- In what other ways does the book illustrate how rabbits are similar to humans?
- What was your perception of and knowledge about rabbits and their behavior prior to reading Watership Down?
- Has your view changed in any way since reading this story?
Monday, April 21, 2008
Rabbits Similar to Humans
"Rabbits are like human beings in many ways. One of these is certainly their staunch ability to withstand disaster and to let the stream of their life carry them along, past reaches of terror and loss" (p. 73).
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From reading this book I decided that rabbits in the book are very similar to humans. One reason is that they can talk. Another way is that the rabbits in the book have leaders, and their own society. Before I read the book I thought that rabbits were just furry creatures who ate vegetables and grass, and ran away from everything. I thought they were very boring. I think about them as completely different now, because when I was on Google I found out that they are actually very bloodthirsty. This Is what I thought and think of rabbits.
Rabbits are like human beings in many ways. Rabbits and humans have their own language and words that are mysterious to those who do not speak it. In English, we have idioms and hyperboles. If we said, 'I'm so hungry, I could eat a horse!' to a foreign immigrant, they would think I eat horses. Rabbits also say things that are different like ni-Frith (which is around midnight) and Elil (which means enemies of the rabbits.) Rabbits and humans also have the Flight or Fight mindset. Sometimes we fight our enemies like Bigwig likes to do, or we run away like Pipkin. At first, I thought that bunnies were cute harmless little creatures. I also knew that rabbits loved to eat carrots and other vegetation, hopped very fast, and were very afraid of basically everything! But after reading some of this book, I learned that rabbits are smart creatures that are able to make their own language, warren, and many other things humans do. Rabbits are very smart like humans and they can do many of the things that we can do.
Ben,
What exactly do you mean by bloodthirsty. Can you give more details? What was the title of url of the site you read? Can you post it here?
Mel, a research challenge:
Where could we find scientific proof to support that the bunnies in the real world behave similarly to bunnies in Watership Down?
P.S. I love your language connection.
From reading the book I decided that the rabbits are very similar to humans. They access their problems and come up with similar solutions, except they are much smaller. Another way they are like humans are because they developed their own system of organization like our government. They can also speak English, with the exception that they have their own language also like ni-frith which means afternoon. The book "Watership Down" has really changed my outlook on rabbits and made me respect them more.
By bloodthirsty I meant I read that somone had a rabbit that killed its mate, and was killed by its daughter a week or so later.
http://www.silabub.com/waterart.html
Ben,
I read what the site said but I was wondering what details in the book gave you that impression (re: rabbits being bloodthirsty)? Did something in the book infer such a notion or did you adopt that from the website information.
PS. Stay away from websites for now, you may catch a spoiler in your search...
David,
I agree with your observation about the rabbit community being set up like our government. Do you think this is an idea created by the author or do you think there is scientific proof to back it up?
P.S. Do you think the rabbits are republicans or democrats?
Ms. Anzalone,
I think that it is the author who made that up. I think they are living in a democracy because they all elect a leader that will carry out what the people want. The author probably thinks that is the best way to organize society.
One "book" example of bloodthirsty rabbits is cowslips warren, who will bodily tear a rabbit limb from limb for asking where anything is, and also Efrafra where if you break the slightest rule you may be killed.
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