The Question is in the Instruction part Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

The Question is in the Instruction part - Essay Example This shows that despite the complete strangeness of a new and alien activity which initially seems incompatible to the inherent nature of Mole, the willingness to try it proves to be beneficial to him. Mole takes a splash into the water due to his excitement but he does not give up the idea of boating as incompatible to him. He perseveres and overcomes the incompatibility of his first encounter with boating. Grahame explains the different behaviors of the animals as belonging to the quaint culture called the animal-etiquette and not as incompatible elements thrown together. (Grahame 2004, p.10, 12). The narrative attributes certain behaviors to the unique animal culture when it says; 'The Rat hummed a tune, and the Mole recollected that animal-etiquette forbade any sort of comment on the sudden disappearance of one's friends at any moment, for any reason or no reason whatever.' (Grahame 2004, p.12). This mirrors the human society that is comprised of people from all walks of life. They are so different as to seem incompatible but yet co-exist in an interweaved mesh that allows for divergence and privacy. Grahame has put together a diverse set of characters that seem incompatible but they are consistent with the diversity that is present in the human population. The animals are the allegories that parallel humans. Grahame uses the setting of the River Bank and Wild Wood because it allows a diverse environment in which he can have a variety of animals and Silvey says; 'Not only is it a nostalgic evocation of the English countryside and a way of life that he felt was under threat, but in the characters of Rat and Mole we can detect aspects of himself.' (Silvey 1995, p. 87). Silvey also says that Grahame depicts human characters in the guise of animals. The rat and mole experience life in much the same way as humans. They enjoy comradeship, boating and a picnic. They exhibit some human traits. The rat is kind to the mole and forgives him for making a complete fool of himself in the water. Furthermore, he promises to teach the mole to row and swim. (Grahame 2004, p. 13). By putting toget her a group of seemingly incompatible characters, Grahame shows how friendships form, bond and cement to make life better in the community. On the other hand, Grahame shows that friendships enrich life. The underlying message is that if animals can form enduring bonds, humans should do much better. Dancygier says that Grahame uses frame metonymy, or the substitution of the name of an attribute for the name of the thing itself. (Dancygier 2005, p. 1). This camouflaging of elements give the impression that incompatible elements are thrown together. 'We are like the Rat in our book-initial quotation from The Wind in the Willows: give us a grammatical "door-scraper," and we can see a whole house, the entire experimental frame within which we understand what door-scrapers are for.' (Dancygier 2005, p. 25 ). This "door-scraper" is a symbol that draws together the seemingly incompatible elements to give an overall picture of what's going on. Rat and Mole find the door-scraper in the snowing woods. Grahame does not let Rat