First Draft

     Alice in Wonderland is a story about a young girl’s vivid imagination being set free in her dream world. Throughout the story Alice can be seen to have poor self image. She has a negative view of who she is and what’s she all about. She can be seen as constantly questioning who she wants be and what she thinks she can be.
     Self-image is simply the vision or view one has of his or her self. This can include an assessment of personal qualities and self worth, sometimes in a negative way. In the story Alice is often seen as having this problem, she questions whether or not she is good enough and who she really is as a person. This can be seen in various ways; physically, mentally and even emotionally. Physically Alice is constantly struggling with her size in both the literal and figure sense. She is said to frequently grow and shriek, at first unintentionally and then later by choice. This can be seen as her struggle between a child and adult, a struggle between a certain amount of maturity or immaturity. Does Alice she herself grown up or as a kid? Alice begins to question herself mentally. She begins to be unaware of her knowledge and whether she is in fact very knowable or lacking in wisdom. The story shows her failing or unable to recite various poems/phrase/verses she once know indicating to Alice that she has become “stupid”. Emotionally in the story goes hand and hand with Alice’s feelings of strength and weakness. When Alice felt strong she was confident and acted a certain way but when she felt weak she would feel nervous or scared even fearful.
     The big question in the story asked to Alice by the caterpillar is “Who are you?”. Normally when asked this question an individual would reply with their name, but Alice didn’t. Instead she choose to give a indecisive, almost confusing answer of her inability to truly know. She replied “I can’t explain sir because I am not myself you see”.
Alice didn’t know how to see herself.
     Personality can be seen as tied with self-image. When a person has a positive outlook on who they are or feel they have great self worth, they display that socially. In the story Alice constantly feels intimidated by the creatures she meets. She is depicted to allow them make her feel unknowledgeable through their discussion of things she knows nothing about. Alice’s ways are that of a child because she is a child. She is unaware of appropriate conversation and interaction with those around her. She says the wrong things and often offends the creatures throughout the story, even causing one to leave.
     Self-image may also have a relation to self-perception although the two are not the same; self-image involving more of a personal opinion while self-perception being a actual vision of oneself,  they can sometimes intertwine. This can be seen in a disorder called Alice in Wonderland syndrome or AIWS as known as Todd’s syndrome. A person who has this can often view themselves and the things around them disproportionately. The syndrome got its name from its relation to Alice in Wonderland where Alice is very big and then very small. Alice self-image may be what causes her self-perception. Her view of herself internally can actually become the way she physically views herself externally. The concept of growing and shrinking is linked to Alice feeling of superiority verses inferiority. 
      Louis Carroll is thought by many to have written one of the greatest stories. A story that although meant for a younger audience is relatable to a lot of adults. It’s a story filled with various physiological themes and hidden meaning. Alice in Wonderland will forever be one that fascinates many adults in their quest to find its true meaning and interests children for its outlandishness. For this reason it will forever be a classic.