The following are student reviews of “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” by Lewis Carroll.

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 208

Reviewer: Hannah A.

Alice falls asleep under a tree and travels to a wonderland.  When she’s asleep, she meets mad hatters, white rabbits, and a crazy queen.  She is trying to get out the whole time, but she just can’t do it.  It helped her realize that not al reality is as it seems.

I think it was written well and Lewis Carroll got his point across.  It was hard to follow part of the time, and it was disturbing, but I liked it.

1. He wrote it for a little girl and her sister’s who had read the original text.

2. The theme of the book is that sometimes you can get carried away with things and sometimes reality is not the way it seems.

3. Alice starts off reading under a tree, unsuspecting of anything because she’s a young girl.  She is then transported to Wonderland where she cannot figure out whether what she’s seeing is real or not, testing her judgment.

4. It addresses the fact that many things in reality are not as they seem, because they are all clouded by our judgment and because of the government.  Lewis Carroll was showing this when Alice was in Wonderland because she wasn’t able to tell if what she was seeing was real or not.

Reviewer: Logan J.

Alice is a young girl that follows a white rabbit down a mysterious rabbit hole. After growing and shrinking many times, she is able to meet many strange characters. She encounters things that she has never heard of, while all the time forgetting who she is. After playing a frightening game of croquette with the Queen, she finally wakes up to find her sister watching over her. As Alice explains the dream to her sister, she wonders if it was really a dream or reality.

I really liked this book! I thought it was bizarre and twisted just enough. I know that my thinking pattern is a little different then others, so I completely understood the story and it was easy for me to follow. I can see where this book might be a little difficult for others to read, though. The language used is different from every day talk.

1. He wrote it to entertain a little girl that he knew.

2. The theme of this book is that reality is not always what it seems to be. It is also is not to as too many questions and interrupt. Alice did so and learned that it only get others that could help you upset at you. The thesis of the story is Alice is stuck in Wonderland, and she does not know how to get out.

3. Lewis Carroll develops this thesis by expressing Alice’s worries and having her ask directions from multiple people. She also constantly reminisces about her cat Dinah, “Oh, my cat Dinah”……. “Oh well Dinah would never….”

4. The main issue raised is “How is Alice going to get home?” Although the book is about her getting home, it seems as if the author really wants to make it difficult for her to do so. Carroll likes to pick fun and tease his main character, thinking that he would have liked to make Alice stay in Wonderland.

Reviewer: Savanah H.

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland follows the imaginative adventures that the main character, Alice, faces in her journey to go home. Her journey starts off as she adventures into a land that she is unfamiliar with. She goes through obstacles to get home. She faces many events that she is not familiar with, but she gets through the struggles. She realizes that her adventure only happened because she was dreaming and escaping her reality.

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll is a well written novel. It captures the reader’s interest and takes them on a journey in which they can possibly relate to their own dreams. I think that it expressed the imaginative mind of a child; I was able to relate her imagination to mine. The novel could have been longer; it would have been more page turning if it had more of an adventure to it. All in all it was a great book and interested me in many different ways.

1. Carroll’s purpose in writing this book was to show the imaginative minds of children.
2. The theme of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is imagination is key; without imagination one cannot enjoy life peacefully with relaxation.
3. The author, Lewis Carroll, uses the method of the literary element, imagery. He describes the scenery so well that the reader feels as if they are there.
4. The main issue that the book raises is that imagination can be a relaxing way to get away from reality. The stance that the book takes in resolving the issue is that being imaginative can relax one’s mind, but it can be taken to a beyond what is reasonable.