JSFiddle - React, Tailwind, and code Playground
HTML
<div class="pagination">
<ul>
<li><a href="javascript:void(0);" alt="prev">Prev</a></li>
<li><a href="javascript:void(0);" alt="1">1</a></li>
<li><a href="javascript:void(0);" alt="2">2</a></li>
<li><a href="javascript:void(0);" alt="3">3</a></li>
<li><a href="javascript:void(0);" alt="4">4</a></li>
<li><a href="javascript:void(0);" alt="5">5</a></li>
<li><a href="javascript:void(0);" alt="next">Next</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>you have clicked on: <div id="choice"></div></div>
JavaScript
$(".pagination li a").click(function(event) {
event.preventDefault();
var current_element = $(this);
var cur_elem_content = current_element.attr("alt");
$("#choice").html(cur_elem_content);
});