Hey all,
Again, sorry about the lateness. It is now discussion time!
So, Cowslip's warren. I thought it was one of the more interesting parts of the book, in my opinion, mostly because there's more than just a hint of culture. Because of the warren's unique circumstances, the rabbits there have created a society based on avoidance and denial. What ultimately makes this interesting is that it's not entirely far removed from real life: animals without a doubt adapt their lifestyles to different environments. Those who cannot adapt must leave, or risk death.
This is also the point of the book where the dynamics of all the Sandleford rabbits are tested. Fiver's complete and total aversion to Cowslip's warren is completely at odds with the rest of the group, who only want security. He and Bigwig in particular seemed to butt heads: Bigwig always strikes me as the kind of character who doesn't put a whole lot of merit on "bad feelings" and premonitions. The rest of the rabbits, too, are simply exhausted by their whole idea and wish to settle down. It reminded me a lot of human group dynamics; I'm sure many of you have experienced much the same sorts of problems as the Sandleford rabbits.
All right, I think that's all I have for now. Next discussion will be Thursday, September 17, for chapters 18-23. Hopefully this is acceptable to everyone.
Till next time,
Ellen
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4 comments:
I was also reflecting on the dynamics of the rabbits during this section of the reading. With the incident of the wire, we see it at work - Hazel delegating, Bigwig's experience from the Owsla coming into play, Blackberry's ability to understand quickly beyond the scope of the average rabbit's comprehension, and of course Fiver's premonition about the danger in the first place. In this case, it's a positive play of interaction, with the abilities of each shining through, but as we saw before the danger became clear to the rabbits, it can also work against them: Hazel feeling smug and wanting recognition (albeit in subtle ways) that he was considered the Chief Rabbit of his group, Fiver's anxiety disregarded, and so on. Maybe they'll learn from this experience to utilize their unique talents and abilities in constructive ways and especially to never disregard Fiver again. :D
Now that we've had two stories of El-ahrairah - The Blessing of El-ahrairah and The Story of the King's Lettuce - I'd like to get everyone's take on these stories. It's an interesting mythology that these rabbits have. I like how clever the stories are, as well as how entertaining they are.
In any of the stories of this genre I've ever read, whenever you get any kind of quest, you always have the various party members (I hate to use the D&D references, but bear with me here) who lend their various skills or talents to the overall good. Kate already listed them, so I won't do the same, but there are also always the people whose personalities (or alignments, to stretch the D&D reference further) clash. Fiver and Bigwig are a typical class clash, a big fighter who gets by on things like strength and intimidating others, and Fiver, who gets by on gut feelings and a deeper ability to read people, places, and situations (like a bard, or a druid or ranger, people who have to be sensitive to others or to the environment as part of their skill set) and it's always interesting to see how the dynamic changes as the characters learn to trust one another and their skills and to use them to form an effective group or team.
As for the mythology, it's very interesting to hear the rabbits' perspective on it, how they come to view their skills and shortcomings, and how they attribute it to an almighty being who gifted them (or punished, as the case may be) with these characteristics. It makes sense that in Cowslip's warren they don't believe the same things, or pretend not to, because they know that despite their quickness and slyness there's still someone smarter who manages to take away their loved ones. I wonder more about the sign thing on the wall, if it's man-made and the rabbits found it there, or if they made it in the image of say, a man, who to them is something like a vengeful God. The stories, since they're from an animal perspective, remind me of Native American stories I was told as a child, since I live right near a pueblo and was raised and schooled with children from there, about characters like Coyote the Trickster and Anansi the Spider.
I really enjoyed this section of the book. Even though from the very beginning I had a pretty good idea of Cowslip's situation, without the details of course, I HAD to know how it was going to end up.
I also really like the creativity of having Cowslip's warren, as they are in a completely different situation than truly wild rabbits, adapt to their own unique circumstances.
I've been try to pinpoint a good way to describe Fiver's, and I'd like to throw out here that maybe he could also be seen as a prophet?
I agree that Fiver is the prophet of the group. It's not at all surprising that they don't listen to him. He acts strange, doesn't seem to think the way they do, and apparently knows things that no one else can know.
When I first read this section I had no idea why this warren was such a problem. I admire Strawberry for being courageous enough to decide that it was time to get out. It's too bad that his mate didn't make it out with him.
I've heard or read somewhere that the different places represent different parts of the British society or government. I imagine that Cowslip's warren typifies a group that supports this apparent stability no matter what the cost. It's a pretty selfish attitude if you think about it. They live in great comfort and have all the food they want. Don't upset things. Just keep things the way they are. This doesn't work as well as they thought it did. It took a toll on they're psyche rendering them incapable of saving themselves.
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