Symbolism in alice's adventures in wonderland and through the looking glass
symbolismDown the Rabbit Hole -
Alice's Adventure first starts when she goes down the Rabbits hole. She fell down it all because she followed the white rabbit. The Rabbits hole is a symbol for drugs, or the effects that drugs have on the mind. Falling down the hole could also be a symbol for stupidity. In the real world, if she were to fall down the hole she most likely wouldn't have survived and she most likely would have never found her way out of Wonderland because the hole only went down, it didn't have stairs to get back up it. The real question though that many ask is, why did she go down it in the first place? The Garden - I believe the garden is used as a symbol of Alice's determination, and her ability to try and make the best out of any situation she gets herself into. She finds herself trapped in this room full of locked doors but then she looks through the one door and sees the beautiful garden. This one small event gives Alice the hope and drive to get out of the bad situation so she may get into a good one (which would be the garden.) Changing Sizes - Alice changing sizes is a symbol of growing up or "maturing" in a way. She changes sizes many times during her journey through Wonderland. I believe Carroll used the changing of sizes to show that everyone will eventually grow up no matter what the situation is. While Alice is changing sizes she faces many difficulties. An example would be when she was too big to fit through the door that lead to the garden. Carroll explained the difficulties she had, to show that when you do grow up and mature in the real world it won't be easy and at times you will run into problems and face difficulties but you shouldn't give up. Alice never gave up and eventually she was able to get into the garden. Playing Cards - The Cards in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland intermix with the magical and mysterious talking creatures of Wonderland and this is a symbol of Alice's life. For example, Alice would be considered the playing cards and her cat and kittens would be considered the creatures of Wonderland. Carroll used the Wonderland world as a symbol or "metaphor" of Alice's world and he used the characters in Wonderland as a symbol of people from Alice's real world. The Chessboard - In the Through the Looking Glass portion of the book, Alice's journey across the chessboard is a symbol of growing up and a symbol that life faces many challenges, just like a board game. These are shown when Alice moves into the eighth square and the white knight can't follow her. He most likely can't follow her because Alice is maturing and starting to lose her childish imagination. In life you face many challenges, just like Alice did when she was trying to advance to the next square in the game. Carroll was basically saying that life is like a giant board game, full of surprises, challenges, and determination. |