How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
Bartsia fell forward out of the hole with Bigwig on top of him. He was not a member of the Owslafa for nothing and was reckoned a good fighter. As they rolled over on the ground, he turned his head and sank his teeth in Bigwig's shoulder. He had been trained to get a grip at once and to hold it at all costs. More than once in the past this had served him well. But in fighting a rabbit of Bigwig's strength and courage it proved a mistake. His best chance would have been to keep clear and use his claws. He retained his hold like a dog, and Bigwig, snarling, brought both his own back legs forward, sank his feet in Bartsia's side and then, ignoring the pain in his shoulder, forced himself upward. He felt Bartsia's closed teeth come tearing out through his flesh and then he was standing above him as he fell back on the ground, kicking helplessly. Bigwig leaped clear. It was plain that Bartsia's haunch was injured. He struggled, but could not get up. "Think yourself lucky," said Bigwig, bleeding and cursing, "that I don't kill you." (38.43-4)
The violence in this book would give us nightmares if we had read this when we were kids, like that description of Bartsia's teeth tearing through Bigwig's shoulder. But the narrator here also doesn't want to scar us for life (though he does want to scar Bigwig). The narrator continuously comments on the action like a sports commentator, telling us what Bartsia is doing wrong. So we know that Bigwig might get hurt here, but that he's going to come out of it okay, mainly because Bartsia doesn't know his way around a boxing ring.
Quote #8
With a kind of wry envy, Hazel realized that Bigwig was actually looking forward to meeting the Efrafan assault. He knew he could fight and he meant to show it. He was not thinking of anything else. The hopelessness of their chances had no important place in his thoughts. Even the sound of the digging, clearer already, only set him thinking of the best way to sell his life as dearly as he could. (44.20)
Not all rabbits dislike violence. In fact, we see a lot of rabbits enjoying a little rumble, even if it's only play-fighting. But Bigwig and Woundwort are in a class all by themselves. Like Woundwort, Bigwig seems to like violence, even though Bigwig is supposed to be a good rabbit. How do you feel when you read this note about Bigwig looking forward to violence? A bit icky? Yeah, us, too.
Quote #9
When it came to fighting, Woundwort was not given to careful calculation. Men, and larger animals such as wolves, usually have an idea of their own numbers and those of the enemy and this affects their readiness to fight and how they go about it. Woundwort had never had any need to think like this. What he had learned from all his experience of fighting was that nearly always there are those who want to fight and those who do not but feel they cannot avoid it. More than once he had fought alone and imposed his will on crowds of other rabbits. (46.53)
Woundwort's secret isn't that he has the biggest army or the sharpest claws. He's just the baddest rabbit around when it comes to "taking it outside," so to speak. He's even worse than "Men, and […] wolves" when it comes to liking the fight. This love of violence gives him power over other rabbits. But it's also very unnatural, not to mention creepy.