Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland Summary: Plot, Characters and Ending
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland follows Alice, a curious girl who follows a talking White Rabbit down a hole into a strange world where she keeps changing size and meets a parade of absurd creatures, from the grinning Cheshire Cat to the furious Queen of Hearts.
Lewis Carroll first told the story to three young sisters on a boat trip.
| Character | Who they are |
|---|---|
| Alice | Curious, polite girl |
| The White Rabbit | Anxious rabbit with a pocket watch |
| The Cheshire Cat | Grinning cat who can vanish |
| The Mad Hatter | Host of the endless tea party |
| The March Hare | His companion |
| The Queen of Hearts | Short-tempered ruler |
| The Caterpillar | Hookah-smoking creature on a mushroom |
| The Duchess | Rude noblewoman with a baby |
How does Alice get to Wonderland?
Bored on a riverbank with her sister, Alice sees a White Rabbit in a waistcoat checking his watch and follows him down a rabbit hole. She falls a very long way into a hall of locked doors. A bottle labeled drink me shrinks her, and a cake makes her grow huge. Crying, she makes a pool of tears and swims in it with a mouse and other animals.
↑ Back to the topWho does Alice meet?
The creatures dry off with a race that everyone wins. In the Rabbit's house Alice grows so large she gets stuck. A Caterpillar on a mushroom asks her who she is, a hard question when you keep changing size, and tells her each side of the mushroom will make her grow or shrink. She visits the Duchess, whose baby turns into a pig, and meets the Cheshire Cat, who fades away until only his grin is left.
↑ Back to the topWhat is the Mad Tea Party?
Alice joins the Mad Hatter, the March Hare and a sleepy Dormouse at a tea party where it is always six o'clock, because the Hatter quarreled with Time. They ask riddles without answers and are rude to her, and she leaves in disgust.
↑ Back to the topWhat happens with the Queen of Hearts?
In a beautiful garden Alice plays croquet with the Queen of Hearts, using flamingos as mallets and hedgehogs as balls. The Queen orders off with their heads at every turn. Alice meets the Gryphon and the Mock Turtle, who tells his sad story and sings songs.
↑ Back to the topHow does Alice in Wonderland end?
At the trial of the Knave of Hearts, accused of stealing tarts, the evidence is nonsense. Alice begins to grow again. When the Queen orders her beheaded, Alice says they are nothing but a pack of cards, and the cards fly up at her. She wakes on the riverbank with her head in her sister's lap, leaves falling on her face. Her sister imagines Alice growing up and telling these stories to children of her own.
↑ Back to the topMore about Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
This summary reveals the whole plot, including the ending.