The Cheshire Cat, however, helps Alice realize she needs to develop logic skills. His case, according to Lough, is “an excellent teaching example for illustrating the difference between concrete and formal operational thought” (308). The cat argues that a dog is not mad, and that a dog growls when it is angry and wags its tail when it is pleased; then goes on to say that he growls when he is pleased and wags his tail when he’s angry, therefore making him mad (Carroll 63-64). Alice realizes that there is an error in this statement, but she cannot figure it out. In syllogistic form, the cat’s argument would appear as follows:
Dogs are not mad and dogs wag their tails when pleased.
Cats do not wag their tails when pleased.
Therefore, cats are mad. (Lough 309)
If Alice was at a certain level of cognitive development, she could have seen the invalidity of the cat’s statement. However, she is still at the concrete operational level at this point, and is left confused.
The Tea Party Alice attends while she is in Wonderland shows adolescent over-confidence and impulsivity. She, just as adolescents do from time to time, walks right into logical traps she is unable to defeat. When she can’t win, she simply gives up, also causing her to become more cautious when approaching other logical traps. Alice jumps right into a trap with the March Hare when he says “Take some more tea.” She responds “I’ve had nothing yet, so I can’t take more.” To this, the March Hare replies “You mean you can’t take less. It’s very easy to take more than nothing.” Alice backs down, responding “Nobody asked your opinion” (Carroll 71).
The Duchess’ Conundrum shows that caution comes with maturity. The Duchess states something to Alice which is complicated and confusing, and instead of impulsively replying and jumping into a logical trap, Alice simply says it would be easier to understand if she could write it down. This incident can be used to teach the “concept of the ability to defer gratification by restraining one’s impulsivity, an ability than can appear in adolescence” (Lough 310). Because she has matured, Alice is now not afraid to admit that she doesn’t know.
According to Lough, Alice’s formal operations are demonstrated when she is confronted with the King and the Knave Trial. She is able to challenge illogical statements correctly and efficiently. The King, at the Trial, states “Rule Forty-two. All persons more than a mile high to leave the court.” Alice responded with “I’m not a mile high,” and of course the King replied with “you are.” Alice refused to leave, and the King stated that the rule was the oldest rule in the book, to which Alice replied “then it ought to be Number One” (Carroll 110). Alice is also able to prove that the King has holes in his evidence that the Knave stole the tarts. “The King states that, since the letter is not in the Knave’s handwriting and since the Knave did not sign the letter (an honest man, assumes the King, would have signed it!), then the Knave must have written it, and is therefore guilty of having stolen the tarts” (Lough 310). If Alice were still at the concrete operational stage, she would have been fooled by this statement; however, since she has developed logical clarity and self confidence, she is now in the formal operational thought stage.
The next section in Lough’s article deals with adolescents’ reaction to authority, or Alice’s reaction to the Queen. The Queen is a perfect example of an authoritarian mother figure. She is the enemy of logic, clear thinking and justice, wanting to release the sentence before the verdict is made. “The Queens frequent command of “Off with his head!” is symbolic of her desire to eliminate the intellect” (Lough 312). Alice can tell the Queen she is wrong, seeing the illogical ways of her operations. Confrontation in adolescents can strengthen their developing ego.
Alice has developed morally as shown when she can defend justice in the Knave trial. Here she has reached stage five in Kohlberg’s moral development stages, where “there is respect for the morality of contract, for individual rights, and for democratically accepted law” (Lough, citing Kohlberg 313). Alice sees that the court is not upholding justice and complains about it; therefore demonstrating she has achieved a post-conventional moral level. This section of the story can also be used to identify the connection between cognitive and moral development stages.
The last section of Lough’s article deals with mushrooms and strange characters teaching other concepts in adolescent psychology. The mushrooms and the bottle with the note saying “Drink Me” can symbolize an adolescent’s relationship with drugs and alcohol. “Do adolescents seek altered states out of rebellion, out of a lack of religious meaning in their lives, or because of a desire to escape the painful feelings involved in growing up? These and other related questions can be pursued using Alice’s “trip” as an example” (Lough 313). The weird characters Alice meets define Alice’s social developments. She is able to make up her mind about each character without having to give in to the pressure exerted upon her. This can be compared to an adolescent’s conflicts with peer pressure. Lough notes that Alice In Wonderland is not a useful source for teaching adolescent sexuality, perhaps because “mid-19th century English society may have prevented Carroll from incorporating sexual motifs into his story” (314).
In the book, Alice awakens from a dream that has taken her through the stages of an adolescent. Lough notes that “the dream represents the unconsciousness of the pre-adolescent state of mind. The fact that Alice awakens from her dream shows that she has successfully completed her initiation and is now able to re-enter the everyday world. But she re-enters as a new person with new skills and strengths” (314). Her waking up from her nap might symbolize one’s growth through the stages of adolescent psychological development.
Work Cited
Carrol, L. (1960). Alice in Wonderland. New York: New
American Library.
Kohlberg, L. (1964). Development of moral character and
moral ideology. In Review of Child Development Research,
Hoffman, M. L. and Hoffman, L. W. (Eds), Vol. 1. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
Lough, G.J (1983). Alice in Wonderland and cognitive
development: Teaching with examples. In Journal of
Adolescence, Evans, John (Ed), Vol. 6. London: Academic
Press, Inc. 305-315.