The Dog Who Can’t Talk In Wonderland :O
December 3, 2009This blog is inspired by Connor S. blog titled Out of place.
Throughout the book the closest thing to a family member that she talks about is her cat Dinah. When saved by the mouse from drowning in her own tears in chapter two she tries to tell the mouse about the cat but the mouse despises cats and threatens to leave if she continues talking about Dinah. In Chapter 3 Alice scares away all her company because she continues to talk about her cat. Her cat is her only reference back to the real world. I believe that is why she continuously talks about Dinah throughout the book. What Alice does not realize is why all the animals don’t like it when she talks about her cat. She does not realize the animals are the prey because she is use to being the bystander or the predator. But this is all about to change.
Near the end of chapter 4 Alice runs away from the rabbit’s house in fear of her life. When Alice has escaped the crowed of animals around the house, her size is small again from eating the cupcakes that were originally pebbles. Once she escaped into the woods she encountered a puppy that was big compared to her. In the real world Alice would have been completely not afraid of the puppy but this time she wanted to play with the puppy due to what she is use to in the real world but she still is very cautious because she is afraid that the puppy will attack her. This was her first time playing the role of the prey instead of the predator or the bystander.
One of the question I asked myself when I read this scene was why did Carroll not give the dog all the characteristics he gave all the other characters in Wonderland? Perhaps he was a dog person. After all there are two cats in the story that come up pretty often throughout the book and only one dog that shows up for a short scene. What are your theories on why Carroll choose the dog to have real world qualities instead of any of the other animals in the book?
The "Liddell" Things 
Erm…not quite sure what the title had to do with the content, but you’re absolutely right. The Enlightenment was a shinning beacon in the history of our species, and its influence is intensely prevalent in Carroll’s text. The problem of identity is particularly interesting; it’s Enlightenment existentialism and solipsism at its most basic yet relevant. What defines you from everybody else? Alice dealt with it; the enlightened philosophers dealt with it…and no one’s really been able to solve it to this day.
Maybe we’ll reach an answer someday; perhaps not. Either way, it’s worth pondering.