Alices Adventures in Wonderland

As a person moves through the lessons of life, they begin to realize there is a certain order to which actions take place. In Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, the reader can see that there is a certain type of chaos that happens in this place of unorthodox order. As Alice journeys through her time in Wonderland, she finds that everything she thinks is logic is illogical in the actions and characters of Wonderland. Carroll covers a great deal of satire throughout the book including the topics of monarchy, education factors, and the legal system. Focusing on the topic of the legal system in Wonderland, the reader stumbles upon scenes found in chapters eight through eleven that explain the legal system on which Wonderland operates. This essay intends to compare and contrast the issues that Alice observes about the legal system of Wonderland and how it functions.

When Alice is introduced to the legal implications/actions of Wonderland, she is already well aware that this place of nonsense functions in the illogical ways of the world she would have known in the Victorian era in which she lived. In her dreamland, Alice associates most things from her normal life to be placed in the world of chaos. For instance, Alice knows that the Queen of Hearts rules the world of Wonderland. Her style of ruling reflects more of a dictatorship, rather than a monarchy. Alice is adapted to the style of ruling displayed during the

Victorian period demonstrated by Queen Victoria herself. Queen Victoria was the British monarch from 1837 to 1901. Her time of rule was known for peace and prosperity throughout the country of England. It was known to be a time that defined the start of the modern age that was to come including refined priorities and a new self confidence found for Britain. Ilana Miller defines the Victorian period as, "a tremendously exciting period when many artistic styles, literary schools, as well as, social, political and religious movements flourished. It was a time of prosperity, broad imperial expansion, and great political reform. It was also a time, which today we associate with "prudishness" and "repression". Without a doubt, it was an extraordinarily complex age, that has sometimes been called the Second English Renaissance. It is, however, also the beginning of Modern Times." Alice realizes that the form of ruling the Queen of Hearts uses is that of a cruel ruler who demands executions for her servants at the simple call of a command. As Alice observed the style of ruling and the adventures that happen within Wonderland, she quickly realizes this is nothing like the world she came from.

Alice is mentioned throughout the book that her and her family belong to the middle class structure of England at the time. It is good to quote Ilana Miller once more to comprehend the structure in which Alice was accustomed to. This action allows the reader to understand what the social life of a young Victorian girl could have experienced during this period. "The social classes of England were newly reforming, and fomenting. There was a churning upheaval of the old hierarchical order, and the middle classes were steadily growing. Added to that, the upper classes' composition was changing from simply hereditary aristocracy to a combination of nobility and an emerging wealthy commercial class. The definition of what made someone a gentleman or a lady was, therefore, changing at what some thought was an

alarming rate. By the end of the century, it was silently agreed that a gentleman was someone who had a liberal public (private) school education (preferably at Eton, Rugby, or Harrow), no matter what his antecedents might be. There continued to be a large and generally disgruntled working class, wanting and slowly getting reform and change."

The reader is first introduced into the "legal system" of Wonderland in chapters eleven and twelve for the trial of the Knave of Hearts for stealing tarts from the Queen. As displayed throughout the book, Alice begins to socialize eating in Wonderland as negative aspect because it always seems to get one in trouble. The Queen is at the forefront of the trail conducting a joke of trial. The reader can quickly learn that the trial for the Knave of Hearts is pointless due to the fact of the Queen's statement before the trial began its session - "Sentence first, verdict after." As a logical person and modern American would observe, all persons on trial are innocent until proven guilty by the evidence given by the court. The Knave of Hearts, or the defendant, would have no chance at being proven innocent due to the fact the Queen determines everyone's punishment before the decision can be made. Again, Alice sees a display of a backwards type of thinking in the world of Wonderland.

As the trial proceeds, the "evidence" is brought into light for the jury to hear on behalf of the Knave of Hearts. The members of the Mad Tea Party and the Duchess' cook are brought to the trail to give evidence on behalf of the Knave of Hearts. The trail has fallen so short of regular court proceedings in areas like court rules, evidence, and the justice system to which Alice thinks she knows. It is said that Alice knows the extensive actions of the courtroom without her ever being to a trial before. In another example of the nonsense that occurs to mock the actions of Alice's sensible world, the Mad Hatter is brought up to testify, but in the process is asked ridiculous questions that have nothing to do with the situation at hand. He is asked by the

King to perform the simple action of taking off his hat. He replies by saying the hat does not belong to him, therefore he cannot take it off. The King replies with an irrational response by saying he may step down if that is all he knows about the subject. The Mad Hatter continues the illogical conversation by ending it with explaining that he can go lower to the floor than he already is. The example here is Carroll's way of displaying his childlike, innocent humor to the book. All the while, Alice is listening to the actions of the court and her anger continually grows at the absurdity of the situation.

As mentioned before Alice was accustomed to the Victorian Age and its rule by Queen Victoria. Alice associates this type of monarchy that she knew to that of Wonderland and the Queen of Hearts. Under the rule of Queen Victoria, court proceedings displayed that of modern times. The Victorian Age was the mark in history, which reflected modern court proceedings. The Queen of Hearts held her proceedings that displayed an illogical "sentence first, verdict after." In this court of law the defendant was found guilty before proven innocent and had no way of changing that verdict. As Alice compared and contrasted