There are an array of fascinating secondary characters in Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Many of whom have been able to capture various generations’ imagination over the years and inspire countless different adaptations. One character seemingly shines and stands out above the rest, and that is the Cheshire Cat. The Cheshire Cat plays an important role in storyline, but also to Alice herself. Throughout the novel the Cheshire Cat is a representation of Alice’s conscious mind in the dream world she finds herself.
The dictionary definition of consciousness is “a person’s mind and thoughts” (Merriam-Webster) or “the state of being awake and aware of one’s surroundings” (Merriam-Webster). Though we are not aware that Alice’s adventures …show more content…
We first meet the Cheshire Cat in chapter six, Pig and Pepper. Alice has just entered the Duchess 's house through a very strange conversation with one of the servants. She enters into the kitchen that is clouded with pepper from where the cook is making soup. The only people in this scene who are unaffected by the pepper is the cook herself and a large cat laying by the hearth that Alice describes as “grinning from ear to ear” (Carroll 60). This is an interesting point made because Alice immediately differentiates the cat from the other characters. How the cat is smiling is also an important aspect because this certain feature of the Cheshire Cat is one of its most iconic traits, especially with how it is shown in the illustration that accompanies this scene. By having the cat be noted as grinning from ear to ear, Carroll has the readers make connections to the belief that perhaps the cat knows something everyone else doesn’t. He brings his readers attentions to the fact that the Cheshire Cat could be watching a scene play out where he already knows the outcome. The …show more content…
It is at this point Alice is not sure of where to go next, though she has vague ideas about wanting to go to the garden, she isn’t sure on how to get there. It is then that the Cheshire Cat appears before her high in a tree, grinning like always. It is important to note that here Alice makes the observation that though the cat seems good-natured, it needs to be treated with respect. This is fascinating because the Cheshire Cat is the only character Alice meets in Wonderland that she knows she can’t offend and has to tread lightly with. That even though she meets various monarchs, it is a cat that earns and keeps her
The dictionary definition of consciousness is “a person’s mind and thoughts” (Merriam-Webster) or “the state of being awake and aware of one’s surroundings” (Merriam-Webster). Though we are not aware that Alice’s adventures …show more content…
We first meet the Cheshire Cat in chapter six, Pig and Pepper. Alice has just entered the Duchess 's house through a very strange conversation with one of the servants. She enters into the kitchen that is clouded with pepper from where the cook is making soup. The only people in this scene who are unaffected by the pepper is the cook herself and a large cat laying by the hearth that Alice describes as “grinning from ear to ear” (Carroll 60). This is an interesting point made because Alice immediately differentiates the cat from the other characters. How the cat is smiling is also an important aspect because this certain feature of the Cheshire Cat is one of its most iconic traits, especially with how it is shown in the illustration that accompanies this scene. By having the cat be noted as grinning from ear to ear, Carroll has the readers make connections to the belief that perhaps the cat knows something everyone else doesn’t. He brings his readers attentions to the fact that the Cheshire Cat could be watching a scene play out where he already knows the outcome. The …show more content…
It is at this point Alice is not sure of where to go next, though she has vague ideas about wanting to go to the garden, she isn’t sure on how to get there. It is then that the Cheshire Cat appears before her high in a tree, grinning like always. It is important to note that here Alice makes the observation that though the cat seems good-natured, it needs to be treated with respect. This is fascinating because the Cheshire Cat is the only character Alice meets in Wonderland that she knows she can’t offend and has to tread lightly with. That even though she meets various monarchs, it is a cat that earns and keeps her