Megan Kuhle
December 16, 2004
English p. 5
Alice vs. Cinderella
“ ‘How do you know that I’m mad?’ said Alice. ‘You must be,’ said the Cat, ‘or you wouldn’t have come here.’ ” (Carroll 47) Simply said, this quote describes the basis of Alice’s adventures in Wonderland. Throughout the novel Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, Alice encounters many bizarre things, including talking animals and violence. Another fairy tale quite similar to these occurrences is Cinderella, directed by Clyde Geronimi. Both of these stories have many out of the ordinary encounters, including changes in the girls’ appearances, extraordinary animals, and a little violence.
In Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Alice encounters all kinds of talking animals, from the White Rabbit to the Cheshire Cat. Not only do these animals talk, but most of them also have very complex thoughts and witty ideas. “ ‘Well then,’ the Cat went on, ‘you see a dog growls when it’s angry, and wags it’s tail when it’s pleased. Now I growl when I’m pleased, and wag my tail when I’m angry. Therefore I’m mad.’ ” (Carroll 48) Even though Alice gets advice from most of the animals she meets, including rabbits, turtles, and even gryphons, many are mad and babble on about nonsense, according to Alice. Towards the end of the book she becomes annoyed and furious with their ignorance. In the story of Cinderella, after her father dies, she is forced to live with her evil stepmother and stepsisters and work as a maid for them. So, to keep her company while doing her chores, Cinderella talks to many of the animals living at her house, including mice and birds. She finds comfort in talking to them, and also helps them tremendously in way of survival. In comparison, Alice gathers helpful information from the animals she meets, while Cinderella gives help out to the innocent animals she meets.
Alice experiences many unnatural occurrences in Wonderland besides talking animals, one of them being changes in her appearance, usually by eating food. “Then it got down off the mushroom, and crawled away into the grass merely remarking, as it went, ‘One side will make you grow taller, and the other side will make you grow shorter.’ ” (Carroll 36) The dialogue in this quote is spoke by the caterpillar, talking about eating the mushroom. Alice also eats and drinks other substances throughout the book to change her size, such as cookies and juice. In Cinderella, the fairy godmother changes the appearance of Cinderella for the ball. She dresses her up, does her hair, and changes the animals into different props for the carriage, like horses and coachmen. After midnight at the ball, however, her appearance changes back to her normal rags. Even though both Alice and Cinderella’s changes were temporary, they involved two separate things. While Alice’s sticks to just her height, Cinderella’s happens with her beauty, hair, and clothing. Alice’s changes also only occur when she eats or drinks something, while Cinderella’s are granted from her fairy godmother. In both tales, the characters use their changes for their own benefits.
The third encounter that both Alice and Cinderella find is extreme violence in their lives. “The Queen turned crimson with fury, and, after glaring at her for a moment like a wild beast, began screaming ‘Off with her head!’ ” (Carroll 61) The Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland is a short tempered, moody, and outright ridiculous queen who can often be seen yelling “Off with their heads!” Only Alice can see right through her ineffectiveness and learn to not fear her. In Cinderella case, the short-tempered and moody lady in her life turns out to be her own stepmother. With the help of her daughters, she tries, without success, to destroy Cinderella’s life. Cinderella is not only forced to work as a maid for her stepfamily, but also isn’t allowed to attend a ball held by the Prince. Altogether, Alice and Cinderella both have mean and vicious women in their lives. They both handle them in different ways, though. Alice just yells back at the queen calling her ignorant and foolish, but Cinderella is shyer and just sneaks to the ball without her stepmother’s knowledge. These two leading characters both successfully overcome their violent enemies.
In conclusion, Alice and Cinderella both experienced strange occurrences and encounters throughout their stories. They both handle them calmy, if not from the beginning, they do eventually. Cinderella is a bit more nice and easy-going, even though she is the one with the more difficult encounters. These two separate stories convey that even the most eccentric happenings can be handled strategically and successfully with a little effort. Or, as the Cheshire Cat believes, “ ‘We’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad.’ ” (Carroll 47)