Watership Down

The first page hooked me. It felt as if J.R.R. Tolkien, Brian Jacques, and the leading biologist on English fauna collaborated to write a fascinating epic drama about—rabbits.

Yes, ordinary rabbits…or maybe not so ordinary. Somehow, I had stumbled upon a well-rounded, fully developed yet myth-like society-- hidden yet always there waiting to be unveiled.

Like all human cultures, the Lapine society included a government and way of establishing order. They combined an odd mix of oligarchy and monarchy to create a system where the head rabbit or Ra supported by his Oswla, the largest and strongest rabbits, controlled and protected the burrow.

This foreign culture contains its own idiosyncrasies. According to Adam’s, rabbits only count up to four. Anything more than that is to them a thousand or a great many ie an uncountable number.

The author filled Watership Down with believab

Even from the beginning of the story, Hazel is the one willing to shoulder the burden and lead. He puts together the other rabbits when Fiver has the prophetic dream of their current burrows destruction. He leads them through rough terrain, unknown dangers, and finally to a new building sight for the burrow. He makes mistakes and grows into his new role as Ra, but he always makes sure he is in the front taking what the others get. Freeing the hutch rabbits for the does necessary for their survival, it costs Hazel a shot in the leg. The other rabbits recognize this. When Bigwig sneaks into the military warren to help the other needed does escape, he never for one moment thinks of himself as Ra. Hazel awaits him; and he will do his best for his leader. When the Efrafans attack Hazel’s burrow to retrieve their does, Hazel goes down to confront them alone. The Efrafans fence them into their burrow, and like El- ahrairah before him offers his life for his burrow releasing the farm dog onto the above ground Efrafans. That is what it means to be a leader-- to lay down everything. Hazel became the true Rah in that moment not by power or cleverness but by true love for his rabbits.

le but impossible surprises like the full language spoken by the rabbits. Words like lendri, silflay, and Thethunthinnang added a musical, almost poem-like quality. The history hinted at in the language the rabbits allude to more in their folk tales. They had their own opinion on how the world was made, the workings of death, and many other historical and spiritual matters. Their myths always seemed to either reflect or apply to the story going on around the reader. The author created legends inside the making of a legend. Emphasizing this Adam’s used a 3rd omniscient, narrator voice in telling the tale.

The answer and the theme lie in a story. Dande

Some topics in this essay:
Richard Adams, Hazel Hazel, Robin Hood�the, Lord Frith, Brian Jacques, According Adam’s, Ra Hazel, Watership Down’s, Black Rabbit, Emphasizing Adam’s, black rabbit, el- ahrairah, richard adams,