Tweedles, not tea. . .
When Alice is confronted by the ludacris arguments of Tweedledee and Tweedledum, I can't help but think of my own life. "I know they are talking nonsense," Alice thought to herself: "and it's foolish to cry about it." So she brushed away her tears, and went on, as cheerfully as she could. "[1] Alice knows that what the Tweedles are telling her is absolutely ridiculous, yet she still lets it bother her. She knows that they trying to convince her of something she knows to be an absurdity, and at first she let's them. She knows in her mind what it going on, but she lets them get her all riled up to the point of tears. This reminds me of some of the people I have encountered in my own life who have doubted my abilities or will to achieve what I want to. I have heard the arguments of those people and, just like Alice, I have recognized their ridiculousness, but I have still not yet let their statements get to me. I have not let them bother me and let them fester like a boil until I just couldn't take it any more. Poor Alice, in all the confusion and silliness, was reduced to tears. She knows what is right, in spite of the fact she is surrounded by morons trying to convince her otherwise. If you listen to people's unfounded criticisms and attacks on yourself long enough and hard enough you just might believe what they say. You know what they say is bordering on the verge of absurdity and even insanity but you let it get you down. It's true, Alice moves on from this attack without much issue, but not without crying over it first. And to move on from it, she had to cheerfully (as cheerfully as she could) change the subject, get back on her horse and move on.
Poor Alice, I can relate with the ridiculous and confounding conversations abound in her journey in Wonderland. Alice must feel that these characters are just being confusing and talking in circles just for the fun of it, just to give her a hard time. They speak in puzzles and riddles, and almost everyone even manages to get in a poem (and Alice makes it pretty clear that she hasn't the patience nor the desire to listen to any more poems). Nonetheless, Alice feels compelled to go through to the the eigth square and becomed queened. Maybe she understands that in order to achieve something great, you have to go through some trying and confusing times. I understand this, too. Just like Alice I have ran out in the crossfire.
Another particulary vexing conversation is when Alice has made it to the eight sqaure and become queened. Here she finds two other queens, The Red and The White. So, now we have three queens together trying to have a conversastion. Talk about divas! The two other queens challenge Alice every chance they get. One of them tells her to speak only when spoken to. Then they ask her if she knows how to do arithmetic. Of course, not being content with her affimation that she does indeed, they decide to test her. They bombard her with Wonderland math problems and silly riddles. Alice, of course, being from a different land, doesn't understand their "logic." They seem to enjoy the fact that Alice either can't answer the questions or gets them wrong. And to add insult to injury, the Red Queen says, "Wrong, as usual." [2] The gloating pair like to exploit, especially in unision: “She can’t do sums a bit!” the Queens said together, with great emphasis. “ [3] Even when you read this passage silently to yourself, you can practically hear their smugness and superior tone. You can practically see them patting themselves on the back at their ability to find someone seemingly even more ignorant than them and then revel in their self-righeousness. I guess the only way some people feel good about themselves is if they put other people down. However, Alice manages to turn the tables and put the queens on the spot by asking them if they can do sums. Alice “didn’t like being found fault with so much” [4], so she asserted herself and questioned them. And what intersting thing should happen? Well, we find out the queens aren’t so smart and able after all.
By the time Alice is at the queens’ dinner party, she has had just about enough of all the nonsense and frustration. Alice finally snaps and takes matters into her own hands at banquet table of her coronation party. It is HER party after all, and she'll cry if she wants to. But does she cry? No. "I can't stand this any longer!" she cried, as she jumped up and seized the table-cloth with both hands: one good pull, and plates, dishes, guests, and candles came crashing down together in a heap on the floor." [5] And now comes the wrath of Alice: "And as for you," she went on, turning fiercely upon the Red Queen, whom she considered as the cause of all the mischief." [6] At this point, Alice is such in a tizzy that she pays no mind to the fact that the Red Queen has just shrunk. "At any other time, Alice would have felt surprised at this, but she was far too much excited to be surprised at anything now. "As for you, " she repeated, catching hold of the little creature, "I'll shake you into a kitten, that I will." [7] Alice proceeds to shake her "backwards and forwards with all her might." [8] In this dinner-party scene, Alice takes a huge step. She went past the point of no return here. She decided to put her foot down and put an end to all the absurdities and talking in circles. She just had to show everybody who was boss, or rather that she could be boss. Alice decided that she was no longer going to let these strange creatures dictate her each and every move. She decided she wasn't going to let them affect her so. No more curious creatures were going to bother her again or pull the wool over her eyes. Is it coincidence that after Alice furiously shakes the Red Queen she then finds herself free from the nightmarish Wonderland? It seems to me that Alice had something to prove, something to conquer, other than just a game of chess. Once Alice shows her assertiveness and assures the silly characters that she does have power after all, then they truly can never bother her again. She was finally freed from the red fury angered by the chains of illogical nonsense, chaos and all the frustration and angst that goes with it. Yet Alice goes on, shaken, to turn the page.
[10]
I guess the old saying is true: "That which doesn't kill you only makes you stronger." Alice found that out and I think I find that to have more truthfulness to it every day. I've been shaken like Alice in a chess game many times at work
[11]
[11]http://www.ebbemunk.dk/alice/91red_queen.jpg
When Alice is confronted by the ludacris arguments of Tweedledee and Tweedledum, I can't help but think of my own life. "I know they are talking nonsense," Alice thought to herself: "and it's foolish to cry about it." So she brushed away her tears, and went on, as cheerfully as she could. "[1] Alice knows that what the Tweedles are telling her is absolutely ridiculous, yet she still lets it bother her. She knows that they trying to convince her of something she knows to be an absurdity, and at first she let's them. She knows in her mind what it going on, but she lets them get her all riled up to the point of tears. This reminds me of some of the people I have encountered in my own life who have doubted my abilities or will to achieve what I want to. I have heard the arguments of those people and, just like Alice, I have recognized their ridiculousness, but I have still not yet let their statements get to me. I have not let them bother me and let them fester like a boil until I just couldn't take it any more. Poor Alice, in all the confusion and silliness, was reduced to tears. She knows what is right, in spite of the fact she is surrounded by morons trying to convince her otherwise. If you listen to people's unfounded criticisms and attacks on yourself long enough and hard enough you just might believe what they say. You know what they say is bordering on the verge of absurdity and even insanity but you let it get you down. It's true, Alice moves on from this attack without much issue, but not without crying over it first. And to move on from it, she had to cheerfully (as cheerfully as she could) change the subject, get back on her horse and move on.
Poor Alice, I can relate with the ridiculous and confounding conversations abound in her journey in Wonderland. Alice must feel that these characters are just being confusing and talking in circles just for the fun of it, just to give her a hard time. They speak in puzzles and riddles, and almost everyone even manages to get in a poem (and Alice makes it pretty clear that she hasn't the patience nor the desire to listen to any more poems). Nonetheless, Alice feels compelled to go through to the the eigth square and becomed queened. Maybe she understands that in order to achieve something great, you have to go through some trying and confusing times. I understand this, too. Just like Alice I have ran out in the crossfire.
Another particulary vexing conversation is when Alice has made it to the eight sqaure and become queened. Here she finds two other queens, The Red and The White. So, now we have three queens together trying to have a conversastion. Talk about divas! The two other queens challenge Alice every chance they get. One of them tells her to speak only when spoken to. Then they ask her if she knows how to do arithmetic. Of course, not being content with her affimation that she does indeed, they decide to test her. They bombard her with Wonderland math problems and silly riddles. Alice, of course, being from a different land, doesn't understand their "logic." They seem to enjoy the fact that Alice either can't answer the questions or gets them wrong. And to add insult to injury, the Red Queen says, "Wrong, as usual." [2] The gloating pair like to exploit, especially in unision: “She can’t do sums a bit!” the Queens said together, with great emphasis. “ [3] Even when you read this passage silently to yourself, you can practically hear their smugness and superior tone. You can practically see them patting themselves on the back at their ability to find someone seemingly even more ignorant than them and then revel in their self-righeousness. I guess the only way some people feel good about themselves is if they put other people down. However, Alice manages to turn the tables and put the queens on the spot by asking them if they can do sums. Alice “didn’t like being found fault with so much” [4], so she asserted herself and questioned them. And what intersting thing should happen? Well, we find out the queens aren’t so smart and able after all.
By the time Alice is at the queens’ dinner party, she has had just about enough of all the nonsense and frustration. Alice finally snaps and takes matters into her own hands at banquet table of her coronation party. It is HER party after all, and she'll cry if she wants to. But does she cry? No. "I can't stand this any longer!" she cried, as she jumped up and seized the table-cloth with both hands: one good pull, and plates, dishes, guests, and candles came crashing down together in a heap on the floor." [5] And now comes the wrath of Alice: "And as for you," she went on, turning fiercely upon the Red Queen, whom she considered as the cause of all the mischief." [6] At this point, Alice is such in a tizzy that she pays no mind to the fact that the Red Queen has just shrunk. "At any other time, Alice would have felt surprised at this, but she was far too much excited to be surprised at anything now. "As for you, " she repeated, catching hold of the little creature, "I'll shake you into a kitten, that I will." [7] Alice proceeds to shake her "backwards and forwards with all her might." [8] In this dinner-party scene, Alice takes a huge step. She went past the point of no return here. She decided to put her foot down and put an end to all the absurdities and talking in circles. She just had to show everybody who was boss, or rather that she could be boss. Alice decided that she was no longer going to let these strange creatures dictate her each and every move. She decided she wasn't going to let them affect her so. No more curious creatures were going to bother her again or pull the wool over her eyes. Is it coincidence that after Alice furiously shakes the Red Queen she then finds herself free from the nightmarish Wonderland? It seems to me that Alice had something to prove, something to conquer, other than just a game of chess. Once Alice shows her assertiveness and assures the silly characters that she does have power after all, then they truly can never bother her again. She was finally freed from the red fury angered by the chains of illogical nonsense, chaos and all the frustration and angst that goes with it. Yet Alice goes on, shaken, to turn the page.
[10]I guess the old saying is true: "That which doesn't kill you only makes you stronger." Alice found that out and I think I find that to have more truthfulness to it every day. I've been shaken like Alice in a chess game many times at work
[11][1] http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~bump/VSA/Dawn/project2/index_files/image020.jpg
[2] Alice 189
[3] Alice, 251
[4] Alice, 244
[5] Alice, 244
[6] Alice, 244
[7] Alice, 266
[8] Alice, 266
[9] Alice, 267
[10] http://www.bulletsofautumn.com/vurt-feather/vurtimages/alice.jpg
[11]http://www.ebbemunk.dk/alice/91red_queen.jpg
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