Watership Down by Richard Adams

While I was reading Watership Down, my husband asked me if it was about a submarine. I laughed out loud, an indulgent and affectionate laugh because mine was the assumed arrogance and superiority of a novel reader towards a comic book reader. But then I stopped because underneath that arrogance was a humiliating truth--a couple of years back, I also thought the same thing. Until, I realized that there were no submarines on any of the covers I had seen. Only rabbits and wide open fields. So I finally checked the back covers and was enlightened.

Moral of the story: He who is arrogant is probably hiding a history of ignorance.

Anyway, I had to read this book because 1) I own it; and 2) it's in my Chunkster Reading Challenge list. Admittedly, aside from it NOT being about submarines and ACTUALLY being about rabbits, I knew nothing much about the story. In other words, I read this cold, which is really how I like to read my books sometimes. Especially the well-renowned, classic ones. Gives me the feeling that I actually form my own opinion exclusive of what the rest of the world has said.

So, the first few pages introduced me to two rabbit brothers, Hazel and Fiver. Yes, Hazel is a boy. Took me a page and a half to figure that out. And because of that, by the fourth page, I felt that I couldn't relate to rabbits. But at the fifth page was an element that is almost guaranteed to keep a reader stuck, for so long as the prose doesn't turn him off--a prophecy.

And so begins this epic, for it is an epic. So, like most epics, there is a prophecy, this one of impending danger. Fiver, the younger brother and the visionary, sees a field of blood and tells Hazel that the warren is in grave danger. The brothers try to warn the warren and its leaders, but because Hazel and Fiver are virtual nobodies in their society, their warning is generally ignored. Except for a few of their friends. And one soldier of the warren called Bigwig. Hazel and Fiver decide to escape from the warren and whatever doom awaits it, leading their small band of followers into what will be the beginning of a great, great adventure that will eventually lead them to Watership Down.

Who says rabbits can't have great, great adventures? Because although I started this novel slow, by the time I was one-fourth into it, I was reading with bated breath. Why? Somewhere along the way, I stopped thinking of them as just rabbits. They were people, with their rabbit culture, struggling to survive and form a society. And by the end of the book, you realize that Fiver is not the only visionary in the family. So is Hazel, but the more admirable kind, in my estimation.

Let me explain with another story: a couple of years ago, I asked a very good friend and esteemed colleague what she considered as the most important ingredient of leadership. She answered, "Vision." When she threw the question back at me, I said, "Humility." Her reason was that a leader has to have a sense of direction, a picture of the future that he will bring the rest to. My reason was that a good leader acknowledges his fallibility and seeks knowledge and help from others, and that is, paradoxically, what will make him respected and strong.

Hazel fulfills both our answers.

Hazel is not the smartest. He is not the strongest, nor the fastest. He is not the one who literally sees into the future, like Fiver can. And everyone knows all the things Hazel is not. But Hazel is the one who takes charge when others would not; who assesses a difficult situation, often with input from his friends, then is willing to make the decision for everyone; who is willing to take responsibility as a leader. It is Hazel who, unlike Fiver's visions, actually foresees possibilities for their future way of life and seeks to make them work--from getting the male rabbits to dig holes and not expecting the females to do it, to making friends with other animals for their mutual benefit, all the way down to creating a larger community with the next warren to ensure the peace amongst their kind and propagation of their species.

And Blackberry the smartest, Bigwig the strongest, Dandelion the fastest, Fiver the farthest seeing, and everyone else in Hazel's new warren acknowledge his leadership, because Hazel acknowledges all their talents and seeks their help. The whole leadership style kinda puts me in mind of this article I read about smart people leading smarter people.

But Hazel isn't perfect either. He can be proud and brash, too, traits for which Fiver takes him to task. Yet when it comes down to it, Hazel knows how to redeem himself, in the most selfless kind of way. And he exemplifies that true courage is in no way a function of physical or military strength. To me, nothing is more admirable than a hobbling and lone Hazel going to meet the militarily-superior Efrafan rabbits in a last-ditch attempt at negotiation and peace.

Actually, Hazel isn't the only admirable rabbit in Watership Down. There's Bigwig, the muscle, who shows his tenderness, humility, and obedience towards the end, making him a true hero amongst his warren and beyond. There's Blackberry, who always lends his intellect to whomever is in need. There's Pipkin, the runt, whose loyalty is both humbling and inspiring. And there's Kehaar, the seagull. Though he isn't a rabbit, he has become an essential part and has sacrificed much in establishing the peace in Hazel's warren.

So, what I loved most about Watership Down is not the cute rabbits, but the story of how a small band made their way in a hostile and unfamiliar world, yet did their best to show respect to one another and maintain their community. Troubles came, one after the other, to these rabbits, but they saw it through because they trusted each other and worked together. And if conflict came within their ranks, someone knew how to settle it, even if the settling only meant that they gave each other time. They wanted to survive, and not just survive. They wanted to live a full life, together.

You can probably tell how much all that resonates with me. What can I say? Looking at the world we live in and the struggles we have, I think there is little else more beautiful and profound than that.