Don’t be such a control freak! In the fantasy novel Watership Down by Richard Adams, Fiver, a rabbit that can foresee the future, senses that something evil will happen at his warren’s current burrows. For this reason, a group of rabbits decide to leave the warren and look for a new home. At first, Bigwig has trouble accepting Hazel, Fiver’s brother, as the Chief Rabbit of the newly-formed warren. Bigwig later learns to trust that Hazel will make good decisions for the group. Through the characterization of Bigwig in Watership Down, Richard Adams reveals that accepting and being comfortable with other individuals taking leadership is a key element of working as a team. At the beginning of the story, Bigwig is strongly against Hazel being the …show more content…
This can be seen when Bigwig likes Hazel’s idea and says, “‘Yes, that’s the style,’ […] ‘[a]nd while you’re doing that, I’ll take Silver and Buckthorn here and have a run down of the fields beyond, just to get the lie of the land and make sure there isn’t anything dangerous,’” (67). Bigwig is beginning to acknowledge that Hazel’s ideas are often good ones, and he is even offering to do more than he is asked to. When Hazel informs Bigwig that Fiver is missing, Bigwig replies, “‘[…]Well, I’d better come with you, I suppose. Don’t worry—he can’t have gone far,[…]’” (114). Bigwig offers to Help Hazel once again, something he would never have done at the beginning. As they settle into a new warren, Bigwig admits, “‘[…]I really feel at home again. If you ask me, I reckon we’ve all made a big change for the better. Even if Fiver’s wrong and nothing terrible has happened back at the old warren, I’d still say we’re better off here,[…]’” (92). Bigwig compliments Hazel on his leadership skills, but not directly, because he is not quite ready to admit that he is doing a good job. From these examples, it is evident that Bigwig is becoming more comfortable with Hazel as the