Drug use in Alice in Wonderland

Makayla Heaton

Blogs, Eng 242

Mrs. Watson

Drugs in Alice in Wonderland

            The book and movie phenomenon Alice in Wonderland obviously has quite a few drug references in the plot. Alice’s trip to wonderland is seen as what most would call it, a “trip.” Drugs are taken to achieve multiple effects; however the result is the same in all cases: a trip.

            Drugs heighten the senses of the body to its environment and surroundings. During this trip, it is typical for time to feel as if it is slowing down. When Alice is falling down the hole that the rabbit led her to she is falling very slowly, enabling her to look around at the things around her. In the movie, there are odd things falling slowly around her: like a piano or random clocks that are continuously ticking. Somehow she never manages to run into anything during this slow trip down. Mushrooms are also known to increase the high. When visiting the caterpillar, Alice is encouraged to eat a shroom. The shroom is also what made her grow in height; a resemblance to the growth in the high you get from it in real life.

            When taking drugs, hallucinations are also very typical. Alice in Wonderland its self could all be seen as one big hallucination, or a dream. The concept seems unreal, made up, and imaginative. The dream Alice keeps on having about Wonderland makes her question her sanity, wondering if she has indeed gone mad. Was it all just a part of her imagination? The most obvious link to drugs from Alice in Wonderland is the caterpillar’s hookah. The hookah is more commonly known as a water pipe. The hookah has become a somewhat popular what to inhale marijuana. In the 1970’s hookahs were used at psychedelic parties, and passed around the room to be inhaled. In more recent years, there have even been hookah cafes opened in the middle- east. The cafes are located near college campuses to target a younger cliental.

Works Cited:

"Drug Influences in the Books." Lenny's Alice in Wonderland Site. Web. 01 May 2011. <http://www.alice-in-wonderland.net/explain/alice817.html>.