Literary Theory: Deconstruction & Alice in Wonderland
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland:
Deconstructing the Caucus Race
The caucus race in chapter three of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland offers multiple interpretations. Although this chapter is but one part of Alice’s dream and her adventure through Wonderland, Lewis Carroll created a scene that is ripe for deconstructing. “For a reading to be a deconstructive double reading, the first reading must propose a stable interpretation, and then the second reading must undo that stable interpretation” (Parker 89). In this essay, I will explain how the first read through of the caucus race scene appears as a dream-like state influenced by Alice’s family and daily life. On the second reading, I will show that the caucus race is much more than a dream based on Alice’s life. Rather, the caucus race is a depiction of the government and government officials’ inability to achieve progress. Based on cultural differences, this interpretation of government satire holds multiple meanings. To align with a true deconstructionist approach, I will also explain how these “multiple meanings work in particular historical and social settings” (100).
When initially reading about the caucus race, it is clear the essence of the scene is nothing more than a continuation of Alice’s dream and her adventures in Wonderland, the content of which is brought about by people and events in her daily life. Although there is some debate about a person’s dream content and its origin, “scientists have been suggesting links between dreams and memories for two centuries, and many are now convinced that memories from your day become fixed or consolidated as you dream” (Moxon 34). Alice’s caucus race experience is a perfect example of dreams imitating real life. For example, the “queer-looking party [of animals] that assembled on the bank” represents Alice’s family (Carroll 34). The first indication of this representation comes when Carroll writes at the outset of the chapter, “after a few minutes it seemed quite natural to Alice to find herself talking familiarly with them [the group of animals], as if she had known them all her life” (34). Carroll uses two key words and phrases that provide evidence that the animals represent Alice’s family: “familiarly” and “she had known them all her life.” The word familiarly has origins in both Middle English, where it means “on a family footing,” and Latin, where it originates from the Latin word familiaris, which means “family” (“Familiarly”). The phrase “she had known them all her life” also indicates the animals are representative of Alice’s family because the people in her family are the only people she has known all her life.
There are also specific references to people in Alice’s family. The Lory is a representation of Alice’s older sister, who she is sitting with on the riverbank when she falls asleep and drifts off into her Wonderland dream. Carroll authenticates this hypothesis when Alice and the Lory get into an argument and the Lory replies to Alice, “”I’m older than you, and must know better”” (34). This response is age-old and clearly indicative of a stereotypical older sibling when a younger sibling may be getting the best of them in an argument. The Lory also “turned sulky” when it could not win the argument with Alice, which is a response commonly expressed by siblings engaged in an argument at a young age (34).
The Mouse represents a parental figure in Alice’s life. Carroll describes the Mouse as “a person of some authority,” much like a parent (34). Also in accordance with a typical parental role, the Mouse takes control of the situation, manages the other animals’ actions, and attempts to resolve the issue at hand (in this instance, finding a way for the animals and Alice to dry off after getting soaked) by stating, “”Sit down, all of you, and listen to me! I’ll soon make you dry enough!”” (34-35). Alice also trusts the Mouse in the same way a child would trust a parent, which is shown when Carroll writes, “Alice kept her eyes anxiously fixed on it [the Mouse], for she felt she would catch a bad cold if she did not get dry very soon” (35). Alice keeps her attention focused on the Mouse because she trusts the Mouse will resolve the situation and keep her out of harm’s way, similar to the typical trusting and dependent relationship between a child and parent.
When the caucus race begins, there are no rules, no official start (“they began running when they liked”), no official end (“[they] left off when they liked”), and no losers—only winners (“Everybody has won, and all must have prizes”) (36). Much like many childhood games, the caucus race is overseen by no one, arbitrarily called to an end when one player deems an appropriate time to stop, and like many childhood daydreams, every player is a winner. This Wonderland race with no defined rules, a self-appointed moderator/referee, and ambiguous winners could represent almost any made-up game frequently created and played by children, including the games Alice might make up and play with her sister in her everyday life. These games, as part of Alice’s everyday life, then influence her dream content, as Moxon’s studies indicate.
The caucus race could represent a fantastical childhood dream influenced by Alice’s family and daily life; however, that is not the only interpretation of this scene. The caucus race more accurately represents a poorly run government and government officials’ inability to achieve progress. In the U.S., the term caucus race refers to a political party meeting where party officials choose a candidate to run for election. In England, Carroll’s home country, the term was also adopted, but under a different definition of a “system of highly disciplined party organization by committees” (36). Using the English definition, the description of the caucus race in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland shows undecidability in its interpretation as readers can envision a scene designed to be in complete mockery of the governmental committees. To begin, the group of animals represents any given governmental committee made up of people with varying backgrounds. Carroll refers to the animals as a “queer-looking party that assembled on the bank” (34). The terms party and assembled are clearly associated with political groups, as committees or groups within one political party frequently assemble to discuss party issues.
When Alice gets into an argument with the Lory, the Lory effectively ends the argument by stating, “I’m older than you, and must know better” (34). The Lory could be interpreted to represent seasoned government officials with more tenure who commonly pull rank when dealing with younger and more inexperienced members of the party. Rather than arguing on the merits, these experienced politicians, as well as the Lory, simply call into play their age and tenure to crown themselves winners of debates or arguments, similar to how the Lory conducted his argument with Alice.
The Mouse represents the typical political committee leader, who attempts to gather the committee and assert a solution to the issue at hand, stating confidently, “I’ll soon make you dry enough!” (35). The Mouse, similar to other government officials, falls short, however, because although he understands the problem at hand, he does not understand that his solution is ineffective and not going to resolve anything. Alice points out this fact after listening to the Mouse attempt to dry the animals when she states that she was still “as wet as ever” (35).
To resolve the wet issue, the Dodo, representing another member of the committee, suggests another solution—the caucus race. This solution is slightly more effective, but the process for completing it is chaotic, hardly “highly disciplined,” and utterly inefficient. The Dodo sets the groundwork for the disorganized caucus race by first stating that, “”the exact shape [of the race course] doesn’t matter”” (36). This lack of definition is in direct opposition to any standard and structured race, which immediately signals the disorganized nature of the caucus race. Additionally, the players do not all begin in the same location. Thus, the course is not only undefined for the players, but they’re not even on a level playing field. Equally important in setting the stage for mocking the government through this caucus race is the fact that there are no rules and no direction to the race; the players run around haphazardly until a self-appointed moderator/referee calls an end to the race.
The caucus race symbolizes the ineffective and unorganized state of political committees and parties. The committee members have an issue to resolve, and they suggest solutions to resolve that issue. As is commonly seen in real world government, those resolutions are not well designed and the committee members spend an inordinate amount of time running around, all the while, accomplishing nothing. At the end of their disorganized race, or inefficient progress toward a solution, they congratulate themselves on their successful work, similar to the Dodo stating, “Everybody has won, and all must have prizes” at the end of the Wonderland caucus race (36).
The chaotic caucus race’s representation of a government committee is not the only interpretation relating to government. When considering the definition of the term caucus in the U.S., the caucus race quickly becomes a representation of a democratic candidate’s race for office. A caucus in the U.S. is a meeting of political party members who come together to choose a political candidate to run for various offices. Again, the group of animals represents members of a political “party” who are “assembled” to make decisions (34). Like many political groups, the animals “had a consultation” about how to resolve their issue (34). Again, the use of words such as party, assembled, and consultation that have a long cultural and historical connection to politics emphasizes the political symbolism of the caucus race in Wonderland.
Once the caucus race begins, the interpretation shifts to an actual democratic political race. The animals run “when they liked, and left off when they liked,” similar to political candidates who choose to run a campaign in any form they choose (36). Like the caucus race in Wonderland, there are seemingly no rules as political candidates campaign for office. Candidates do whatever they think they need to do to win. At the end of their race for office, the candidates, unsure if the route they chose to run was effective, wait for some authority figure to tell them who won. This same process occurs when the animals ask the Dodo after he declares the caucus race finished, “”But who has won?”” (36).
When the Dodo cannot declare a winner (because there are no defined rules), he proclaims, “”Everybody has won, and all must have prizes”” (36). This is another instance of undecidability in the text, which allows for multiple interpretations. As it applies to a political candidate’s campaign for office, the Dodo’s statement is similar to many post-election political scenarios where most, if not all, candidates are given some form of political office or appointment, even if it may not be the position they had originally sought. In that example, similar to the caucus race in Wonderland, everyone is a winner, and everyone will have a prize.
The caucus race’s multiple interpretations of political disorganization represent the timeless frustration experienced by many people who are not directly involved in politics. Whether it’s a candidate running for office or a political committee running in circles trying to resolve an issue they were elected to remedy, the ridiculousness of the disorganized process often appears to resemble a race to nowhere with no rules and no defined winner or loser. The caucus race is a symbolic statement against the political process and the politicians who allow such a chaotic and unproductive process to continue. The message is as timely now as it was when Carroll first wrote Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
The caucus race in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland represents literary undecidability and multiple interpretations. On the first reading, the caucus race appears to represent Alice’s real life influencing the content of her dream. On the second reading, the text’s undecidability emerges and multiple interpretations begin to grow. Although this essay only focused on two alternative interpretations, the text clearly allows for additional interpretations—many of which could be political in nature. Those political interpretations are historically significant as they showcase the frustrations people felt about politicians throughout the years, not only in today’s modern era.
Works Cited
Carroll, Lewis, and Mark Burstein. The Annotated Alice (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass). Edited by Martin Gardner, 150th ed., The Martin Gardner Literary Partnership, GP, 2015.
“Familiarly.” Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press, 2018, www.oed.com/.
Moxon, David. Memory. Heinemann Educational Publishers, 2000.
Parker, Robert Dale. How to Interpret Literature: Critical Theory for Literary and Cultural Studies. 3rd ed., Oxford University Press, 2015.