Okay so I finally got around to digging into Alice in Wonderland again. See, my niece asked about the Cheshire Cat last weekend and boom - felt like that book's still got secrets buried in it. Grabbed my tattered paperback copy and a red pen. Let me walk you through my mad detective work step by step.
Starting Plain and Simple
First flip-through was just me reading normally. Like a tourist. Didn't even take notes. Big mistake - felt like I missed everything. So I brewed stupid-strong coffee and restarted properly.
Made columns in my notebook:
- Left side for writing down weird shit
- Right side for "why tf is this here?" guesses
Tip 1: Chase the Nonsense
Started focusing hard on parts that made zero sense. That soup song? Wrote it out word for word. Realized it's not random - those ingredients match what rich Victorians ate while poor folks starved. Carroll's throwing shade! Underlined every food reference after that.
Tip 2: Animals Ain't Just Animals
That dodo bird chapter felt off. Researched Victorian extinctions - bam. Dodo was famous for being dumb and extinct. Carroll's basically calling politicians dodos. Mind blown. Started checking every animal against real-world stuff from his time period.
Tip 3: Flip Objects Upside Down
Got stuck on the "drink me" bottle. Stared at it for ages. Then remembered Victorian poison bottles had skull labels. Alice drinking unknown liquids? Basically a dare against stupid beauty standards. Started looking at all objects like they're Trojan horses.
Tip 4: Follow the Eyes
Saved the Cheshire Cat for last because duh - floating grin. But noticed how often eyes get mentioned: Rabbit's watch-seeing, Caterpillar's stare, Queen's beady eyes. Sketching all the eye moments showed a pattern - everybody's watching Alice constantly. Felt super creepy actually.
Putting Pieces Together
Spread my notebook across the kitchen table. Circles. Arrows. Coffee stains. Saw how food = class system, animals = politicians, potions = social pressure, eyes = surveillance. All connecting to Victorian society rules. Carroll wasn't just tripping - he built a damn rebellion map!
My takeaway? Symbols hide best in plain sight when they look like "just story stuff." Gotta read like a pissed-off history teacher scanning for smoke signals. Wild how much still pops 150 years later.
