“‘Tut, tut, child!’ said the Duchess. ‘Everything’s got a moral, if only you can find it’” (Carroll, 94). Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland is full of mind-boggling occurrences and characters, with no particularly obvious theme, moral, or point. Perhaps the quote above is a hint to the reader that, if looked for hard enough, the moral of this intriguing book can be found. To an extent, one can find some amount of satire near the end of the book, but why all the otherworldly characters? Do they represent ideas, thoughts, beliefs, or cultural norms? Alice in Wonderland does have a theme, slightly satirical and sarcastic, while at the same time addressing real issues, as displayed in the White Rabbit and the Trial.
First off, the White Rabbit depicts today’s culture, rushing nowhere, hoping they are not late for nothing. At the beginning of the book the Rabbit brings Alice into Wonderland, saying “Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be too late!” (Carroll, 2). As he is worrying about arriving too late, he also is worrying about what people will think of him. For example, after he loses his gloves and fan, obviously unnecessary, he starts fretting, declaring, “The Duchess! The Duchess! Oh, my dear paws! Oh, my fur and whiskers! She’ll get me executed, as sure as ferrets are ferrets!” (Carroll, 30). He agonizes so much about his looks that he becomes late, and worries so much about being late that he can’t worry about…show more content… Or, as it falls under the category of something, and “Everything’s got a moral, if only you can find it” (Carroll, 94), does this story have a moral also? This story has, as previously proven, a point. The White Rabbit represents represent today’s culture, always hurrying and worrying, and chapter 11 and 12 lampoon the criminal justice system and anyone involved in it. Alice in Wonderland is full of mysterious creatures and perplexing going-ons, but an implied underlying satirical thread is definitely
