Cowslip's 'Chief Rabbits In Richard Adams' Watership Down

Although being written by a father about the stories he told his children, Watership Down by Richard Adams reflects the state of nations and humanity during the cold war era. The characters are all rabbits, traveling through a several-mile patch of land in England. Hazel the rabbit is the main character. Hazel and his friends had their home destroyed, and go out into the world to find a new one. While doing so, they encounter two warrens, Cowslip’s warren and Efrafa. While Cowslip’s warren is supposed to reflect America during the cold war, Efrafa is supposed to reflect Russia. The characters are all animals, so the fact that he could make this message as obvious as it was without over anthropomorphising them is very impressive. Cowslips warren is supposed to represent the silence on important issues in America, and shows some haunting similarities to the country today. …show more content…
They don’t need to make decisions on where to go, and their food is provided to them. The rabbits have no need to go out for flayrah or silflay, and are safe from predators. They make art, and make poems reflecting their struggles. “The wind is blowing, blowing over the grass... Take me with you, wind, high over the sky... I am here, Lord Frith, I am running through the long grass, O take me with you, droping behind these woods... The shining circle of the sun, the sun and the rabbit.”(102-103, R. Adams) The rabbits in this warren refuse to answer questions starting with, “where” when Hazel and his friends arrive. The rabbits are afraid they will reveal the truth of the warren. There are wire traps set up around the warren, in bushes and tall grass. The farmer who provides their food sets them up to catch and eat the rabbits. Whenever a rabbit is caught, nobody talks about