The Wind in the Willows

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZYcoeqzxVI
Overview
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Author sameman Genre
Kenneth Grahame Fantasy
Type When Written
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Children's Novel 1907-1908

Where Written When published

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Berkshire, England 1908
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Perspective and Narrator
Third-person, omniscient narrator

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Literary Period adipiscing elit tamam dalam qoue sampe. dolor
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Golden Age of Children’s Literature
 Overview
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An English riverbank and the surrounding countryside

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Toad, Mole, Rat and Badger retake Toad Hall from the stoats
and weasels

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Protagonist (main character)
Mole, Rat, Toad and Badger

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Antagonist (oppenent/enemy)
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The ferrets, stoats and weasels

About the author
Kenneth Grahame (1859-1932) was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, England. He had a very
unhappy childhood, losing his mother at the age of 5, then his father, and several brothers were
adopted by relatives.
After graduating from high school, he had no money to go on to university, and at the age of 20
he went to work at the Bank of England until 1908, when he was shot by a madman in the bank
and retired.
He loved nature and literature, studied animals and writing in his spare time, and was a famous
writer at an early age. When his only son was 6 years old, he made up stories for his son, and his
son was fascinated and refused to go to other places during the summer vacation, so he had to
promise to write the story to him by way of letters. A letter he wrote to his son in 1907 was the
basis for The Wind in the Willows. Graham's book once caught the attention of President
Roosevelt, who wrote to tell the author that he had read "The Wind in the Willows" three times in
one sitting.
Graham loves nature, and in his works, the description of nature is smooth and rich. The Wind in
the Willows was published in 1908 and is regarded as a great example of English prose.
Characters Description
Mole Mole leaves his underground home to explore the outside world for the first time.

Rat Rat, a riverbank dweller, is generally a homebody but ventures out to be with his
friends.

Toad Toad, a comic figure and clever trickster, is the pompous owner of Toad Hall. He
becomes a victim of his own self-importance and impulsivity.

Badger A creature of the Wild Wood, Badger serves as an father figure to the animals.

Barge-woman The barge-woman allows Toad to ride with her during his escape, but she sees
through his disguise and makes a mockery of him.

Caroling mice The caroling mice sing for Mole and Rat.

Engine driver The driver of the train helps Toad escape police pursuit, even when he realizes
Toad's lies got him onto the train.

Gaoler’s daughter The gaoler's daughter hatches a plan for Toad to escape prison by disguising
himself in the washerwoman's clothing. Gaoler is a British form of jailer.
Gipsy The gipsy provides food for Toad during Toad's escape journey; he buys the horse Toad
stole from the barge-woman. Gipsy is a chiefly British spelling of gypsy.
Motorcar driver The motorcar driver rescues Toad, who is dressed as a washerwoman; Toad then
commandeers the car and wrecks it (again).
Motorcar passenger The motorcar passenger rescues Toad, who is lying on the side of the road.

Otter Otter is a riverbank neighbor and friend of Rat; he is the father of Portly, the lost otter
baby.
Pan Pan is the Greek demigod of nature, who plays music that lures Rat and Mole to find the
lost otter baby.
Portly Portly is the otter baby who gets lost and is protected by Pan.

Sea Rat The Sea Rat is an adventurer who nearly lures Rat to leave his home with his enticing
tales.
Stoats Along with the weasels, the stoats commandeer Toad Hall during Toad's imprisonment.
Washerwoman The washerwoman is the aunt of the gaoler's daughter; she sells her clothing to Toad,
and the disguise enables him to escape from prison.
Weasels Along with the stoats, the weasels commandeer Toad Hall during Toad's imprisonment.

Young hedgehogs Two young hedgehogs stay with Badger after the snowstorm. They have breakfast there
with Mole and Rat.
Themes
• Home
As the story opens, Mole is feeling the lure of adventure. Having never before left his
home, he seeks to explore the riverbank. There he encounters Rat, a homebody who
displays a great sense of contentment for all that the riverbank offers. The two enjoy
contented days "messing about in boats" and picnicking together. However, as much as
they enjoy home, they are not bound by it. Home merely provides a context of safety
for their adventures. Rat, Mole, Badger, and Toad all experience the lure of adventure,
departing from their homes, yet each ultimately yearns to return to his home. Even
Mole, who has left his home to live with Rat, at one point longs to return there, shabby
though his home is.

Each of the animals welcomes others into his home, showing hospitality by serving
food and offering care and shelter. Even Badger—initially described by Rat as hating
"society, and invitations, and dinner, and all that sort of thing"—shows himself
hospitable, not only to Rat and Mole, who had become stranded in the snowstorm, but
to the young hedgehogs as well.
Themes
• Friendship
Not long into the novel, Mole and Rat become fast friends. Although the nature of their friendship
changes over time, it becomes a focal point of the book. Initially, the friendship is more of a mentoring
relationship, as Rat guides the young and inexperienced Mole. Rat tries to warn Mole of dangers
relevant to his youth and inexperience, such as when Mole wants to row the boat. Rat displays patience
and forgiveness in the face of Mole's youthful impulsivity, while modeling responsibility and
unconditional concern. When Mole disregards Rat's advice about the Wild Wood, Rat's concern
prompts him to set out in search of his young friend. As Mole matures by learning from his mistakes,
the balance within the friendship shifts to more equal give-and-take. When Rat is nearly lured away
from his home by the Sea Rat, Mole rescues Rat from the temptation.

Loyalty and acceptance of faults characterize not only the friendship of Mole and Rat, but also the
animals' friendship with Toad. Toad's self-focus and lack of concern for others does not keep Badger,
Rat, and Mole from coming to his rescue, time after time. They forgive him and put their lives on the
line for his sake, even when he fails to show a change of heart.
Themes
• Greed and Consumerism
Toad epitomizes the destructive nature of consumerism in the absence of a moral compass and sense of social
responsibility. Toad's appetite for motorcars and the best of everything is insatiable. As a result of his attempts to
satisfy his desires, he brings calamity upon himself and others. The elder Badger, a friend of Toad's father, fears for
Toad's future and admonishes him to think of his friends, whose reputations are being ruined by Toad's
irresponsibility.

Greed is shown to be a trait of the immature. Much as a child would be reprimanded and sent to his room, Toad is
locked in his room as Badger attempts to save Toad from his own greed. Despite Badger's attempts to "convert"
Toad, the behavior cannot be stopped because Toad's spirit remains unchanged. Not until he loses his home and has
to be rescued by his friends does he begin to show any progress toward becoming more socially responsible.

Toad's behavior points to the British class divisions, the upper classes demonstrating apparent arrogance toward the
lower classes. Living off of inherited wealth, many proved socially irresponsible, feeding their own desires while
caring little for those less fortunate.
 Chapter 1
The River bank
1. What time of year is it at the start of the chapter? ————Spring
2. Where was Mole's home? —————under the Meadow
3. What do the rabbits ask him for?——————Money
4. While out for his walk, Mole came across the River and is "bewitched..." by it. What does it mean to
be "bewitched"?——————Enchanted and delighted
5. What was Rat doing when Mole and Rat met? ——————Getting into his boat
6. While setting up their picnic, Mole and Rat come across Otter. Otter asks Rat why he did not invite
him. Rat responses "This was an impromptu affair...".What do you think Impromptu means.——
planned at the Last minute
7. What did Rat promise Mole that caused Mole to tear up? ———To teach him to row a boat and swim
8. “Something up above was calling him imperiously” What does imperiously mean in this sentence?
————Commandingly
1. 迫切地，紧迫地
9. “So he scraped and scratched and scrabbled and scrooged”. What literary device did the author use here? —
Sibilance
10. “soft breezes caressed his heated brow” What does it mean? ————Wind gently touched his forehead
11. “after the seclusion of the cellarage he had lived in so long” Where did he live for so long? ————
In an isolated underground house

12. “Never in his life had he seen a river before—this sleek, sinuous, full- bodied animal, chasing and chuckl
gripping things with a gurgle and leaving them with a laugh” What literary device did the author use here?
————Metaphor
13. “while the river still chattered on to him” What literary device did the writer use here?
————Personification
14. Here is a moment the Mole saw the boat: ”It was painted blue outside and white
within, and was just the size for two animals; and the Mole‘s whole heart went out to it
at once, even though he did not yet fully understand its uses.” Looking at this extract,
what can you tell about Mole’s impression of the boat? ————He loved it from the
moment he saw it

15. “The Mole waggled his toes from sheer happiness, spread his chest with a sigh of
full contentment, and leaned back blissfully into the soft cushions” Which word here
suggest’s Mole’s satisfaction?————Contentment
16. “'O stop, stop,' cried the Mole in ecstacies: 'This is too much!'” How did the Mole
cry? ————excitedly
17. ”When they got home, the Rat made a bright fire in the parlour” Where did the Rat
make a fire?————In the living room
 Chapter 2
The Open Road
1. Why did Rat think about the river all the time? ——He was homesick
2. Why did Toad change his mind and was not so happy about camping
anymore? ——He had to do chores.
3. What does emancipated mean? ——Freed
4. What does fleet mean? ——Quick
5. Why did Rat tell Mole that he would continue on the camping trip?
——He didn’t think Toad would be safe by himself
6. What does rapturous mean? ——Joyful
7. Do you think Toad will be happy with his new car? ——No he will get
bored with it quickly like everything else
8. Who does not behave responsibly on the adventure? ——Toad
9. What does rouse mean? ——Wake up
10.How did the accident change Toad? ——It didn’t.
11. What happened to Toad's wagon?
————It toppled into a ditch
12. Who's fault was the accident?
————The driver of the motor car
13. How did Toad react to the accident?
————He was impressed
14. What does fatigued mean?
————Tired
15. What is a ditty?
————A short, simple song
Vocabulary
1. consent - to agree with sb’s idea
2. mariner - sailor P34
3. orchard - a large field with lots of fruit trees
4. paddock - a small field in which farm animals are kept P31
5. squandar - to waste sth important or useful
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
What happened in Chapter 2?
Beginning?
Middle?
Ending?