Ch. 28-32: Watership Down...

an Epic Adventure
(knowledge, comprehension and analysis)
Vocabulary - These are words or phrases which may have puzzled you in the reading of chapters
28 to 32.
'inexplicable' - defying explanation
'impertinence' - insolence
'daunt' - to cause fear or misgiving
'predatory' - the look, behaviour or aura of a predator - one who hunts others

Literary Terms Drill
Total Marks: 24 marks
These devices were used in the body of chapters 28 to 32. Identify the term that describes them by
using single word answers on the blanks provided.

1. ...Fiver was like a butterfly on a stone.
____________________ (1 mark)

2. I'd have believed him if he'd said we could hunt foxes.
____________________ (1 mark)

3. Kehaar's head flicked from side to side as though he were looking for snails in Hazel's brown fur.
____________________ and ____________________ (2 marks)

4. Kehaar [removed them] exactly as he might have picked spiders out of a crack.
____________________ (1 mark)

5. The sweet, carrion scent of dogwood filled the air; in the evening sunshine the insects hummed
around the dense white cymes hanging low above the grass.
____________________ and ____________________ (2 marks)

6. 'He which hath no stomach [for] this fight...[depart]
____________________ (1 mark)

7. ....crowns for convoy [shall be] put into his purse....
____________________ and _________________ (2 marks)

8. In this hot noon-day the trees of the Belt were looped and netted with darkest shadow.
____________________ and ____________________ (2 marks)

9. All was still, save for the grasshoppers and the falling finch-song of the yellow-hammer on the
thorn.
____________________ and ____________________ (2 marks)

10. The evening came on cold and misty and well before twilight a fog came down thick.
____________________ (1 mark)

11. ...the thought made El-ahrairah sweat and shudder...
____________________ (1 mark)

12. [the dock leaves] '...will wither, master,' said Rabscuttle, "and I am withered now.'
____________________ (1 mark)

13. [El-ahrairah] '...plunged into the nearest hole faster than a raindrop.'
____________________ (1 mark)

14. It was evening, and the sun stretched out all the hills...
____________________ and ____________________ (2 marks)

15. [a young doe is speaking to the returned El-ahrairah and Rabscuttle, about the war with King
Darazin.] 'It was all a very wicked thing,' said another doe. 'Shameful, really. If nobody fought in
wars there wouldn't be any, would there?'
____________________ and ____________________ (2 marks)

16. [Lord Frith is speaking to the returned El-ahrairah] I have brought a few trifles for you. A pair of
ears, a tail and some whiskers. You may find the ears slightly strange at first. I have put some
starlight in them...
____________________ and ____________________ (2 marks)

Answer these questions in full sentences, but in as few words as possible.
Mark total: 24 marks

1. Kehaar shows that he understands Fiver quite well. What remark of Kehaar's -- metaphorical in
nature -- demonstrates this understanding? (1)
2. As mentioned several times before, this book has as one of its themes different political
systems. Study the pages 253/262 to the end of chapter 29.
a) How does Hazel deal with conflict? (1)
b) How is this different than what we have heard of General Woundwort? (1)
c) Why is it a wise way of dealing with people (or rabbits, for that matter)? (1)
3. Explain why the quotation at the beginning of chapter thirty is appropriate to chapter's action. (1)
4. Hazel calls Bigwig, pfeffa-rah.
a) What does the term mean? (1)
b) Why does Hazel call him that? Give two reasons. (1)
5. For what two reasons does King Darazin desire vengeance on El-ahrairah? (2)
6. Why does El-ahrairah think of seeking his help from the Black Rabbit of Inl? (2)
7. According to Dandelion's story, who is the Black Rabbit of Inl? What myths surround him?
Mention four points. (4)
8. What is El-ahrairah prepared to offer the Black Rabbit in return for his people's safety? (1)
9. What wagers does El-ahrairah lose to the Black Rabbit? How does he try to cover up for his
losses? (2)
10. What desperate final attempt does El-ahrairah make to bring death back to King Darazin's
army? (1)
11. In what sense does El-ahrairah's desperate attempt to bring death back with him fail and in
what sense does it succeed? (2)
12. Why does no one know what King Darazin and his people looked like? (1)
13. a) What shock do Rabscuttle and El-ahraiah have when they make their way home? (1)
b) In what way can this passage be seen as containing a symbolic social remark (in
allegorical form) on human behaviour? (1)


Marking Key:
Literary Terms Drill
(27 marks)
NOTE: I have not always included the chapter headers since there
is a 'major' assignment involving them. Also, I have made no
attempt to take every example of clever use of sound and diction
-- they simply abound in too great a number.

1. simile
2. hyperbole
3. onomatopoeia and simile
4. simile
5. onomatopoeia and alliteration (except diction as well)
6. metonymy
7. alliteration and metonymy
8. foreboding and metaphor
9. alliteration, foreboding or pathetic fallacy (any of the
three)
10. foreboding
11. alliteration
12. metaphor and conscious symbolism
13. simile and onomatopoeia
14. personification and sibilance
15. irony and symbolism (allegory)
16. symbolism and sibilance