| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立彰化師範大學 === 英語學系 === 105 === Abstract
This thesis enumerates a number of the reasons why Richard Adams’s Watership Down becomes a social phenomenon around the 1970s. Divided into five chapters, this thesis explores this exhilarating novel thoroughly with supporting critical reviews. By analyzing the content and the writing skills of Watership Down, the supporting evidence seeks to unveil the secrets for the success of this phenomenal novel. In order to supply a more systematic examination of this literary piece, this study organizes the following chapters in accordance with different focuses.
Chapter one is the introduction. There are two sections in this chapter. In the first part, the significance of this research will be discussed. For parents, young adults’ literature is considered an educational tool, and so is Watership Down. Adams’s positive and inspiring attitude toward his society was delivered through the description of those rabbits’ behaviors. In the second part, the structure of the thesis will be discussed, a brief overview of each chapter in this thesis. It includes the introduction, the reasons to take Watership down as a successful novel, the rabbits’ belief, its inspirations and the conclusion.
Chapter two is dealing with the reason why Watership Down was taken as a successful novel for the young adult readers. There are three sections in this chapter. In section one, using an educational novel like Watership Down to deliver his moral advice for young adult readers is Adams’s main purpose. In section two, for the purpose of connecting rabbits’ world to that of primitive human beings’ and expressing the admiration of them, Adams adopts the anthropomorphic fantasy. In section three, Adams exploits the three writing skills—the de-familiarization, suspense and juxtaposing stories to both involve young adult readers to a great extent and teach them how to survive in the modern world.
In chapter three, Adams creates a rabbits’ myth for young adult readers to deliver his moral guidance. With the rabbit’s myth, Hazel and his friends can define themselves with the world of Frith and Black Rabbit, encouraged by those cunning and tricks from Elahrairah’s stories.
Chapter four is dealing with the inspiring behaviors from those rabbits in the adventure. Inspired by the legendary hero in the transcendental world, Hazel’s adventure stories and inward growth not only offers some valuable surviving intelligence but also provides a good model about how to be a leader.
Chapter five is dealing with the conclusion to the whole thesis. Young adults’ literature is taken as an educational tool used by parents to teach their young adult readers how to survive in this world. For Adams, young adults’ literature is the best educational tool through which he could deliver and demonstrate his moral advice.
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