Trickster as the Trope of Resistance in Richard Adams Watership Down

Abstract

This thesis is a study of Watership Down, a novel by Richard Adams. The research work deals with the trickster as a trope of resistance. In the novel, the characters Hazel, Fiver and the group of rabbits under Hazel’s leadership resist against General Woundwort’s dictatorship, who do not want the benefit of others. The novel, with the use of trickster trope, reveals that human beings lack humanity. Contrary to human beings, there are some of the rabbit figures like Hazel, Fiver and El-ahrairah who are endowed with human qualities such as cooperation, search for identity and freedom. Through human qualities in rabbit figures, the writer satirizes the selfish nature of human beings. The thesis draws upon idea about trickster forwarded by many thinkers such as Roger Abrams, Virgina Hamilton, Marget P. Baker, Gerald Vizenor, Chris LaLonde and others. Trickster figures in the novel teach the readers about the value of cooperation which human beings lack now a days. By focusing on the life of animals which are thought to be insignificant, the research shows that fantasy novels such as Adams’, far from beinganimal stories, are example of social commentary about human politics and culture.