Mock Wordle Soup

While sitting in Mr. Long’s room during my Study Hall, Mr. Long had an epiphany.

Being anxious, naive students Derek, Connor S., Devon, Benedict and I wanted to know why Mr. Long was “Oooing” and “Ahhhing” at his desk.

He showed us the site http://www.wordle.net/.

In general terms, Wordle takes a group of text (any size) and calculates how many times a word appears. Of course “a, an, the, but, etc.” usually do not count unless you edit your Wordle creation. Once you created your Wordle, you can choose to remove different words that are common in a certain language. For example, you can remove “Common English Words” or “Common Esperanto Words”.

It is quite amusing and fascinating to see which words are left in the Wordle and which were removed.

“Ahhing” myself, I started to question why the words in the Wordle was big or small. The four words that caught my eye were Alice, Wonderland, hidden and meaning. These would make sense for the fact that the story we are analyzing is Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and we are trying to find the hidden meanings in and in-between the text. I would not be surprised if many if not all of the first two words in every team’s Wordle was Alice and Wonderland.

The one thing that interested me the most was the lack of the character’s names.

Other than Alice, the Caterpillar and Cat (note not Cheshire) are represented in tiny letters and no other characters appeared on the Wordle. The majority of the words were adjectives instead of nouns. I believe this shows a better connection between all of our blogs with the story of Alice by the consistant describing words.

Could that mean our team focused more on the hidden meanings within the whole story more than the analysis of the characters?

For example, here is our site Wordle that removed “Common Esperanto Words”

Another mouse shape! (Although this mouse must have lost some weight! *wink*)

First of all I had to look up the word Esperanto:

An artificial international language with a vocabulary based on word roots common to many European languages and a regularized system of inflection.

With my new knowledge of the language, it was odd to me that the and and were the most popular after taking away the common Esperanto words. Although this is an international language so it would be reasonable to suspect the most common English words to be the largest words. Its also interesting to see the number of tiny words, that were large in the removed English words, within the few large words, that weren’t even in the first Wordle.

Shows that there are other languages than English and we need to not assume that everyone in the world knows it. We aren’t the only people in the world.

If anyone else does a Wordle please tell me because I am curious to see what shapes/words pop up and why!

The first Wordle can be found here. The second Wordle can be found here.

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Louis Vuitton’s Wonderland Collection

As the holidays are approaching, designers, stores and companies are putting their thinking caps on trying to come up with catchy and new ideas to display and sell their merchandise. The number of people shopping online increases each year by the convenience and easy access to find the information they want immediately, which increases their satisfaction. Plus with the number of emails and online only coupons, customers are urged to buy their desired items online instead of in stores.

This year I decided to shop online for many of my family members because I don’t have a lot of spare time to go out to the malls and shop ‘til I drop. As I was doing my online shopping for a gift for my mom I was looking at designer sites to find a wallet that would hold all of my mom’s credit cards and different store cards. When I clicked on the Louis Vuitton’s site, a beautiful presentation of their new collection Wonderland, with soothing music I must add, was displayed on my computer screen. One can click on the Six Tales of Holiday Magic and be immersed into the classic fairytale surroundings of Wonderland, Cinderella’s steps, Snow White’s apples and many more.

Why would Louis Vuitton’s advertising committee choose this as their campaign?

About everyone has read or seen these fairytales come to life and love one if not all of the stories. By incorporating the products of Louis Vuitton, customers can also relate to the beloved story in which the product is associated. Keeping in mind the price range in which these products are in, the display online is one to applaud and admire. The scenery of mushrooms and the key whole to the beautiful garden are some of the scenes taken from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. All they need is a tea party and a Caterpillar and they are set!

Many companies use fairytales/Wonderland as their campaigns, but out off all of them I have seen the Louis Vuitton display caught my attention the quickest and is the one I would recommend to check out. (Even if the price range is a little high, looking at the displays is free *wink*)

What Wonderland themed collections have caught your eye over the years?

The “Hero’s Journey” of Alice (part 3)

After studying Joseph Campbell’s “hero journey”, a concept we were introduced to by Mr. Long and later discussed with Matt Langdon,  a visiting expert on the “hero” model who has been commenting on the blogs lately, I am very quickly realizing many, if not all, stories are based off of these steps. Of course there are different ways of approaching this concept like my partner Adam realized in his blog The-Not-So-Heroic-Journey. It all depends on your perspective.

(Note: If you’re interested in these ideas, feel free to check out the earlier posts my classmates and I blogged about Joseph Campbell’s “hero journey”, too, if you want.)

I left off observing that one of the significances of Alice’s journey through Wonderland was the lessons she has learned to reach her goals.

Once Alice reaches the Queen’s grounds and discovers that all of the rules are unfair and she could quickly lose her head, Alice does not once say she wants to go back home. Either she forgot about her home or has way too many thoughts tossing and turning throughout her head. No one may know, yet as contrast to her previous self Alice strives to find a solution to her problem of finding her way out of the Queen’s grounds while keeping her head.

Not so much as a magic flight, yet Alice does get away from the Queen’s executions for awhile when she meets the Mock Turtle. This leads me to the rescue from without, aka Alice’s final guides. The Gryphon and the Mock Turtle remind Alice of the “real” world and allows her to remember she doesn’t want to stay in Wonderland forever.

The Queen’s court allows Alice to cross the final threshold and master the two worlds in which she has entered into. She uses her wisdom gained from her journey to realize “’You’re nothing but a pack of cards!” and discover her control on herself.

This ends Alice’s journey and allows her to use her newly found knowledge in the “real” world and live in the moment, as many people would say.

Hope you enjoyed “The “Hero’s Journey” of Alice” and I hope some of these thoughts encouraged you to think of even more questions and answers! Also feel free to read  “The “Hero’s Journey” of Alice” part 1 and 2 (click here) and feel free to check out my team’s blogs on the right side of your screen!

Image 1 can be found here.

The “Hero’s Journey” of Alice (part 2)

After studying Joseph Campbell’s “hero journey”, a concept we were introduced to by Mr. Long and later discussed with Matt Langdon,  a visiting expert on the “hero” model who has been commenting on the blogs lately, I am very quickly realizing many, if not all, stories are based off of these steps. Of course there are different ways of approaching this concept like my partner Adam realized in his blog The-Not-So-Heroic-Journey. It all depends on your perspective.

(Note: If you’re interested in these ideas, feel free to check out the earlier posts my classmates and I blogged about Joseph Campbell’s “hero journey”, too, if you want. Also to see Part 1 of The “Hero’s Journey of Alice click here.)

I left off pinpointing the road of trials which I believed have been occurring sense she arrived into the hallway of doors. After finishing the book I still agree with my assumption.

Now, assuming these steps are supposed to go in the order they are represented in, a meeting with the goddess is to be seen. The goddess does not necessarily have to be a woman or a human; it should represent what the hero/heroine loves most completely. I concur that Dinah, Alice’s cat, would be the perfect match for this step. Alice refers to Dinah in many of the beginning chapters until she overcomes her dependence on Dinah and gains confidence in herself.

As for the temptations, there are too many to count in Alice’s adventure. Without temptation, there can be no story.

The Cheshire Cat is the “father figure” to Alice and thus completes the atonement with the father. The Cheshire Cat appears throughout Alice’s journey and aids her, as much as he can, by his constant questioning allowing Alice to solve her countless dilemmas. Although there isn’t a step for a “sister figure” or “mother figure” I believe the Queen of Hearts and the Duchess appear to be Alice’s sister and mother figures.

(Note: To learn more about how the Queen of Hearts is like a “sister figure” take a peek at Kristen’s “The Queen an Older Sibling?”)

As Alice defends her statements and beliefs to the Duchess, as one example, Alice begins to believe in herself that no one should tell her what’s right or wrong. She also learns to think about what she is about to say, as before, when she would blurt out whatever was on her mind. This is only one of the lessons (morals *wink*) Alice learns throughout her journey.

The ultimate boon is the achievement of the goal of the quest. No not the quest for the Holy Grail but the quest to get into the beautiful garden behind the locked door. Alice learns from her experiences and is rewarded by finally entering the garden. Although it is not the fact she achieved her goal of getting into the garden, but the lessons she learned to reach it.

Stay tune for the final “Hero’s Journey of Alice” (Part 3)!

Image 1 can be found here.

First Thought? Of Course I Ought! (Ch.12)

Summary: What quirky images/ thoughts pop up in my head as I dive into each chapter of The Annotated Alice? Let’s see what the verdict is when we hear “Alice’s Evidence”. (Ch.12)

(Note:  If you’re interested in these ideas, feel free to check out the previous posts on Ch. 1-11 under one of our categories found in the side bar, ”First Thought? Of Course I Ought!”, too, if you want.)

***

My first thoughts?

Up to this point, the trail has been pointless in my perspective and now they called Alice to the stands, who is also growing larger and larger. I also took note that the King just wants to be in the action/trial instead of really knowing what he is suppose to do. This is shown when he randomly says “That’s very important” and the W. Rabbit corrects him “unimportant”. This is same with the Queen. All she wants to do is execute people. Is she doing it for attention or just for the authority?

Alice challenges both the King and Queen in this final chapter ending symbolizing her final transformation from an arrogant little girl, to a confident young woman. This is, of course, her personality not her appearance.

The verses on the letter are questionable to who the letter was for and who wrote it, although in the annotations, it poses the statement ‘If the Knave didn’t write it, asks Selwyn Goodacre, how did he know it wasn’t signed?’ Suppose the Knave took a chance and was correct, or maybe he did write it. I don’t believe we will ever know.

Could these verses be pertaining to Alice? She had a good character, couldn’t swim easily, the caterpillar proposed a similar question to ‘What would become of you?’, She gave the comfits to the animals and the Dodo returned her thimble as if ‘though they were mine before’, Alice does have a chance to set them (the Knave) free, before Alice realizes the truth she must conquer this obstacle, the letter warns don’t let her [Alice possibly] tell him [the King perhaps] that she liked them[the innocent] best, for this is a secret kept from all the rest. The book points to the Knave for these verses to be pertaining to, but I say it is Alice:

The ending is too sweet and vague to end this story full of important events and messages. To have Alice’s sister dream about Alice’s dreams reinsures that the reader does know that it was a dream [even though many people think it was real/because of drugs]. It is interesting to point out that Alice’s sister is older than her. She only half believed herself in Wonderland because she knew it was only a dream because of her greater knowledge and experiences she has acquired before Alice.

By the way…What ever happened to Dinah? Carroll never says that Alice picked up her cat and ran off to drink tea. Could Dinah have fell down the Rabbit Hole and become the Cheshire cat? Was Dinah ever real? She was a major thought of Alice in the beginning although as the story progressed she never mentioned Dinah. Any ideas?

This was the final blog of “First Thought? Of Course I Ought!” I hope everyone enjoyed following me and Alice down the rabbit hole and hope some of these thoughts encouraged you to think of even more questions and answers!

Feel free to check out my team’s blogs on the right side of your screen!

First Thought? Of Course I Ought! (Ch.11)

Summary: What quirky images/ thoughts pop up in my head as I dive into each chapter of The Annotated Alice? “Who Stole the Tarts” from the tart jar? Who me? Yes you! Couldn’t be! Than who? (Ch.11)

(Note:  If you’re interested in these ideas, feel free to check out the previous posts on Ch. 1-10 under one of our categories found in the side bar, ”First Thought? Of Course I Ought!”, too, if you want.)

***

My first thoughts?

The only tarts I know of thus far are the Duchess’s tarts, although why would they be of importance of this chapter? Honestly, the answer is never answered. Perhaps in the last chapter they will mention why, if not, it isn’t the end of the world.

I find it fascinating that the jurors were writing on a slate instead of a computer or paper. If they wrote on a slate, wouldn’t they run out of room or have to erase the comments before so they can write even more? This is a very peculiar method of choice. Of course, this trial does seem pointless; hence there is really no point in keeping the trial on record.

As for the jurors, I am not surprised the juror that Alice grabbed the pencil from was poor little Bill. He can never catch a break…could he symbolize bad karma?

As I wanted to see how the Lobster Quadrille dance plays out, I was curious to see how the director of the 1999 version portrayed the courtroom scene.

I have no idea what the black smoke chasing Alice was, but that’s how the director chose to transition from one scene to the next. In the book, Alice hears a cry of “The trial’s beginning!” and wonders to find out what it is. Alice is also sitting by the Gryphon in the Carroll’s book instead of the Duchess. Perhaps it was easier for the director to have the Duchess instead of the Gryphon in the scene.

In the video version, they actors bring the characters to life and the lines become much more comical (even if there are a few added puns). I especially love the Queen and the Hatter. “Chop off more heads. It’s wonderful! Chop! Chop! There’s blood everywhere!  Drag to clean.” This quote isn’t in the book, yet it’s a great add in pun! “We don’t do encores…” You sang at my concert…but this is even worse!” “I’ve been practicing” Another add in pun, yet they are so funny.

I wonder why when the Rabbit presented the case at the beginning he said that the Queen baked some tarts, although at the end of the chapter it was the Duchess’s tarts that were questioned. Did Carroll mean for this to happen? & why did Alice grow when she did not eat nor drink anything? Could this be a sign that it was not the “Drink Me” or the “Eat Me” objects did not change Alice’s growth, it twas what she was thinking and feeling that made her grow either larger or smaller.

Stay tuned for the final “First thought? Of Course I Ought!” (Ch. 12)

First Thought? Of Course I Ought! (Ch.10)

Summary: What quirky images/ thoughts pop up in my head as I dive into each chapter of The Annotated Alice? Get your dancing shoes and pants on as we do-si-do “The Lobster Quadrille”. (Ch.10)

(Note:  If you’re interested in these ideas, feel free to check out the previous posts on Ch. 1-9 under one of our categories found in the side bar, ”First Thought? Of Course I Ought!”, too, if you want.)

***

My first thoughts?

When I first saw the title I thought of food, perhaps it was because it was lunch time when I was reading this chapter… Anyways I found out it was a dance! So of course while reading, I was trying to picture how this dance would have gone.

In my research, I found the 1999 version of “Alice in Wonderland.” Here Gene Wilder (aka Willy Wonka in the 1^st movie version – not Johnny Depp- so of course he was brilliant) plays the character of the Mock Turtle and sings beautifully the “Lobster Quadrille Song” and “Beautiful Soup”.  In this version, the full lyrics are not sung, yet the message is still shown.

Note:

I also find it amusing the use of puns throughout all of these chapters. From shoes are shined by blacking, yet shoes under the sea are done with whiting, to ‘With what porpoise?’

Disregard the scene from 6:46 to the end, for in this version the director combined Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland with Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There.

I also noticed the several times Alice actually checked herself when talking to the Gryphon and the Mock Turtle. She is learning how to control her thoughts and start becoming patient with herself. I believe this is a perfect example of how Alice is transforming through Wonderland.

Stay tuned for “First thought? Of Course I Ought!” (Ch. 11)

First Thought? Of Course I Ought! (Ch.9)

Summary: What quirky images/ thoughts pop up in my head as I dive into each chapter of The Annotated Alice? Let’s travel with Alice to go her “The Mock Turtle’s Story”! (Ch.9)

(Note:  If you’re interested in these ideas, feel free to check out the previous posts on Ch. 1-8 under one of our categories found in the side bar, ”First Thought? Of Course I Ought!”, too, if you want.)

***

My first thoughts?

In the beginning of this chapter, we see the Duchess again, yet her personality has changed dramatically. She shows affection, kindness, and sympathy unlike her grouchy, violent, selfish attitude when Alice first met her in Chapter 6. I agree with Alice’s assumption with “perhaps it was only the pepper that had made her so savage when they met in the kitchen” (pg. 90). Could other object/elements change other personalities of the creatures and Alice throughout Wonderland?

We also come upon five important morals:

‘Oh, ’tis love, ‘tis love, that makes the world go round!’

‘Take care of the sense, and the sounds will take care of themselves.’

‘Birds of a feather flock together.’

‘The more there is of mine, the less there is of yours.’

‘Be what you would seem to be.’

All of these morals can be related to Alice’s journey throughout Wonderland, yet these aren’t quite the meaning of her journey since it is much more complex than a simple moral.

I also find it interesting that out of blue the Queen suggests Alice to go meet the Mock Turtle and here his story. Could this be a distraction for Alice or could this meeting change her whole perspective on Wonderland?

I also find it offensive that Carroll adds  (If you don’t know what a Gryphon is, look at the picture.)  I can quite see that the picture on pg. 95 is a picture of a creature that is not Alice, the Queen, or the Mock Turtle, so out of process of elimination the picture must be of a Gryphon. Nevertheless Carroll sees the need to add this comment into his story.

Finally after laughing at the numerous ‘puns’ at the end of this chapter, Alice poses an excellent question “And how did you manage on the twelfth?” She asks this when the turtle explains to Alice that one learns a subject 10 hours on the first day, 9 hours the second day, and so on… thus on the 11 day there was a holiday and the 12 day?

The annotations wonder if the pupils start teaching their teacher, which could be plausible yet I know from feedback that teachers learn many things from their students everyday. The fact that the Gryphon quickly changes the subject when Alice asks this question, raises suspicion if the Mock Turtle was making up the whole story or if they didn’t want Alice to know.

Stay tuned for “First thought? Of Course I Ought!” (Ch. 10)

Image can be found here.

First Thought? Of Course I Ought! (Ch.8)

Summary: What quirky images/ thoughts pop up in my head as I dive into each chapter of The Annotated Alice? Let’s get some popcorn and our megaphones out to watch the battle at “The Queen’s Croquet-Ground”! (Ch.8)

(Note:  If you’re interested in these ideas, feel free to check out the previous posts on Ch. 1-7 under one of our categories found in the side bar, ”First Thought? Of Course I Ought!”, too, if you want.)

***

My first thoughts?

I was very excited to read this chapter, for it has the famous quote “painting the roses red!” which in the Disney version was made into a song!

It gets into you head huh?

I find it interesting that in the Disney version, Alice arrives into the garden, aka the Queen’s Ground, by a whole/door in the tree that was opened by the Cheshire Cat. In Carroll’s story, there is a door in one of the trees, yet it leads Alice to the room of doors in which she opens the garden door with the golden key and nibbles her way to being a foot tall so she can enter the Queen’s garden. Similar? Yes, yet not all of the components of the Disney version are exactly like Carroll’s story.

I also think it is funny that it was the 2, 5 and 7 of spades that Alice encounters in Carroll’s version and in the Disney version it was the Ace, 2, and 3 of clubs. Really Disney? Was it that hard to draw a 5 or 7 spade of cards? If the cards were spades, the rose trees could not have been in the shape of a spade, or an upside-down heart. The annotations show what each suit of cards represents: Spade-Gardeners, Clubs-Soldiers, Diamonds-Courtiers, and Hearts-Royal children. If Disney wanted any part of this symbolism, they probably would not have put the gardeners as clubs and the other suits of cards various slave-like people to the Queen.

By the way, what a weird ladder the cards are using. I don’t think I have ever seen a ladder with one of the legs a straight poll/stick. Anything can happen in Wonderland I guess.

When I was looking at this picture, I noticed that the King and Queen’s noses were shaded. What does this mean? From the annotations, they say that the shaded nose signify boozers. Since both of their heads are pointed to the sky, I believe the shading could be a bad sunburn and Tenniel was adding realistic features into his drawing. It could be either one. It is also interesting to think about the symbolism of the cards. The entire base cards, Ace-10, are not to be seen in this picture.

What does this mean?

It could mean many things. One, this picture could illustrate the political differences between Alice and Royalty. Two, the facial expressions of the Royal Cards have a different interpretation than if the base cards were reacting to the scene. Here is yet another example of Nobility vs. Peasantry, Upper-Class vs. Lower-Class or what ever you want call it.

*Can you spot the White Rabbit?*

Stay tuned for “First thought? Of Course I Ought!” (Ch. 9)

Image 1 can be found here.

First Thought? Of Course I Ought! (Ch.7)

Summary: What quirky images/ thoughts pop up in my head as I dive into each chapter of The Annotated Alice? Let’s all sit back and relax as we have a cup of tea at “a mad tea-party!”(Ch.7)

(Note:  If you’re interested in these ideas, feel free to check out the previous posts on Ch. 1-6 under one of our categories found in the side bar, ”First Thought? Of Course I Ought!”, too, if you want.)

***

My first thoughts?

By the look of the title I have a pretty good feeling we will be saying “cheerio!” and putting our pinkies out while sipping cups of tea with the Mad Hatter and March Hare. I was disappointed that the Disneyfide “Happy Un-birthday!” was not originally in Carroll’s story although the ongoing conversation of Time did entertain me throughout this chapter.

The Dormouse was a very unusual character in this chapter. Out of all the different kinds of mice in the world, why did Carroll pick a dormouse? Perhaps it was to balance out the hyper/madness of the Hare and Hatter. Was it just me or did was Tenniel’s illustration of the dormouse quiet out of proportion? Although, Alice would think it was rather “queer” for a mouse to be the same size of a Hare or even a little girl.

Though who is to say that a mouse can’t be bigger than an elephant in Wonderland?

I was very surprised to see that May 4^th was the birthday of Alice Liddell. Why? My birthday is May 4^th! What a coincidence! To think that in Wonderland, it was always 6 o’clock is a strange thing to think about. If it was 6 all the time…then when would one know the day is over and a new one is beginning?

Oh…my brain hurts.

On that note: Let’s go to the riddle!

Stay tuned for “First thought? Of Course I Ought!” (Ch.8) !

Feel free view the results of the riddle when you vote!

Image 1 can be found here.