Through The Looking Glass

The theme of navigating a world with nonsensical rules is central to the novel; it is embedded in the premise of this portal story and the setting of the looking-glass world. The looking-glass realm is a place filled with bizarre, incredible environments, customs, rules, and characters. Because Alice is an outsider, she does not know how the world works. She is always confused by the logic of the people and things she encounters and tries to learn all she can to better find her way and adapt. Alice often questions other characters so she can better traverse the chessboard land. Since she is curious and logical, she wants to learn how and why things work, which often puts her in conflict with other characters. For instance, she offends Humpty Dumpty when she fears for his safety on the ledge: “‘Why, because there’s nobody with me!’ cried Humpty Dumpty. [...] ‘Don’t you think you’d be safer down on the ground?’ Alice went on [...] ‘What tremendously easy riddles you ask!’ Humpty Dumpty growled out. ‘Of course I don’t think so!’” (147). As a young child and foreigner in this strange land, Alice applies the rules she is familiar with to each situation—sitting on a high ledge could be dangerous—but frequently discovers that different, undisclosed assumptions are guiding the characters she meets.