How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Book.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
First it marked out a race-course, in a sort of circle . . . and then all the party were placed along the course, here and there. There was no "One, two, three, and away!", but they began running when they liked, and left off when they liked, so that it was not easy to know when the race was over. However, when they had been running half an hour or so, and were quite dry again, the Dodo suddenly called out "The race is over!", and they all crowded round it, panting, and asking "But who has won?"
This question the Dodo could not answer without a great deal of thought, and it stood for a long time with one finger pressed upon its forehead (the position in which you usually see Shakespeare, in the pictures of him), while the rest waited in silence. At last the Dodo said "Everybody has won, and all must have prizes." (Wonderland 3.19-20).
The "Caucus-race" is the most strongly satirical element in the Alice books. The narrator exposes the absurdity of political machinations, which are a race that has no clear beginning or ending and gets everybody precisely nowhere.
Quote #2
"I have tasted eggs, certainly," said Alice, who was a very truthful child; "but little girls eat eggs quite as much as serpents do, you know."
"I don't believe it," said the Pigeon; "but if they do, why, then they're a kind of serpent: that's all I can say." (Wonderland 5.62-63)
To Alice, a name describes what a thing is; to the Pigeon, a name describes what it does.
Quote #3
"A cat may look at a king," said Alice. "I've read that in some book, but I don't remember where." (Wonderland 8.58)
Every time Wonderland seems to provide some kind of philosophical wisdom ("a cat may look at a king," or, in other words, "it's free to look") it's immediately undercut. Alice knows she's read this idea somewhere, but she doesn't know who said it or why it might be true.
Quote #4
The executioner's argument was, that you couldn't cut off a head unless there was a body to cut it off from: that he had never had to do such a thing before, and he wasn't going to begin at his time of life.
The King's argument was that anything that had a head could be beheaded, and that you weren't to talk nonsense.
The Queen's argument was that, if something wasn't done about it in less than no time, she'd have everybody executed, all round. (Wonderland 8.67-69)
What at first seems like a reasonable debate between the King and the Executioner is rendered ridiculous by the Queen's bloodthirsty reaction. Different points of view can coexist in discussion unless one person doesn't want to play fair – or nice.
Quote #5
"Maybe it's always pepper that makes people hot-tempered," she went on, very much pleased at having found out a new kind of rule, "and vinegar that makes them sour – and camomile that makes them bitter – and – and barley-sugar and such things that make children sweet-tempered. I only wish people knew that: then they wouldn't be so stingy about it, you know – " (Wonderland 9.3)
As absurd as this "rule" might be, what's more absurd is the truth that people's moods may not be related to anything going on in the world around them.
Quote #6
"Tut, tut, child!" said the Duchess. "Every thing's got a moral, if only you can find it." (Wonderland 9.6)
By putting this Victorian commonplace into the mouth of the ridiculous Duchess, Lewis Carroll shows us how absurd it really is. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was one of the first major works of children's literature that placed entertainment value above moral instruction. After all, not everything does have a moral – some things are just wrong, or absurd, or ridiculous. Carroll almost anticipates existentialism here. It's a bit depressing, really, but it's saved by our laughter.
Quote #7
"You couldn't have it if you did want it," the Queen said. "The rule is, jam to-morrow and jam yesterday – but never jam to-day."
"It must come sometimes to 'jam to-day,'" Alice objected.
"No, it can't," said the Queen. "It's jam every other day: to-day isn't any other day, you know." (Looking-Glass 5.16-18)
In one sense, the Queen's exactly right: it's always today, and so if something only happens yesterday and tomorrow, then in a certain way it never happens. But, even though the argument for this perspective makes sense, at the end of the day it's still an absurd way of looking at time.
Quote #8
Alice was glad to see that it revived him a good deal. "There's nothing like eating hay when you're faint," he remarked to her, as he munched away.
"I should think throwing cold water over you would be better," Alice suggested: " – or some sal-volatile."
"I didn't say there was nothing better," the King replied. "I said there was nothing like it." Which Alice did not venture to deny. (Looking-Glass 7.24-26)
Extreme literalism is one kind of absurdity that's very common in Wonderland and Looking-Glass World.
Quote #9
"This is a child!" Haigha replied eagerly, coming in front of Alice to introduce her, and spreading out both his hands towards her in an Anglo-Saxon attitude. "We only found it to-day. It's as large as life, and twice as natural!"
"I always thought they were fabulous monsters!" said the Unicorn. "Is it alive?"
"It can talk," said Haigha solemnly.
The Unicorn looked dreamily at Alice, and said "Talk, child."
Alice could not help her lips curling up into a smile as she began: "Do you know, I always thought Unicorns were fabulous monsters, too? I never saw one alive before!"
"Well, now that we have seen each other," said the Unicorn, "if you'll believe in me, I'll believe in you." (Looking-Glass 7.63-68)
Our question is: How could you not believe in someone or something standing right in front of you?
Quote #10
The Knight looked surprised at the question. "What does it matter where my body happens to be?" he said. "My mind goes on working all the same." (Looking-Glass 8.70)
OK, this isn't absurd; it's actually very sensible. Perhaps what is absurd is that, for most people, it's really difficult to separate what's happening to your body from what's going through your mind.