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The Queen of Hearts
The Mock-Turtle is a sorrowful figure, who sits reminiscing by the sea. With his friend, the Gryphon, he remembers his old school teachers and his youth, when he would joyfully dance the Lobster Quadrille. He indulges in telling his story to Alice, and when she leaves, goes on sighing and crying as before.
The Mock-Turtle Quotes in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
The Alice's Adventures in Wonderland quotes below are all either spoken by The Mock-Turtle or refer to The Mock-Turtle. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 9 Quotes
'Why did you call him Tortoise, if he wasn't one?' Alice asked.
'We called him Tortoise because he taught us,' said the Mock Turtle angrily: 'really you are very dull!'
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The Mock Turtle chastises Alice, here, for interrupting his story and for not understanding his pun on “Tortoise.” The interruption is caused by the Mock Turtle noting that that his teacher was a Turtle but was called Tortoise—i.e. “taught us” when spoken aloud (with an English accent). Despite her improved ability to navigate Wonderland, Alice struggles here to stay up-to-speed on the language games played by the other characters. And as before, her earnest questions induce a sharp reprimand: “dull” for having halted the Turtle’s explanation to clarify how a turtle could also be a tortoise. Throughout this chapter and Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligend
Chapter 10 Quotes
'It all came different!' the Mock Turtle repeated thoughtfully. 'I should like to hear her try and repeat something now. Tell her to begin.' He looked at the Gryphon as if he thought it had some kind of authority over Alice.
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In these lines, the Mock Turtle confronts Alice on the quality of her storytelling, specifically on the form in which she recounts her previous Wonderland adventures. It is notable that the text does not give any of the direct speech from Alice, so the reader has no access to whether her words were actually inaccurate or badly composed. The Mock Turtle’s interjection is almost identical to Alice’s own interruption of his story just one chapter earlier. We could very well charge him with the same “dullness” Alice was accused of earlier, in particular because the Turtle wants Alice to “repeat” Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam quae corporis. Impedit non ut. Incidun
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The Mock-Turtle Character Timeline in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
The timeline below shows where the character The Mock-Turtle appears in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 9 - The Mock-Turtle's Story
...there are neither players nor arches left. The Queen asks Alice if she knows the Mock-Turtle (the thing Mock-Turtle soup is made from, she explains). Alice says she doesn’t, so the...
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They find the Mock Turtle sitting on a rock, singing very sorrowfully. The Gryphon says that the Mock-Turtle isn’t really...
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This beginning is followed again by a long silence, filled only by the Mock Turtle’s sobbing and strange noises from the Gryphon. The Turtle continues eventually, telling them that at...
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The Mock Turtle continues to list his classes and their masters. The Gryphon joins in – his Classics...
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Chapter 10 - The Lobster Quadrille
The Mock Turtle is all choked up from sobbing, and the Gryphon shows Alice how he beats the...
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At this point the Gryphon and the Mock-Turtle get very excited and propose to show Alice the dance. The Gryphon nominates the Turtle...
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...to the song, in which a porpoise is always treading on the whiting’s tail. The Mock-Turtle tells her wisely that no whiting ever travels without a porpoise. Alice thinks this is...
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...her about but she tries it. It comes out all mixed up. “Uncommon nonsense”, the Turtle calls it.
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...feels miserable again. She wishes things could be as before. But the Gryphon and the Turtle keep interrogating her about the rhyme and ask her for the next verse. She goes...
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The Turtle sighs and begins, in a mournful tone, singing a song about soup. They enjoy themselves...
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Chapter 12 - Alice's Evidence
...that when she opens them, the familiar sounds of the countryside will return and the Mock-Turtle and the pig-baby will disappear. Lastly, she dreams of how Alice will grow into a...
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