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Zach Popp
Mrs. Johnson
World Literature, Period 8
10 November 2016
Its the Reality
Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast,
Alice's Dad once said (Wonderland). Now, this is very important to the story, because this was
told to Alice when she was young by her father. Alice was taught to be a thinker, and not just any
old thinker, a thinker that thinks outside the box. The story begins with Alice having these
horrible dreams and these dreams come back to haunt her later on in her life. Alice gets trapped
inside a Wonderland full of adult realities, and she has to make the decisions. Some of the
decisions that Alice makes lead to her loss of innocence and a coming of age. Alice has the ball
in her hands and it is her turn to make all of the decisions. In Lewis Carrolls Alice's Adventures
in Wonderland curiosity and fearlessness unveil the ridiculousness of the adult world.
To begin with, coming of age relates to the theme because Alice's curiosities and
fearlessness lead to her becoming an adult. One instance where Alice displays a coming of age is
when she needs to figure herself out. Just after she grew to her giant size and scared the rabbit
away. This is when she tries to realize where she is and what's going on. She tries to realizes her
self identity because it is up for question. Alice says, who in the world am I, because so many
things are being thrown into her head at once (Wonderland). Although this did not completely
transition alice into an adult immediately the character moves closer to adulthood emotionally
and mentally (Brackett ). Another event where Alice transitions closer to adulthood is when she
was comparing her experiences to a fairytale. This is when she was talking to the mouse and was

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all curious out about how the animals could speak. Alice was unsure about what was going on.
This was almost immediately after she made it through the door. Alice realizes that she's not a
kid anymore and starts rambling on about how there ought to be a book written about [her],
that there ought! And when [she] grow[s] up [shell] write one and then she went on to say,
but i'm grown up now (Wonderland). This is very significant because she realizes that she is
grown up. The curiosity that she had about writing the book lead her to realizing that she isn't
such a kid anymore and maybe should stop thinking like one and grow up. This is just one of the
many experiences [that] are necessary to advance an individual into adulthood (Brackett).
Furthermore, Alice displays adult like qualities when she realizes that being true to oneself is
most important. Alice in the whole story is fearless to defend her opinion and to argue back, she
always just has this little sassy attitude and that's where she is caught in between an adult and
teen. She says, I'm not strange, weird, off, nor crazy, my reality is just different from yours
(Wonderland). What she means by this, is that just because she has peculiar thoughts doesn't
make her any less of anything it makes her different. This is something that Alice has to embrace
and is ultimately evident that Alice has lost some of her innocence (Dyke) . In fact, I think she
does by the end of the story. She really does act fearless against the colonial society trying to put
her into her place instead of her finding her place. Alice fights back and thinks as a curious
person would and realizes that she can make her own decisions and have her life head in the
direction she wants.
Another topic that plays a crucial role in this novel is justice and how it leads to
adulthood. One of the main reasons Alice does seem to transition from child to adult is because
of the challenge she faces with trying to help overthrow the Queen of Hearts. In many cases, the
Queen of Hearts is very cruel to pretty much everyone who is not in agreeance with her. If

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anyone disagrees with the Queen it's off with their head and nothing can be done to change
that (Wonderland). This is not displaying the justice but this is something that brings about the
justice. Justice is achieved by Alice because she fights hard for the people in wonderland because
of the cruelness of the Queen. Though the issues may be as simple as eating tarts, The Queen of
Hearts, she made some tarts, All on a summer day: The Knave of Hearts, he stole those tarts, And
took them quite away! The Queen of Hearts and the court will try and find him guilty of
something else just because it was speculated and she can (Dyke). This overall irritates Alice
because he can not be proven to have eaten the tarts which causes her to think of ways to diverge
the execution. Alice acts fearless in even trying to persuade the Queens opinion and tries to
achieve justice. This fearlessness that she displays leads to her becoming an adult.
The final Topic that proves curiosity and fearlessness prompts adulthood is loss of
innocence. One instance where Alice starting losing her innocence was that very second she fell
down the hole. It was as if her life was flashing before her eyes falling down. In fact, before
Alice got to Wonderland, she had to fall pretty hard down a deep hole (Wonderland). With this
said Alice is still not entirely certain about how to handle the complex predicament in which she
has found herself (Dyke). Lastly, Alice needs to figure out how to accomplish her mission. Alice
begins to talk to the caterpillar for advice and words of wisdom. All she keeps hearing is that she
isn't the right Alice. He ends up telling her, If you don't know where you are going any road can
take you there (Wonderland). This is crucial for Alice in becoming an adult. Alice needs to
realize her purpose. This is true in her reality, she needs to figure out what her purpose is before
being considered an adult. Alice needed to gain confidence in [her] identity and all experience
to gain supremacy of her own life (Dyke). In the end Alice is able to achieve the confidence to
take control of her own life. Therefore this leads to alice becoming an adult.

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In Conclusion, curiosity and fearlessness lead to becoming an adult in Alice's Adventures
in Wonderland. Alice learns what it takes to be an adult and realizes the decisions and
responsibilities that come with being an adult. Making her own decisions throughout her journey
in Wonderland is what ultimately makes her realize this. In the end, living life in the way you
want requires you to think outside the box and it will happen.

Works Cited
Brackett, Virginia. Coming -of-age story. Facts On File Companion to the British Novel:
Beginnings through the 19th Century, vol. 1. New York: 2006. Blooms Literature.
Facts On File, Inc. Http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp. 26 Sept. 2016.
Carroll, Lewis. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, New York:MacMillan. 1865.

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Van Dyke, Trudi. Innocence and Experience in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. McClintonTemple, Jennifer ed. Encyclopedia of Themes in Literature. 2011. Blooms
Literature. Facts on file, Inc. Http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp. 26 Sept. 2016.
Van Dyke, Trudi. Justice in Alices Adventures in Wonderland. McClintonTemple, Jennifer ed. Encyclopedia of Themes in Literature. 2011. Blooms Literature.
Facts on file, Inc. Http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp. 26 Sept. 2016.