Wind_in_the_Willows_-_Analysis

From this exert, ‘The Wind in the Willows’ by Kenneth Grahame is a story which has been told as a children’s book, but this story shows full meaning using his characters Toad, Mole and Rat and the use of imagery with colours and adjectives. The theme used in this text is mainly focused on Journeys. The term journeys can be defined as a pathway or experience people go through. It can be described as a phase people go through to grow in life also to find an outcome or result whether it is negative or positive. In this text a journey is described as an adventure or ‘quest’ to live life and explore the rest of the world. Firstly, the characters used show different emotions and views towards things. Toad is shown as a colourful person. He quotes, “There’s real life for you, embodied in that little cart.” This shows that he wants to explore the world and is very passionate about life. The use of adjectives by Toad influences Mole. Mole is a very neutral character in this text and is easily influenced. “The Mole was tremendously interested and excited,” this shows that he wanted to go on this journey with Toad, but at the same time, he was influenced by Rat to stay only in one place. Rat is very resistant, formal, and unimpressed by the offer from Toad. We can also tell that he is resistant to change. From the fourth paragraph and last paragraph, Rat is comfortable with his life already because he is too ‘attached’ to his processions or doesn’t want to throw away his life away for a journey. By now we can tell that there is a journey. Toad is very open to the idea, Mole is interested by the idea but is also neutral and Rat defies the whole idea of it. Grahame also uses colours to convey the characters. “… painted a canary-yellow picked out with green, and red wheels.” These colours refer to traffic signals, where green is go, also Toad who is willing to go forward. Yellow is Mole, who can choose to stop or go in life, and red is stop who is Rat, where he wants to stop and stay with his life now. Grahame put this technique in very interestingly, where a simple coloured cart can have more meaning to it if analysed. The whole structure of the story shapes its tone and meaning to the end of the fifth paragraph. The use of tone in the dialogue effectively portrays the mood and personality of the characters to the reader. And the meaning of journeys is shown throughout the whole story. To the start and the end of the story we can tell that there is a different mood. The start shows excitement and adventure, and by the end it shows the opposite from the start, where it is very resistant and finding no need to explore life. Grahame shows that not all people will follow you on a journey and that you will have to go alone sometimes.