Richard Adams’ novel, Watership Down, is a story about a group of rabbits and their journey to a new place to call their home. These rabbits are led by Hazel. Although Hazel is not the chief of the warren, he eventually becomes it. Along the way, he proves to be great leader. On their journey, they encounter a rabbit named General Woundwort who is the chief rabbit of the Efrafa warren. Throughout the novel, Hazel and General Woundwort showcase qualities that make a good leader. Although they share similar qualities, they have different leadership styles. They differ in their values and in their way of making decisions. Right from the beginning of the story, we see one of the things that makes Hazel a great leader: trust. Hazel trusts and believes in the rabbits who follow him to Watership Down. For example, he is the first to believe Fiver when he says that danger is coming. “He can often tell when there’s anything bad about, and I’ve found him right again and again,” (11). Not only does he trust others, but he listens too. When faced with having to cross a river, Blackberry, who is one of the smartest, suggests that they use a piece of flat wood for those who cannot swim, and Hazel …show more content…
As we can see from the paragraphs above, Hazel is a leader who appeals and General Woundwort is one who causes fear. Hazel appeals to others by turning to them for advice or ideas, and by trusting in them. General Woundwort, on the other hand, leads by instilling fear in others. I do not agree that leading by fear and being a bully is the way to lead others. It is because of this that I favor Hazel’s leadership style over General Woundwort’s. Hazel may not be as big and as physically strong as General Woundwort, but his respect for others, willingness to listen and openness to all possible options, helps to transform his group of rabbits. They rely on one another and they build a strong community with each