I personally don’t feel that Alice serves as a parody at all. I think
her experiences are nearly a perfect match to college, not a crazy and
funny analogy of college life. Like Garrison says, I don’t think I’d be
surprised in the slightest to see a hookah-smoking caterpillar on the
street; I know for a fact that one Thursday night I saw a man dressed
as a white rabbit casually walking around downtown. And so many of
Alice’s experiences are nearly perfect analogies to experiences I’ve
had this year. For instance, when Alice is rowing the boat, “’Feather!’
cried the Sheep, as she took up another pair of
needles. This didn’t sound like a remark
that needed any answer: so Alice said nothing, but pulled away” (202).
This event is quite relevant to me in my classes this semester. The
Sheep’s words have and obvious and pertinent meaning, but Alice simply
fails to understand them and goes on, assuming everything is fine. I
find myself feeling like I’m speaking a different language or endowing
words with the incorrect meaning or significance far too much this
semester. When a professor or TA hands back a exam or paper with marks
all over it, I try to remedy my mistakes. However, I often find that I
have thoroughly failed to improve when my next assignment comes back
even worse. Like Alice, I’m willing to follow the directions and heed
the advice, if only I knew its meaning or its importance. As Alice
aptly summarizes: “That’s a great deal to make one word mean” (213).
Man in Bunny Suit
All the peculiarities that we in Austin find ourselves surrounded with keeps life interesting, but it cannot last. Just like Alice wakes from her dreams, someday I know that I won’t be able to find such great pleasure in every absurdity. I enjoy each strange sight now, but someday I need to wake up and begin understanding the meanings of the people around me and articulating my own future. When Alice wakes up, she successfully keeps her crazy dreams alive in her memory and never fully denies there existence, but she does become more practical. I feel that I need to begin to wake up, always appreciating any craziness, but never getting so caught up in it that I forget the real world’s beckoning.
