payment page
Full Title Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
Author Lewis Carroll
Type of Work Novella
Genre Fairy tale; children’s fiction; satire; allegory
Language English
Time and Place Written 1862–1863, Oxford
Date of First Publication 1865
Publisher Macmillan & Co.
Narrator The narrator is anonymous and does not use many words to describe events in the story.
Point of View The narrator speaks in third person, though occasionally in first and second person. The narrative follows Alice around on her travels, voicing her thoughts and feelings.
Tone Straightforward; avuncular
Tense Past
Setting (time) Victorian era, circa publication date
Setting (place) England, Wonderland
Protagonist Alice
Major Conflict Alice attempts to come to terms with the puzzle of Wonderland as she undergoes great individual changes while entrenched in Wonderland.
Rising Action Alice follows the White Rabbit down a well and pursues him through Wonderland.
Climax Alice gains control over her size and enters the garden, where she participates in the trial of the Knave of Hearts.
Falling Action Alice realizes that Wonderland is a sham and knocks over the playing card court, causing her to wake up and dispel the dream of Wonderland.
Themes The tragic and inevitable loss of childhood innocence; Life as a meaningless puzzle; Death as a constant and underlying menace
Motifs Dream; subversion; language; “curious,” “nonsense,” and “confusing”
Symbols The garden; the mushroom
Foreshadowing The Mouse’s history about Fury and the Mouse foreshadows the trial at the end of the story.
