What is Alice in Wonderland REALLY about?

Answer 1

What Alice in Wonderland is really about is a question which provokes a great deal of debate.

There is a school of thought which believes the entire story is a metaphor for drugs and drug use; the principal evidence for this being the Caterpillar's hookah, and the mushroom on which he is sitting - the consumption of which causes the distortion of Alice's body, which could be compared to the visual effects of hallucinogenic drugs.

The behaviour of some of the characters is also sometimes explained in terms of drug use; both the Caterpillar's and the Dormouse's languor might be attributable to marijuana or some form of opiate, and it has been suggested that the White Rabbit's rushing around is caused by, or is symbolic of cocaine.

LSD is also frequently mentioned in relation to Alice in Wonderland, as the colourful, confusing and distorted nature of Wonderland seems comparable to an acid trip.

It can be categorically stated however, that Alice in Wonderland has nothing whatsoever to do with either cocaine or LSD, as cocaine had only been recently invented at the time the book was written and had not begun to be used even in a medicinal context, and LSD wasn't invented til decades later in the mid twentieth century.

Marijuana, opiates and hallucinogenic mushrooms however, were both available and legal when the book was written, so may have had some influence on the story.

Most critics and scholars eschew the claims of a connection between Alice in Wonderland and drugs, believing the book to be what it appears, an innocent tale written for the amusement of children. Unlike other writers associated with recreational drug use - Samuel Taylor Coleridge for example - there is no evidence that Lewis Carroll either took or was even interested in the effects of narcotics, and as he was a conservative mathematician and Anglican deacon, find it hard to reconcile his character with that of the archetypal rock 'n' roll drugs fiend.

There is no real evidence that Alice in Wonderland is about drugs, but similarly there is no proof that it isn't, and so, the debate seems destined to carry on.

Alice in Wonderland is indeed about drugs. My teacher believes its about drugs to. I mean following the white rabbit, eating mushrooms, shrinking, it's all hallucinations. Disney just messed with it and made it seem like its not about drugs.

"Alice in Wonderland is a perfect, down-to-earth example of childhood through adolescence. Just as a child's life is filled with good and bad choices, hers is too. As most do, Alice learns from her experiences and ultimately becomes more mature. Alice in Wonderland has many connections to how one grows and develops from childhood up through adolescence. Alice matures emotionally by how she thinks, how she deals with her problems, and how she perceives different situations, all of which are encompassed in the progression of a child."

Answer 2

• Alice in Wonderland was written by Lewis Carroll.
• He wasn't a professional writer, he was a mathematitian.
• He first wrote it for a real little girl called Alice Liddell.
• Alice in Wonderland is set on May 4, which was Alice Liddell's birthday.
• Alice Liddell's mother had a reputation for making very good marmalade. This might be why Alice finds a jar of marmalade during her fall down the rabbit-hole (and why she's so disappointed when it turns out to be empty.)
• The Dodo probably represents Lewis Carroll himself. Because of his stammer he used to pronounce his real name 'Do-Do-Dodgson'.
• The name 'the Mad Hatter' doesn't appear anywhere in Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland. He is just called 'the Hatter'.
• Many people think that the Hatter had Mercury poisoning. But, while mercury poisoning is the probable source of the phrase 'as mad as a hatter,' Carroll's Hatter does not exhibit the symptoms of that illness, so probably doesn't have it.
• The card in the Hatter's hat says "In this style 10/6". It is a price tag. It means you can buy a hat like that for ten shillings and six pence.
• John Tenniel's illustrations of the March Hare show him with straw on his head. This was an artistic convention at the time which denoted madness or insanity.
• When Tenniel did the first coloured illustrations of the book, Alice's dress wasn't blue, it was yellow.