The story’s protagonist, Alice is a young girl from wealthy English family. Despite her privileged existence, Alice is unhappy with her environment because she deems it ordinary and uninspiring. Instead, she longs to explore another world that challenges her thoughts and attitude toward life. Alice demonstrates above-average intellect through her precocious understanding of her environment and curiosity for the unknown.

Because of her elevated social class and Victorian-era education, Alice appears a decent girl with good manners. In both a literal and figurative sense, Alice stands tall among others. In addition to her decency, though, Alice proves herself to be a go-getter with a sufficient supply of patience and wherewithal to get what she wants. However, Alice is not perfect. She retains an exaggerated sense of entitlement. For example, Alice describes a girl she knows as a “poky little hose” in comparison to herself. Alice’s condescension to less-privileged individuals impairs her ability to develop positive relationships with Wonderland’s inhabitants.

The story’s action revolves around the contrast between Alice’s sense of order and structure and the madness and nonsense of Wonderland. In Wonderland, Alice’s existence turns upside down as everything she believes to be true becomes different or altogether untrue. For example, the White Rabbit confuses Alice for a servant, something that would never happen to her life outside of Wonderland. In another instance, the Mad Hatter and March Hare ridicule Alice for her misunderstanding of the underworld. The Cheshire Cat humbles Alice by telling her that, in Wonderland, all creatures — including her — are insane.

Alice’s experiences in Wonderland give her exactly what she wanted: a challenge to her understanding of the world and a new conception of life for her to explore. However, Alice struggles because Wonderland presents her with values and ideas that are inconsistent with her own. Alice sees that life cannot always go her way and that events within it are sometimes shaped by forces beyond her understanding. In many ways, Wonderland threatens Alice’s comfortable existence, causing her to feel isolated and sometimes despondent. In short, Alice’s exposure to all sides of adventure — the good, the bad, and the ugly — tests her maturity and ability to handle unpredictability.

Although the King of Hearts might be expected to rule Wonderland, the Queen of Hearts is its undisputed leader. One of Alice’s challenges in adapting to life in Wonderland is finding ways to appease the Queen. However, the Queen is difficult to please. She demands unquestioned obedience from her subjects and orders for their execution when they upset her. Whereas Alice frets over Wonderland’s nonsense and illogical nature, the Queen enforces it. The Queen has made Wonderland hers and retains power over everyone within it, including the King. Although the Queen frequently threatens execution upon dissidents, she rarely carries out her orders. The Gryphon’s conversation with Alice reveals the tactics the Queen employs to indulge her whims and desires in Wonderland. Ultimately, the Queen’s authoritarian style acts as the glue that holds Wonderland together. In a place in which reason and logic do not apply, the Queen’s chaotic regime thrives.

The Cheshire Cat retains a prominent position in the story because he helps Alice comprehend the madness of Wonderland. Upon meeting Alice, the Cheshire Cat explains to her that nonsense controls Wonderland, and any attempt of her to create normality within it will be met with disorder. He notes that everyone in Wonderland — including Alice — is mad, perhaps because she attempts to bring order and reason to a disordered and unreasonable place. The Cheshire Cat’s wisdom is a critical factor in helping Alice cope with life in Wonderland.

Unlike many other creatures in Wonderland, the Cheshire Cat displays bravery and composure in the fact of difficulty. The Cheshire Cat’s deep understanding of Wonderland has equipped him with strategies to survive and thrive in challenging, threatening, and unpredictable circumstances. In fact, the Cheshire Cat is one of the most respected figures in Wonderland. Moreover, nothing epitomizes the Cheshire Cat’s understanding of and harmony with Wonderland more than his enigmatic grin.