What is the moral lesson you have learned from the story Alice in Wonderland?

Answer 1

"Every thing's got a moral, if only you can find it." - The Duchess, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

The Duchess' assertion seems to be a prevailing sentiment amongst contemporary readers and teachers of literature; all things must have a moral, if we only look hard enough, and therefore, logically Carroll's Alice in Wonderland is no exception. However, it is arguable that this assertion is entirely erroneous.

It is said that Carroll's book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was revolutionary for its time as it was the first children's book which did not in any way attempt to be improving or to furnish the child with cautionary tales, but was simply an expression of fun and wonder and the joy of exploring an imaginary realm.

In fact Carroll brutally parodies the Victorian habit of presenting children with stories centred on dire warnings and moral improvement several times in his work.

It might be tempting to take the sensible advice in the scene where Alice encounters the bottle marked DRINK ME at face value:

It was all very well to say `Drink me,' but the wise little Alice was not going to do that in a hurry. `No, I'll look first,' she said, `and see whether it's marked "poison" or not'; for she had read several nice little histories about children who had got burnt, and eaten up by wild beasts and other unpleasant things, all because they would not remember the simple rules their friends had taught them: such as, that a red-hot poker will burn you if you hold it too long; and that if you cut your finger very deeply with a knife, it usually bleeds; and she had never forgotten that, if you drink much from a bottle marked `poison,' it is almost certain to disagree with you, sooner or later.

But closer reading makes it clear that by employing irony and understatement, Carroll is mocking the sorts of stories in which children are expected to learn valuable lessons about life.

Alice does in fact, go on to drink this unidentified liquid, feeling herself secure in the knowledge that as it isn't marked poison it cannot harm her. The irony of this should be clear.

Carroll's satirising of moral tales becomes even more explicit in Chapter 9 of Alice's Adventures, when Alice meets up again with the Duchess:

'You're thinking about something, my dear, and that makes you forget to talk. I can't tell you just now what the moral of that is, but I shall remember it in a bit.'

'Perhaps it hasn't one,' Alice ventured to remark.'Tut, tut, child!' said the Duchess. 'Every thing's got a moral, if only you can find it.'

Of course, Alice is correct, there isn't a moral, and Carroll is highlighting the absurdity of pompous adults perpetually attempting to inflict morals on children where none exist.

In the whole book, the child Alice is the most sane and sensible character, whereas all of the adult characters are absurd and ludicrous. The reader should not fall into the trap of believing that simply because a character says something, that this represents the view of the author. In fact, in this instance, it is reasonable to assume that if a character as ridiculous as the Duchess says something that Carroll is suggesting that we should believe the opposite.

And while the Duchess is busy moralising, Alice speaks out for her right to actually think.

Thus it is arguable that Alice's Adventures in Wonderland has no 'moral', and that the entire book was intended as the antithesis of children's literature which does.

Answer 2

One moral lesson from "Alice in Wonderland" is to embrace curiosity and open-mindedness. Alice's journey emphasizes the importance of exploring new ideas and perspectives, and being open to the unexpected. Another lesson is to stay true to oneself despite facing challenges or criticism.

Answer 3

The message of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is quite possibly that stories don't have to have a message.

Answer 4

Monarchies are stupid.

Caterpillars are badass.

Answer 5

The mind is a terrible thing to waste.

Answer 6

Don't fall down holes.. :P