Alice’s “Growth”

December 2, 2009

Filed under Miles W.

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Over the course of the story Alice experiences many strange growth losses and spurts. The first time I read the book and heard about it from other ways I thought it was just something random to make the story interesting. It definitely made me wonder and wish there was something to make me grow too. And I kept reading the story without thinking much of it. Then when Alice was in the White Rabbit’s house she grew again. I didn’t think much of this either and just kept reading.  Enter the Caterpillar. This is another instance of how Alice uses food to grow. Again, I didn’t think much of it, just that a mushroom made her grow. The final instance of Alice growing was in jury room. This was another growth, but there was something different about this one…

Instead of reading right through this, I thought about something. Alice grew this time, but it was because she grew as a person too. Alice saw how irrational everyone in the courtroom was being and challenged them. She rose up (literally) to defeat the irrationality. By beating the King and Queen’s stupid rules and beliefs she became a stronger person. It ended the story, but I wanted to go back to and see if the other growth spurts had anything to do with her growing as a person.

I went back to when she ate the cake to find something. Alice grew from her experiences not just physically but mentally as well. When she drinks random bottles, she does change in size. But it’s not just a change in size, it symbolizes how she grows inside as well. It shows how she grows more confident and all the 12 size changes she goes through affect her in a way that makes her shatter the illusion of wonderland in the end. The same things happen when she is in the house of the white rabbit and when she meets the caterpillar. Both situations increase her mental confidence and this is why she grows.

I’m glad I was able to see these occurences and how she grew because of her situations. She became more confident as we all do in situations and grow. I propose one final question. How tall are you?