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I was just curious about people's opinions on this character.
What did you think of him? Did you like him, feel sorry for him?
Do you think he lived or not?
How do you pronounce his name?
Just add your two cents. =D

I remember that little bit in the movie when he's offered that proposal and you see a hint of hesitation on his face (he doesn't soften, but you can see he's considering the option, albeit vaguely.)
I felt a little sorry for him too (though because of where he stood in the book, it was still hard for me to feel sorry for him when he held such control over Efrafa.)

I think Woundwort was one of the most profound villains of my childhood. Of all the movies I saw or books I read, for some reason this one really stuck with me over the others. I probly shouldn't have even been watching a movie like Watership Down in my earlier childhood, but...I saw the bunnies on the cover and just assumed "oh, frolicking and laughter, this will be sweet. :'D"
But oh no. Ohhhh no.
I used to have nightmares of Woundwort's ugly bloody face.

So even just as I first read the book, I already had this perception of General Woundwort of being horrible and demonic. But then, I admit that reading about his life makes it easier to understand and added some realistic elements to his character.

What makes him terrifying still is that he's not swayed by compassion, as you might expect of one whose lived through sorry times, and he literally does not care about the hardship of those enduring Efrafra.

It reminds me of a quote I heard: "cruelty is the waste of pain."
Because sure, it seems that Woundwort wouldn't be as harsh and unyeildingly brutal if it weren't for his own tragic upbringing.

Well, that is actually an extremely good point. We all like to think of people as being good by default, but there are certainly personalities, even young ones, that are more prone to becoming bad. Or so it would seem, anyway. I don't know, but there're plenty of people who have dealt with life in a negative way even from an extremely young age, and sometimes there is simply NO setting them right. It would be in effect, 'destined' to be evil.

I think in a realistic way, I tend to look at such cases as a mental handicap. Sociopaths don't experience emotions the way other people do and this causes them sometimes to perform evil acts, but that doesn't necessarily mean they're evil. I'm not one to believe that any single person is completely evil, but perhaps deluded, insane, or traumatized, and therefor doing things no one else could do without cringing.

In Woundwort's case, I don't really see that he IS evil, but all the same, his refusal to see that his actions are causing pain to real, living creatures does sort of resemble the behavior of a human psychopath. He thinks of Efrafra in strict, mechanical terms, as something to be monitored and maintained like a living machine, and his idea of himself is not as an evildoer, but as a very capable and heroic leader who has accomplished something as incredible as Efrafra.
Now, of course, not thinking of yourself as evil isn't to say you aren't, but it again lends to the idea that he's not capable of thinking in the same light as other Rabbits. In other words, he's immune to empathy.

....Although maybe not. o_o I seem to recall he does use threats very often, so he seems to understand that death and fear is a big motivator among rabbits. He also says once in the cartoon series that "Fear is a big part of any Rabbit's life."
Hmm....>_>


Anyway, here's me just rambling away. <_<' This is an interesting topic though, thanks for making it! :]

Fear is a big part of any sort of life. Any species, any gender, any age.
And, as with all things yet again, it's the fear of the unknown.
Woundwort probably wouldn't know what to do if he didn't have Efrafa to control, and so possibly feared losing his leadership. He seemed like the sort of character to be very set in his ways, and so feared that changing if he did accept Hazel's offer of peace.

Those are just my thoughts though.
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