ABSTRACT

In Lewis Carroll'sAlice in Wonderland (1960), Alice experiences, if not learns, an important lesson about purpose. When she encounters the Mock Turtle and the Gryphon, she realizes how difficult it sometimes is to agree on the meaning of words. Although Alice did not assess technology in Wonderland, her adventures help illustrate the ambiguity of interpreting motives and the difficulty of reaching mutual understandings.

The Mock Turtle said, “No wise fish would go anywhere without a porpoise.”

“Wouldn’t it, really?” said Alice in a tone of great surprise.

“Of course not,” said the Mock Turtle. “Why, if a fish came tome, and told me he was going on a journey, I should say, ‘With what porpoise?’”

“Don’t you mean ‘purpose’?” said Alice.

“I mean what I say,” the Mock Turtle replied, in an offended tone. (p. 97)