Wind In The Willows: An analysis

The Wind in the Willows is a book written by Kenneth Grahame, and was published in 1908. The novel is slow moving and fast paced, it is about four anthropomorphized animal characters namely Badger, Rat, Mole, and Toad within a pastoral edition of England. The book is notable for its mixture of adventure, mysticism, morality, and friendship.

The Wind in the Willows is about the adventures of a set of four animal friends that display human behavior: Badger, Rat, Mole, and Toad. The Wind in the Willows consists of three narratives put together: the tale of the companionship of Rat and Mole, the adventures of Toad, and the two emotional chapters on nature called Wayfarers All and The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (Grahame 2). The narrative begins when Mole deserts the spring cleaning of his underground house to take a walk down the riverbank. Mole meets Rat, and the two turned out to be friends. Mole as well becomes pals with Toad, the rich proprietor of Toad Hall. Toad persuades Rat and Mole to take a journey on his gypsy caravan, however during the trip they are forced off the way by a speeding vehicle. After deep thinking, Toad deserts the caravan to chase the car. Rat and Mole go back home.

Later on, Mole gets lost surveying the area across the river called the Wild Wood. Luckily, Rat rescues him; moreover the two get refuge in the safe and warm residence of the Badger. In the meantime, Toad has become fanatical about cars and has crashed numerous cars. Badger being so worried about his young friend, he asks Rat and Mole to assist him to convince Toad to be more conscientious. Their plea to him fails, and Toad is trapped stealing a car and is jailed for twenty years. Toad escapes from prison and has many adventures on his journey home. When he lastly arrives back at Toad Hall, he gets it overrun with stoats, weasels, and ferrets from the Wild Wood. His friends help him to run the squatters out of the home and enjoy a festive banquet. The narrative ends with Toad resolving to change (Grahame 39).

One of the major themes of The Wind of Willows is the journey; in the narrative, different characters feel the desire to travel and the need to survey space outside of their home area. Yet most of these trips result in homesickness and danger. Rat takes Mole out for a ride in his rowing ship. The two friends get along well furthermore the two of them use up more of their time on the river, with Rat training Mole the ways of the river. Amongst the odyssey of Rat and Mole on one summer day, they paid a visit to Toad. Toad is friendly, jovial and rich but conceited, and so obsessed about things and dismisses them later. Toad’s present craze is his horse-drawn convoy. Mole wants to meet up Badger, who lives inside the Wild Wood, however Rat knows that Badger does not welcome visits, and so declines to take him, signifying that if Mole will be patient, Badger himself will visit. However, on a winter’s day, Mole visits the Wild Wood to walk around, hoping to meet with Badger. He lost in the woods, succumbs to panic and fright and hides in the midst of the roots of a sheltering tree.

Mole is a mild-mannered, home-loving creature, and the first character to be launched. Depressed with spring cleaning in his isolated home, he ventures into the exterior world and develops a more creative life. At first overawed by the commotion of the riverbank, he finally adapts. Ratty is so relaxed and welcoming water vole, he is so fond of the river and takes Mole beneath his wing. He is portrayed to be occasionally naughty, and can be obstinate when it comes to doing things which are not in his riverside lifestyle (Grahame 2).

In the Wind in the Willows most of the characters are conveyed by forces they do not understand, and ca not help. For instance Mole just leaves his home because something up high was calling him domineeringly. The birds soar south, they say, for the reason that they feel within them a sweet unrest. When Ratty and Mole travel towards the weir in search of Portly, Otter’s missing cub, they say the moon did what she could, although so far off, it helped them in their journey (Grahame 5).

In a very diverse idea of a journey, Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Graham discusses the intellectual and emotional considerations prior to taking a trip, not by train or ship, but in a gypsy convoy. The extract begins with a vivid representation of the caravan’s appearance, which highlights the significances of a superb mean of transportation romanticizes the trip. Inside the story, Toad, who was psychologically driven, imagines the incentives that can be achieved through a journey that is filled of positive promises. In the course of his words of excitement, he stresses that the journey will enable them to experience real life through travelling on the open road to a fresh life rich in possibilities. Ratty conversely was intellectual driven as he conveys discomposure and distrust (Grahame 3). Unimpressed by Toad’s extensive ravings, he snorts in disrespect. Kenneth Graham concisely explains that even when a wonderful means of a journey is presented, it depends on the person who is travelling to determine whether to take on the journey or not. All the way through the text, he as well expressed the hopes and concerns that an individual takes before undertaking a journey.

Mole thought that he would be satisfied and happy as he embarked on a journey wandering aimlessly; unexpectedly he stood by the border of a full-fed river. He had never seen a river before in his life. The author describes the river as sleek, full-bodied animal, sinuous, chasing and chuckling, enthralling things with a gurgle furthermore leaving them with a chuckle, to fling itself on new playmates that shook themselves open, and were trapped and held again. That is the first to mole that the river life is Life Adventurous (Grahame 2). Mole’s whole world changed when he came from his house and met the good-natured, Water Rat who loves boat, the bigheaded Toad of Toad Hall, the humanity which hates Badger who lives in the scary Wild Wood, and countless other generally well-meaning creatures.

In the early phases of this story, the spirited and clever Water Rat is talking to his best companion, the emotional but easy to satisfy Mole, regarding his most loved activity. He says that nothing seems to matter, that is the attraction of it. He says that whether one gets away, or whether they do not; whether one arrives at their destination or whether they never get anywhere by any means, they are always busy (Grahame 4). When Kenneth Grahame wrote novel he delicately expressed that same point of view that the Water Rat had. Consequently at times we begin to speculate whether the proceedings are leading to anything, however one that knows that that is the charm of it. Although the compassionate Mr. Badger explores his huge underground home, Rat and Mole glide down the river in rowing boats; the Otter trains his son Portly how to swim moreover Toad discovers a new fad. So by linking the quiet, composed lifestyle of the riverbank residents along with the fast-paced act of worldly living, the author keeps the readers enthralled.

Mole and Ratty learn on their odyssey through the countryside that one is not always satisfied by deserting their home and going to adventures just like Mole did. They also learn that the charm of it the only idea behind an adventure. As Ratty says that nothing seems to matter, that is the attraction of it. He says that whether one gets away, or whether they do not; whether one arrives at their destination or whether they never get anywhere by any means, they are always busy. Through their adventures I have learnt that friends with real virtues can contribute to the growth of one moral behavior (Grahame 239).