Question

What two traits does this excerpt from Alice Gerstenberg’s Alice in Wonderland reveal about the White Queen’s character? ALICE: Am I addressing the White Queen? WHITE QUEEN: Well, yes, if you call that a-dressing. It isn’t my notion of the thing, at all. ALICE: If your Majesty will only tell me the right way to begin, I’ll do it as well as I can. WHITE QUEEN: But I don’t want it done at all. I’ve been a-dressing myself for the last two hours. ALICE: Every single thing’s crooked, and you’re all over pins; may I put your shawl straight for you? WHITE QUEEN: I don’t know what’s the matter with it! It’s out of temper. I’ve pinned it here, and I’ve pinned it there, but there’s no pleasing it. ALICE: It can’t go straight, you know, if you pin it all on one side, and dear me, what a state your hair is in! WHITE QUEEN: The brush has got entangled in it! And I lost the comb yesterday. ALICE: (Takes out the brush and arranges the QUEEN’S hair.) You look better now! But really you should have a lady’s maid!

Answer 1

The White Queen is absent-minded.

The White Queen is careless.

Step-by-step explanation:

The options you were given are the following:

• The White Queen is bossy.
• The White Queen is proud of her appearance.
• The White Queen is absent-minded.
• The White Queen is a strict ruler.
• The White Queen is careless.

Based on this excerpt, we can conclude that the White Queen is absent-minded and careless.

When Alice meets her, she looks like a mess - she didn't dress properly, and her hair is tangled. Someone who is careless and absent-minded forgets things or doesn't pay attention to what they are doing, often because they are thinking about something else. The White Queen obviously didn't pay attention to the way she was dressing as she put all pins on one side of the shawl. She also seems to have forgotten that her hair was a mess and that a brush got entangled in it. All of this (along with the fact she lost her comb) shows us that she is both careless and absent-minded.