1. How does the text relate to the theme of a journey?
[The novel opens with Alice having decided to take a short walk due to boredom, and she spots a talking rabbit with a pocket watch which vanishes into a rabbit hole. Curiosity takes Alice down the rabbit hole, and an extraordinary journey into a magical place begins. Her adventures with the Mad Hatter, the March Hare and the caterpillar are of a kind that leads her to question herself and the knowledge that she has about herself and of the world. In fact, Alice undergoes a sort of self-realization journey throughout the story. The text also symbolizes a typical escapade of a child into a fantasy world.]

2. What is the main issue in the text?
[In my point of view, external features or appearance is the main issue in the text. In Alice’s quest, she encounters a variety of weird and mythical creatures such as a caterpillar who smokes with a Hookah, an overly grinning Cheshire cat, and even a Gryphon. These creatures were of great help to Alice, helping her in her journey across Wonderland. For example, her encounter with the caterpillar was very helpful because it is through the caterpillar that she manages to master the way in which one could change their height depending on the situation. Her experiences with the Mad Hatter and March Hare, however, were awful and any sort of attempt to learn something logical was futile. Alice’s encounter with the Queen of Hearts was equally appalling, as the Queen was a sadist at heart and preferred to execute her subjects at any given opportunity. Alice’s final realization of reality, that the characters are just a pack of cards, is the realization of the manner in which external features can influence the mind of a human being, especially that of a child.]

3. What quality do you admire or dislike in a character?
[Regarding qualities worth admiration or disapproval, I would prefer to express my disgust for the individuality of the Queen of Hearts. The most horrifying trait the Queen possesses is her fanatical gusto of sentencing her subjects to decapitation at almost any circumstance. Her favorite quote of ‘Off with her head!’ or ‘Off with his head!’ is excessively brutal and cruel, and Alice has an instant and lasting negative impression of her. Furthermore, the Queen does not act like one and lacks in reasoning. During the court session, she was more eager to behead the witnesses than hear their statements. Additionally, she is poor in controlling her people, as shown during the croquet game. At the end, all the players, except the King, the Queen, and Alice, were in custody and under sentence of execution. Luckily, the King pardoned the entire lot.]

4. How does the text develop your understanding of the world?
[The text helps me to understand the world through a different perspective; a growing child’s version of the wide world. During the years when people travel from their childhood to adulthood through adolescence, they are hardly aware of what exactly happened during the process. A psychological maturing occurs when Alice finds herself alone and, at times, neglected in Wonderland. She learns to fend for herself and realizes the importance to maintain her personal identity. More than once, she is misunderstood and eventually mistreated by the creatures in Wonderland. It is through her eyes that the author comments on various modern-day issues, for instance hypocrisy, greed, power, and sexuality. Furthermore, there are certain times in the text where Alice reacts in fear instead of affection, due to her still being a young child. This is exemplified by her experience with the puppy in Chapter 4. The cute puppy, in fact, just wanted to play with her. In spite of this, Alice was terribly afraid of the puppy, partly due to her shrunken size.]