Hero’s Journey Analysis Pt. IV

December 3, 2009

Filed under Samuel M.

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This entry is a continuation of my Hero’s Journey Series
Part I
Part II
Part III
Hero’s Steps

Alice has landed in Wonderland. She lost track of White Rabbit and she was stuck in a long hallway with doors along each wall. After awhile, she found a tiny, golden key on a three stool table made of glass. After attempting to open the normal doors with the key (and failing) Alice finds a small door behind a curtain. To Alice’s delight, the key fit in perfectly. This is where we will continue from.

After Alice puts the key in and opens the door, she knelt down looked along a small passage that wasn’t much larger than a rat hole. To her surprise there was a garden. This wasn’t an average run of the mill garden, either. It is described as “the loveliest garden you ever saw.” Just the mere sight of this garden completely distracted Alice from her overall goal of getting out. It distracted her so much she wanted to go through the tiny door and “wander among [the] beds of bright flowers and [the] cool fountains.” This wouldn’t really work because she obviously couldn’t fit. Sadly, she walked back to the glass table hoping she would find another key or a book of rules for shutting people up like telescopes. When she gets to the table, she finds a little bottle with a tag reading “DRINK ME”. Before Alice drinks the elixir, she checks to make sure it is not labeled poison. When she realizes it isn’t, she quickly drinks it. Suddenly, she shut up like a telescope. This would have been a good thing if she hadn’t left the key on the table. Now Alice is faced with another challenge. Now she must find another way to grow taller and get the key off of the table. She saw a glass box and when she opened it it had a very small cake. Written on the cake were the words “EAT ME”, beautifully written in currants. After she ate the cake, she grew. She didn’t grow smaller, if that is what you are thinking. She grew taller. She grew so tall she ended up being taller than she was before landing in Wonderland. She took the key and ran to the garden door, but getting in was more hopeless than ever. Because of this, she began to cry.

This entire part of chapter 2 (the first half) can be viewed from many different viewpoints. No matter how you look at it, however, you cannot deny the fact that this is the beginning of Alice’s road of trials (hero’s journey step number 6). This is where all of Alice’s troubles in Wonderland begin. If Alice wants to get out of, or get closer to finding a way out of Wonderland, she must first conquer these challenges and any more that might hinder her escape.