Themes Of Trust And Survival In Watership Down

"Oh Hazel! This is where it comes from! I know now—something very bad! Some terrible thing—coming closer and closer" (Adams, 1975, p. 21). This quote at the beginning of Watership Down is the first of Fiver's amazing forewarnings, that helps him to demonstrate both of the themes of "trust" and "survival" in the rabbit world. Trust and survival are two key components to the rabbits lives, and they cannot live without either. Because of his ability to sense danger around him, Fiver exemplifies the related themes of trust and survival in Watership Down.

First, Fiver exemplifies the theme of trust in Watership Down because of the rabbit's belief in his abilities. "There was no more questioning of Bigwig's strength, Fiver's insight, Blackberry's wits, or Hazel's authority" (Adams, 1975, p.

135). This was the point in Watership Down after the rabbits left the "Snare Warren", where they all began to trust each other's strengths to lead to success. At the "Snare Warren", all of the leaders proved themselves to be the best at what they did. Fiver especially stuck out to me, because he immediately knew that the warren they arrived at was dangerous. He knew something wasn't right, and when Bigwig got snared, all of the rabbits were in awestruck from his prediction. Fiver said this to Bigwig just before he got snared, ' "No," said Fiver very quietly. "You are closer to death than I" ' (Adams, 1975, p. 122). That prediction made the whole group of rabbits trust Fiver like he was a psychic. In the beginning and throughout the rest of the book anything that Fiver said or did, the other rabbits obeyed and believed him, all because of trust.
Next, Fiver exemplifies the theme of survival in Watership Down because all of the other rabbits would have been dead without him.

At several points in the book, he saves them from danger, or maybe even death. ' "If only he'd listened to you! Well, it can't be changed now, till acorns grow on thistles" ' (Adams, 1975, p. 160). Here, Holly said to Fiver that if the Threarah would have just listened to Fiver, then they would have all survived the Sandleford Warren disaster. Fiver's ability to see into the future allows the rabbits to survive, because without his abilities, none of them would have known about any of the potential dangers coming their way.

' "Hazel isn't dead," said Fiver ' (Adams, 1975, p. 239). Also, without Fiver, the Chief Rabbit of Watership Down, Hazel, would have never survived without him. Hazel was alive in the storm drain after he got shot, and only Fiver knew that due to a premonition. He brought Hazel back to Watership Down to prevent dying of his wounds. This action of Fiver's exemplified the theme of survival, because without Hazel being alive, the Watership Down Warren would have lost it's greatest leader who leads them all to the ultimate goal of

survival.
Finally, trust and survival are two very related themes in Watership Down. Trust is all about believing in somebody. Survival is all about staying alive. Without trust, survival cannot be an option. If the rabbits were all independent, and did their own things on the journey from Sandleford Warren because they didn't trust each other, then most wouldn't have survived. For example, if Fiver and Pipkin did not trust Blackberry, then they would have never made it across the river. Blackberry's idea of putting them on a floating object, saved them ultimately from death (Adams, 1975). For the rabbits, their ultimate goal in life is too survive and without trusting each other, they would all be alone without each other's different attributes and survival skills. What made Fiver stick out to me in terms of the themes of trust and survival, was the trust that the other rabbits had in his predictions of danger, and that helped everyone to survive. Trust and survival with Fiver, were related themes that were both very prominent in his glory days.
In conclusion, in Watership Down, Fiver exemplifies the related themes of trust and survival. Fiver is a small and insignificant rabbit, but his power to predict and avoid dangers, is as impressive as Bigwig's amazing strength and toughness or any other rabbit's attributes. Both have their own different strong abilities, but Fiver's is the most important to the group of rabbits. Without him, they would have never even left Sandleford Warren, and would very likely be dead. Fiver's continual proving of his abilities, gains the trust of the rest of the rabbits. Since the rabbits trust Fiver, they survive using his abilities to avoid dangers. Without trust, survival can not be achieved by them.