by Lewis Carroll
Lewis Carroll's sequel to Wonderland takes Alice into a mirror-world structured like a chess game, filled with memorable characters including Tweedledee, Tweedledum, and the Red Queen.
adj. likely to argue or disagree with others.
Tweedledee grew argumentative the moment his brother spoke, contradicting every word simply out of stubborn habit.
adj. causing confusion or puzzlement.
The chess-board landscape was utterly bewildering, with brooks and hedges dividing it into impractical little squares.
adv. in a manner showing strong dislike or disrespect.
Humpty Dumpty smiled contemptuously and declared that he could make any word mean exactly what he chose.
adj. opposite in nature or character.
Everything in the looking-glass world was contrary to sense, with memory working backwards and jam never today.
adv. in a way that shows authority or power.
The Red Queen imperiously commanded Alice to run faster, insisting they were barely staying in the same place.
adv. in a manner that shows anger or annoyance at something perceived as unfair or unjust.
Alice replied indignantly that a name ought to mean something, which Humpty Dumpty dismissed with great scorn.
adj. done in an orderly and careful way.
The White Knight was methodical in attaching things to his horse, however unlikely their practical purpose appeared.
adj. having no meaning or making no sense.
The Jabberwocky poem struck Alice as entirely nonsensical, though she felt it was filling her head with ideas.
adj. stubbornly refusing to change one's opinion or chosen course.
The Red Queen was obstinate on the subject of manners, correcting Alice's conduct between every other sentence.
v. to move back and forth or swing.
The looking-glass landscape seemed to oscillate between dream and logic, never settling into either for very long.
adj. seemingly contradictory but nonetheless possibly true
It was paradoxical that running as fast as possible kept Alice rooted to exactly the same square.
v. to confuse someone or make them uncertain.
The White Queen's habit of screaming before she pricked her finger never failed to perplex Alice entirely.
adj. becoming less or moving back.
The destination kept receding as Alice walked toward it, always visible yet never any closer than before.
n a reversing or being reversed; esp; a change to the opposite as in one's fortune Law annulment; change; or revocation; as of a lower court's decision
Every rule Alice knew had undergone complete reversal, making the looking-glass world impossible to navigate by logic.
adv. in a way that shows great joy after a victory.
Alice rose triumphantly from her chair and seized the tablecloth, sending every queen tumbling to the floor.
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