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.

full title  · Through the Looking-Glass

author · Lewis Carroll

type of work · Novella

genre · Fairy tale; children’s fiction; satire; allegory

language · English

time and place written · 1867–1871, Oxford

date of first publication · 1871, though the first copies were dated 1872

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, voicing her thoughts and feelings.

tone · Straightforward; avuncular

tense · Past

setting (time) · Victorian era, a decade before publication date

setting (place) · England, Looking-glass world

protagonist · Alice

major conflict · Alice attempts to become a Queen in the massive chess game being played in the Looking-Glass World.

rising action · Alice, as a pawn, moves forward square by square, meeting many different characters as she advances through the chessboard.

climax · Alice becomes a queen.

falling action · Alice seizes the Red Queen, puts the Red King in checkmate, and, having ended the game, wakes up wondering about her dream.

themes · Chess as a metaphor for a deterministic conception of life; Language as a means to order the world; The inescapable loneliness a child feels growing up

motifs · Dream; Inversion; Chess; Train imagery

symbols · Rushes; The sleeping Red King

foreshadowing · Alice’s recitation of the rhymes about Tweedledum and Tweedleedee, Humpty Dumpty, and the Lion and the Unicorn foreshadow each of their fates within the story.