Read the follow excerpt from Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland. Then answer the questions that follow.
A Mad Tea-Party from Alice in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll
There was a table set out under a tree in front of the house, and the March Hare and the Hatter were having tea at it: a Dormouse was sitting between them, fast asleep, and the other two were using it as a cushion, resting their elbows on it, and talking over its head. "Very uncomfortable for the Dormouse," thought Alice; "only, as it's asleep, I suppose it doesn't mind."
The table was a large one, but the three were all crowded together at one corner of it: "No room! No room!" they cried out when they saw Alice coming. "There's plenty of room!" said Alice indignantly, and she sat down in a large arm-chair at one end of the table.
"Have some wine," the March Hare said in an encouraging tone.
Alice looked all round the table, but there was nothing on it but tea. "I don't see any wine," she remarked.
"There isn't any," said the March Hare.
"Then it wasn't very civil of you to offer it," said Alice angrily.
"It wasn't very civil of you to sit down without being invited," said the March Hare.
"I didn't know it was your table," said Alice; "it's laid for a great many more than three."
"Your hair wants cutting," said the Hatter. He had been looking at Alice for some time with great curiosity, and this was his first speech.
"You should learn not to make personal remarks," Alice said with some severity; "it's very rude."
The Hatter opened his eyes very wide on hearing this; but all he said was, "Why is a raven like a writing-desk?"
"Come, we shall have some fun now!" thought Alice. "I'm glad they've begun asking riddles.--I believe I can guess that," she added aloud.
"Do you mean that you think you can find out the answer to it?" said the March Hare.
"Exactly so," said Alice.
"Then you should say what you mean," the March Hare went on.
"I do," Alice hastily replied; "at least--at least I mean what I say--that's the same thing, you know."
"Not the same thing a bit!" said the Hatter. "You might just as well say that "I see what I eat" is the same thing as "I eat what I see"!"
"You might just as well say," added the March Hare, "that "I like what I get" is the same thing as "I get what I like"!"
"You might just as well say," added the Dormouse, who seemed to be talking in his sleep, "that "I breathe when I sleep" is the same thing as "I sleep when I breathe"!"
"It is the same thing with you," said the Hatter, and here the conversation dropped, and the party sat silent for a minute, while Alice thought over all she could remember about ravens and writing-desks, which wasn't much.
Now that you have read this passage, think about and answer the following questions:
1. What do you make of the debate that Alice has with her new friends? Are "I say what I mean" and "I mean what I say" the same thing, as Alice claims? What about the statements that the Mad Hatter, the March Hare, and the Dormouse propose? Do those statements mean the same thing? Why or why not -- provide counterexamples if you think they mean different things.
2. Come up with two statements of your own, such that the original statement is true, but when you switch the first and second parts of the statement, it is no longer true.
3. Give an example of a statement that does mean the same thing forward and backward (i.e., when its two parts are switched,as Alice and friends do above).
In alice's example, I do think she was correct. I think that saying "I say what I mean" and "I mean what I say" are the same thing. Although, the statements that Mad Hatter, the March Hare, and the Dormouse said are clearly not the same thing. Saying "I breathe when I sleep" and "I sleep when I breath" are not the same things at all. Another example would be to say "I get tired when I run" and "I run when I get tired". These two things do not mean the same thing at all, and are actually very different. Another example would be "I scream when I get scared" and "I get scared when I scream" These two things do not mean the same. One that would mean the same would be "I eat when I am hungry" and "When I am hungry I eat"
ReplyDelete1. I think Alice's example is the same thing because in both she is meaning what she says. Although i think the Mad Hatter, the March Hare and the Dormhouse do not understand the concept and their statements were completely different. "I get what I like" and "i like what i get" are completely different. It would be like saying I'm careful when i jump or im jump when im careful. They completely contradict themselves. This is the same idea with the other two.
ReplyDelete2. I like when i eat pasta. Pasta eats when it is liked. I skate when im tired I;m tired when i skate
When Alice says "I say what I mean" and "I mean what I say" I agree that she is saying the exact same thing using different word order. Saying "I breathe when I sleep" and "I sleep when I breath" as Mad Hatter, The March Hare and the Dormouse said are definitely not the same thing the word order in this case changes the meaning. Another example of this would be to say I eat when i'm tired" and "Im tired when I eat". I'll die trying" and "I'll try dying." An example of a statement that means the same thing both ways is
ReplyDelete"I sleep when I'm tired" and I'm tired when I sleep".
alice's example means the same thing both ways but the other examples provided by the mad hatter, the march hare, and the dormouse don't make sense both ways. 2 examples that don't work:
ReplyDeletei'm fast when i run and i run when i'm fast
when i play goalie i'm a sieve, when i'm a sieve, i play goalie
one that does work:
i drink when i'm thirsty, i'm thirsty when i drink.
I think that Alice is correct. When she says "I mean what I say" and "I say what I mean." she is saying the same thing. In this case however changing the word order doesn't change the concept of the phrase as well. When the Dormouse says "I breathe when I sleep" and "I sleep when I breathe he is saying two completely different things because in this case when you change the word order the concept changes as well.
ReplyDelete2. I'm quiet when I study and I study when I'm quiet.
I'm tired when I work hard and I work hard when I'm tired.
3. I cry when I'm sad and I'm sad when I cry.
I think what Alice says, " I say what i mean" and "I mean what i say" are the same things but the things the Mad Hatter, the March Hare, and the Dormouse say do not all mean the same thing. An example of sayings that don't make sense both ways is "When i am thirsty I drink" and "When I drink I am thirsty". The second statement is no longer true. Another example... "I'm careful when I ski" and "I ski when I'm careful.
ReplyDeleteAn example that does work is:
"I sleep when I am tired" and "When I am tired I sleep"
1. I think that Alice's examples mean the same because she knows what she is going to say so she says it and if she didn't mean it then she wouldn't say it. The statements made by the Dormouse, March Hare, and the Mad Hatter do not make sense because they say they act one way when they do something but when they act or feel that way they don't always perform the action in the first part of the phrase. "I eat all that I can see, and I see all that I can eat" does not work cause you might not be able to eat the tree that you see in front of you. This demonstrates that you can't eat everthing that you can see but when you are eating something you can see it all.
ReplyDelete2.)Examples that do not work are: I am sad when I clean mr room, and I clean my room when I am sad. Also, I sweat when I work, and I work when I sweat.
3.) An example that does work is: I eat when I am unhappy and I am unhappy when I eat. This means that if you were on the larger side that when you feel sad about your weight you eat and then when you eat you feel sad because you are now gaining weight as you eat.
1) I think Alice's example of "I say what I mean" and "I mean what I say" are two things that are not the same. "I say what I mean" means that whatever pops up in your mind is what you say, not really thinking of it and "I mean what I say" is that you are fully aware of what you are saying and back it up completely because you are sure of it. As the mad hatter, the march hare and, the dormouse say, their's are not the same either. "I see what I eat" means that anything you ate you see and "I eat what I see" means that anything you see you eat it. "I like what I get" means you are happy with whatever you get but "I get what I like" means that whatever you want you get it. "I breathe when I sleep" means that while you are sleeping you breathe and "I sleep when I breathe" means that whenever you breathe you are sleeping.
ReplyDelete2) "I read to learn" and "I learn to read" "A crazy old woman" and "An old crazy woman"
3) "I dream when I sleep" and "I sleep when I dream"
I believe alices two statements mean the same thing, to me the word order in this sentence has no great meaning and doesnt really change the sentence/statement that much. However the statements of the others do not make sense because they mean totally opposite things when the word order is switched. For example, "I breathe when I sleep" is not the same thing as "I sleep when I breathe" because you dont always sleep when you breathe but you always do breathe when you sleep.
ReplyDeleteTwo that dont work are-
i swim when im hot, im hot when i swim
i sit when im tired, im tired when i sit
One that works-
i drink when im thirsty, im thirsty when i drink
Well i say what i mean is very different from I mean what i say. They are almost complete opposite terms and they are different from each other. They state two different things and they don't support the same cause. The other statements are like the same thing. They have stated the correct thing the first time and then the second time it is wrong.
ReplyDeleteI move while i walk and I walk while i move.
I walk on the ground and I ground on the walk. They don't make sense and arn't even close to being the same things.
I skate while im on ice and im on ice while i skate are the same.
I think the debate that Alice makes with her new friends is a fair argument but they do not mean the same thing. When somebody says I mean what i say, then they feel strongly about what the have said but when somebody states I say what i mean that means that they say whatever they feel strongly about. What the 3 other charecters propose in the argument help the fact that they are different things. For example the doormouse says "i breathe when i sleep, i sleep when i breathe". I'm pretty positive when somebody breathes they do not fall asleep although people do breathe when they sleep, yet still they are different things.
ReplyDelete2 I eat when i'm hungry, I'm hungry when i eat
I run untill im tired, I'm tired untill i run
3 I sleep when i'm tired and i'm tired when i sleep are the same thing. You are tired when u go to sleep and u r tired while ur sleeping thats why your sleeping
When Alice says "I say what I mean" and "I mean what I say" they mean the same thing. In this case word oder does not matter, unlike the Mad Hatter, The March Hare and the Dormouse's comments where the word order does matter.
ReplyDeleteExamples:
1) a). When I'm bored I watch Survivor, When I watch Survivor I'm bored. The first statement is true, but the second is not because When I watch Survivor I am not bored.
b). When I play field hockey I'm happy, when I'm happy i play field hockey.
2) When I'm sad I cry, when I cry I'm sad
In Alice's example, I think she was right. The statements "I mean what I say" and "I say what I mean" is true. Meaning what you say is equivalent to saying what you mean. However, i don't agree with the statements said by Alice's friends. Saying "I breathe when I sleep" and "I sleep when I breathe" are not the same things whatsoever. This suggests that you breathe when you sleep, but you also sleep whenever you breathe, which clearly, isn't true. Another example of this is, "I breathe when I run, I run when I breathe". Obviously, you don't run every time you breathe. Another example is, "I talk when I laugh, I laugh when I talk". This suggests that talking whenever you laugh is the same thing as laughing whenever you talk, which isn't true. An example of how it could be true is, "I eat when I'm hungry, I'm hungry when I eat." This is saying that you eat at the time in which you're hungry, and that you're hungry at the time you eat.
ReplyDelete1.I think that Alice was correct when she claimed that saying "I say what I mean" and I mean what I say" are the same thing. In this circumstance, the word order does not matter. If you say what you mean than you did indeed mean what you said. The state statements that the other characters proposed do not mean the same thing. For example, "You might just as well say," added the March Hare, "that "I like what I get" is the same thing as "I get what I like"!" The phrase " I like what I get" and "I get what I like" are not the same. This is because saying I like what I get means that if you like something that you received. When you say "I get what I like" it implies that you given things that you like, not that you like the things that you are given. "I get what I like" is similar to saying I get what I want, where as a like what I get means you are content with something that someone gave to you.
ReplyDelete2.When I hurry I run, I run when I hurry
3. I laugh when I am happy, when I am happy I laugh
2.In my opinion, Alice is correct. I mean what I say and I say what I mean are the same statement, except stated in a different way. Both statements mean the same thing. With that being said, I disagree with the statements made by Alice's friends. For example, Dormuse stated that "I breathe when I sleep" means the same thing as "I sleep when I breathe." This is false. Saying the two statements have the same meaning insinuates that you fall asleep whenever you breath, which is not true. Another example of a statement like this is "I sleep when I'm tired" and "I'm tired when I sleep."
ReplyDelete2. "I dream when I sleep" and "I sleep when I dream."
"I talk while I dream" and "I dream while I talk."
3."I marry who I love" and "I love who I marry."