Branches Book

BRANCHES

Tweedledum and Tweedledee to stop fighting over a rattle before eventually ditching them, and being stuck nursing a pig in a room so full of pepper no one can stop sneezing. But isn’t this all part of the story? It is what makes up the story even without contributing to the plot or narrative. Who determined what the narrative is? Lewis Carroll included these elements so they are the story. These scenes are so important to me and hold a lot of the intrigue in the novel. It is part of what makes Wonderland so curious and beyond imagination. The elements in this story don’t seemingly fit together but they still come together in a way I would have never anticipated. I don’t want to be able to predict the next scene or line of a book. Alice in Wonderland makes my brain work. This to me is what makes the book so interesting. Rather than taking the reader on a straight path, the clear direction of the novel shifts and twists making me question and be unsure. The style of Alice in Wonderland definitely draws me to the book. Each time I read it I find new word play and find myself laughing at parts I didn’t even realize could be read that way. The word play surprises me. Well! I've often seen a cat without a grin, thought Alice; but a grin without a cat! It's the most curious thing I ever saw in my life. The book consists of questioning language specifically the order in which words are placed. You might just as well say, added the Dormouse, who seemed to be talking in his sleep, that ‘I breathe when I sleep’ is the same thing as ‘I sleep when I breathe’! The characters themselves intentionally play with words rather than Lewis Carroll slipping in word play (which he also does). The word play is encompassed in the novel as characters discuss the words they are using, question others for their word choice, and often find ways to flip others words around on them. I would want to say that if I got the opportunity to speak to Alice I would talk to her about where she gets her bravery. Being transported to an unrecognizable world is frightening, but Alice takes every challenge she faces in stride and never wavers in her morals. It is remarkable to me that Alice stood up to the Red Queen in order to ensure that Wonderland remain a safe and extraordinary place. She risked her life and the threat of being beheaded in order to save a place she doesn’t live in. While all of these feats are remarkable and do make up a powerful woman and character, I know I would mostly want to hear Alice recount the stories of fantasy that I correlate with Wonderland. Wonderland consists of whimsical and magical experiences and scenes, but the way the story is told contains elements of fear and sadness. Wonderland appears as a dangerous place, where characters are constantly scared of their surroundings. Deception is all encompassing in Wonderland. The clearest example of deception is the Cheshire Cat, who can disappear and reappear. I love the Cheshire Cat, because throughout the novel it is unclear if

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