Pig and Pepper" chapter, Carroll uses the voice of the duchess character to make an interesting observation: "'If everybody minded their own business,' the Duchess said in a hoarse growl, 'the world would go round a deal faster than it does.'" It's always a clever trick as a writer to use unlikely, non-central characters to make universal commentary. This instance is effective and stands out as a well-placed and sharp sentence.

This week's reading has been so far! Carroll is a fantastic writer.

John Tenniel's original engraving of the rabbit from 

Alice in Wonderland, 1865. Source: Wikimedia