Reading Notes: Alice in Wonderland Part A

The Cheshire Cat

He's mad an he knows it. He says everyone in Wonderland is mad. The dog, who isn't mad, wags it's tail when it's happy and growls when he is angry but the cat shakes it's tail when he's angry and growls when he's happy. Like everyone else Alice has met so far in Wonderland he answers questions by breaking down the importance of the question. When Alice asks which way she should go, the cat simply states that it depends on where she'd like to go and when she says she doesn't care he says that it then does not matter which way she goes. He also has the ability to disappear with ease and each time he reappears he interjects with a question that goes back to the previous events in the chapter with the baby who turned into a pig.  Alice also notes that she's often seen a cat without a grin but the Chesire cat can turn into a grin without a cat.

I kind of like the way the Chesire Cat presents the idea of choices. Either choice will get Alice somewhere and neither will help her avoid people who are mad and as the cat tries to point our, she herself is mad. I also think it's interesting that Alice seems to continue analyzing her choice after the fact almost wishing she had gone to the hatter over the hare. I think this says something about the tendency to overthink decisions. As with the entire workings of Wonderland, it's a bit odd but I think this is kind of an interesting theme presented.  

Alice and the Chesire Cat (Illustration by Sir John Tenniel)

This story is part of the Alice in Wonderland unit. Story source: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (1865).