1. Summary
The chapter opens with a little girl, Alice, who is beginning to feel bored and sleepy while sitting with her sister on the river-bank. She finds the book her sister is reading uninteresting because it has “no pictures or conversations”.
Suddenly she notices a White Rabbit, with pink eyes and wearing a waistcoat, running by and exclaiming that it is late. Alice is surprised by the rabbit’s behaviour (a rabbit with waistcoat and watch) and her curiosity is awakened.
She follows the rabbit, goes into a large rabbit-hole under a hedge, and begins a long fall. The fall is described as slow, giving her time to look about: she notices cupboards and bookshelves in the walls of the well, maps and pictures hung upon pegs. She even takes down a jar labelled “ORANGE MARMALADE” but finds it empty.
Eventually she lands unhurt on a heap of sticks and dry leaves. Then she sees the rabbit hurrying on ahead, and she follows into a long low hall lit by lamps, with a number of locked doors all around. On a glass table in the hall she finds a tiny golden key; but the key doesn’t open any of the large doors. She then discovers a small door behind a curtain, only about fifteen inches high, which the key fits. Through the door she sees a lovely garden, but she is too large to get in.
She returns to the table and finds a bottle labelled “DRINK ME”. After verifying it is not poison, she drinks it and immediately begins to shrink until she is about ten inches high. But she then realises that she has left the key on the table, which is now out of her reach. The chapter ends at this point, leaving the reader in suspense.
Thus the chapter sets up the journey from the ordinary world (Alice with her sister) into a world of fantasy and transformation.
2. Theme(s) & Significance
Here are the major themes and their significance:
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Curiosity and Exploration: Alice’s journey begins with her curiosity — she notices the strange rabbit and follows it without worrying about how she’ll get out. This shows how curiosity can lead one into unknown territory.
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Childhood and Imagination: The narrative reflects a child’s imagination — the idea of a rabbit with a waistcoat and watch isn’t questioned by Alice at first. The “falling” and strange size changes symbolise childhood’s fluid sense of identity and scale.
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Transition from the Known to the Unknown: The chapter marks a boundary crossing: from a safe, known world (sitting on the bank) into a strange hall of locked doors, shrinking and growing, a garden just out of reach. This can be seen as a metaphor for stepping into unfamiliar life phases.
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Identity and Size: Alice’s size changes are not merely physical, they reflect her sense of self. Being too large or too small to pass through the door hints at the discomfort of being in‐between stages (child/adult).
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Logic and Nonsense: The story plays with logic (cupboards in a well, a rabbit checking a watch) and nonsense. This underscores the fantastical and dream-like quality of the world Alice enters, which challenges usual reason.
Significance for students
For your syllabus (Class 12, WBCHSE), this chapter is important because it introduces the qualities of fantasy literature, invites readers to think about childhood and change, and offers rich language for study (size imagery, journey metaphor, curiosity). Use these themes to connect with exam questions like: “What does the rabbit-hole stand for?” or “How does Alice’s changing size reflect her world?”
3. Character Sketch
Alice
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A curious, thoughtful, young girl. At the start she is bored and sleepy, but her curiosity is strong — she notices the rabbit, and instead of dismissing it, she follows.
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She is somewhat rational: before she drinks the liquid labelled “DRINK ME”, she checks whether it says “poison.” (From summary analysis)
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Her size changes show her vulnerability (too big to pass through the door) but also adaptability (she drinks the potion to become small).
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She combines childhood innocence (wondering if cats eat bats, thinking about falling through to the centre of the Earth) with an internal sense of reasoning (recalling geography lessons) — this duality makes her relatable for students transitioning into mature thought.
The White Rabbit
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A catalyst character: while not deeply developed, the rabbit triggers the action. He is anxious (“Oh dear! I shall be late!”) and unusual (wearing a waistcoat, holding a watch).
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Represents the call to adventure, the disturbance of the ordinary. Alice’s response to him drives the chapter.
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Symbolically can stand for time, urgency, or the adult world’s rules intruding into a child’s world (he is checking a watch).
Other characters are minimal in this chapter (since it’s mostly Alice’s journey); but the environment (the hall, doors, key, bottle) themselves act almost like characters — representing obstacles, gateways, change.
4. Important Word-Meanings
Here are some key words/phrases from the chapter, their meanings, and usage (which you can include in your post or hand-out):
| Word/Phrase | Meaning | Usage in Context |
|---|---|---|
| waistcoat | A sleeveless garment worn under a coat or by itself (vest) | The rabbit pulled a watch from his waistcoat-pocket—a surprising detail. |
| marmalade | A preserve made from citrus fruits (e.g., oranges) | Alice took down a jar labelled “ORANGE MARMALADE” but it was empty. |
| latitude / longitude | Geographical terms: latitude refers to horizontal lines on a globe; longitude refers to vertical lines | Alice wondered “what Latitude or Longitude I’ve got to?” during her fall. |
| gateway / passage | A route or entrance | The small door behind the curtain opened into a passage leading to a lovely garden. |
| catastrophe / tumble | (here: tumble = a fall) | Alice thought, “after such a fall as this, I shall think nothing of tumbling down stairs!” |
| curiosity | A strong desire to know or learn something | Alice’s curiosity about the rabbit made her follow it. |
5. Suggested Questions for Practice
To help students prepare, you might include these:
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Why did Alice follow the White Rabbit even though she knew nothing about where the rabbit hole would lead?
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Describe the scene of Alice’s fall into the rabbit-hole. What does she notice around her?
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Explain the significance of the golden key and the small door in the long hall.
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How do Alice’s changing sizes function symbolically in the chapter?
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List and explain two themes of this chapter.
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Choose any two difficult words from the text and use them in sentences of your own.
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What does the rabbit’s watch symbolize?
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How is the transition from the ordinary to the extraordinary depicted in the chapter?
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