Leave the Little Guy Alone!
November 16, 2009
In Chapter 4, The Rabbit Sends in a Little Bill, everyone is sacrificing Bill to figure out what this unusual creature in the White Rabbit’s house is. From Alice’s perspective, she hears silly little talking animals. From the animals’ point of view they are incredibly frightened and confused about this giant, with limbs protruding out of the house’s windows. To get information on this unknown specimen ,known to us as Alice, they sacrificed one of their own people for the sake of knowledge. They all side against Bill and make him do all the serious and dangerous work. They threw him down a chimney! Alice can see the maltreatment of poor Bill as well when she says
“Why, they seem to put everything upon Bill.” (page 42).
When Bill gets kicked back to them by Alice their attitudes totally changed. The common phrase went from ‘Bill, help!’ to ‘Help Bill!’ They manipulated him and used him. They obviously don’t see any importance of Bill’s life because anything could have happened to him. From comments such as
“How was it old fellow? What happened to you? Tell us about it.” (page 43),
the animals don’t seem to care as much about his well being as they do about what he found out from his little trip down the chimney. First they order him around and then they rick his life just to get their questions answered.
This sort of hierarchy exists in the real world as well. Your status is what determines what happens to you in life and looking at poor Bill, I can tell he got the short end of the stick. With Bill being the socially weakest amongst the animals with his “little feeble squeaking voice” (page 43) how do you think this is reflected upon society? Why does society always pick on the little guy? From the little boy with glasses at the school playground to the quiet guy at work who never seems to get ahead- its universal. The strong pick on the weak and the little guy never has a voice. Carroll may be trying to let us know about this unfair side of human nature and gets us thinking about how we treat other people.
Christian Long
Katherine H.
Melissa H
Rivu D.
Alex E.
Sylvia A.
Perhaps, Carroll wanted to show what he maybe saw or felt. Never is there much that say he was particularly popular with the people, though making friends with the Liddell family. Throughout time and time again, like you said, the little guy is picked on. Now, we know from bullying, that the bully only bullies the bullied because it makes themself feel better, or at least that is the main cause. Society back then, and much today, is a big ladder, and you have to step on some people and toes to climb it higher and higher. That is how human nature is, and even in the animal kingdom-the food chain. It’s all one big circle of life that keeps the world spinning on its axis.