Reading Diary A: Alice in Wonderland

This week, I chose to read the unit of Alice in Wonderland because it was one of my favorite stories when I was a child and one of my favorite Disney movies. I remember in middle school I read the Lewis C. Carol version of the story but I didn’t remember all of it’s connect, which is why I chose to re-read this story to remember the content. The first half of the unit is of course the first half of the story from Alice noticing the white rabbit with a watch, going down into the rabbit hole, being in an unfamiliar place and changing body sizes in the drop of a hat. But one part of the story I really want to focus on for my storytelling this week is the Advice From a Caterpillar. In the section, Alice meets the hookah smoking caterpillar that tried to seek guidance and help from him only to come out frustrated. Alice didn’t like how the caterpillar continued to ask who she was because, from all the transformations she went threw during the day, she had no idea who she actually was anymore. The caterpillar asked Alice to recite a poem, “Father William,” which is about the importance of having moderation in one’s life. When she recites it, she doesn’t remember it correctly and the caterpillar called her out on her mistake, which caused Alice to become angrier. Before the caterpillar leaves, he tells her that each side of the mushroom distorts the body, big or small. Alice tried both sides and grew very small then extremely tall. Her neck stretched into the trees, causing one bird to think she was a serpent.

The Caterpillar by Sir John Tenniel (1865)