This is an intervention. Alice, put down the bottle.

    As I said in class, I firmly believe Alice is an entitled brat. She takes without consideration without regards for ownership and then demands that others solve the problems she creates. On further reflection though I can see this as a vehicle for criticism of the upper class, and possibly the monarchy. Being so well educated at such a young age Alice is clearly well off. If she is taken as a literal representation of the upper class, then even the fact that she is a child is a slight jab. That's how the court system behaves, like a bunch of children concerned with themeselves and not the task at hand. Alice's actions show little regard for the ownership of those less fortunate than her. ie the working class. For example any time she eats or drinks something that say "Eat Me" she follows the direction (societal expectations) even if it means stealing from the White Rabbit (subordinate to the Queen). I don't mean to say that Lewis Carroll is a communist advocating for the destruction of the upper class, simply that those with property simply take it from those with the means of production.

    The Duchess who should be another representation of authority also shows reform and is kinder to Alice when confronted with her own execution. Alice does show reform after she is confronted directly with elements of her personality that are innappropriate, as well. This is most notable after her interactions with the Duchess and the Queen. This argument becomes even more prominent if one has the opportunity to read Through the Looking Glass, where Alice actually becomes the queen herself and her age demonstrates she is possibly not the best queen. Through her own folly though, the child as queen does manage to pull herself together and improve.