Alice in Wonderland

I had seen the Alice in Wonderland movie before and knew it wasn't accurate; so to get the chance to read the actual book was interesting. I found it funny sometimes and that Alice was a bigger character than what I had thought.

Alice is a leader in that she found herself on her own experiences because "the hostile characters offer[ed] no guidance to find her nirvana, ...so she opens the door to power with self confidence that she had all along." She had to venture on her own and rely on herself to unlock the 'door of self confidence.'

No one really gave her straight answers when she wanted help. "But what am I to do? said Alice. "Anything you like, said the Footman." (59 Alice) She had to discover everything on her own. Even if it was just the simplest task as to what direction to go in or what to do next. This new independence made her a leader.

In Through The Looking Glass, Alice is now used to not getting help form others. She had a better understanding of how the Wonderland characters were which made a good leader. Understanding others will help her understand herself. When she became a queen she asked herself "But how can it have got there without my knowing it?" (248 Alice) Alice had become a leader. All the characters and experiences she had encountered were steps for her to discover herself. That she was capable of becoming queen so soon and learning how to understand and get through Wonderland.

The issue of ethics came up during the bird accusing Alice of being a serpent. The pigeon mentions to Alice if she ate eggs "then [she's] a kind of serpent...This was such a new idea to Alice that she was quite silent for a minute or two." (56 Alice) The idea that birds can defend their eggs by talking to Alice opens up the idea if eating eggs is immoral. The pigeon was really defensive just like a mother would be if someone tried to hurt her child. That is why Alice is left silent.

The transition from Houston to Austin was like Alice going down the rabbit hole. The new city is strange to me because I don't know my way around it yet; just like the university. It's been hectic but I now know my way around it better and know that the people here are not as mad as the characters Alice came across in Wonderland.