How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
"There's a lot we don't know," said Blackberry. "About this place, I mean. The plants are new, the smells are new. We're going to need some new ideas ourselves." (19.9)
Blackberry is one of our favorite rabbits because he has an open mind. He goes out into a strange new place and he allows himself to change and come up with strange new ideas. If he ran for Chief Rabbit we'd vote for him (sorry Hazel).
Quote #5
"Well, I admit a mouse might or might not come in handy," said Hazel. "But I'm sure a bird would, if we could only do enough for it. We can't fly, but some of them know the country for a long way round. They know a lot about the weather, too. All I'm saying is this. If anyone finds an animal or bird, that isn't an enemy, in need of help, for goodness' sake don't miss the opportunity. That would be like leaving carrots to rot in the ground." (22.18)
Here's Hazel defending his new plan to make nice to other animals, while Bigwig is being a little bit racist (or species-ist). We can put this next to Blackberry's comment about coming up with new ideas because we can see how Hazel has a new idea and Bigwig is kind of an old-fashioned fuddy-duddy about it.
Quote #6
It was no cat. The creature in the hollow was a bird—a big bird, nearly a foot long. Neither of them had ever seen a bird like it before. The white part of its back, which they had glimpsed through the grass, was in fact only the shoulders and neck. The lower back was light gray and so were the wings, which tapered to long, black-tipped primaries folded together over the tail. The head was very dark brown—almost black—in such sharp contrast to the white neck that the bird looked as though it were wearing a kind of hood. The one dark red leg that they could see ended in a webbed foot and three powerful, taloned toes. The beak, hooked slightly downward at the end, was strong and sharp. As they stared, it opened, disclosing a red mouth and throat. The bird hissed savagely and tried to strike, but still it did not move. (23.10)
Check out this incredibly long description of a bird who isn't all that special—it's a black-headed gull, very similar to the bird that is right outside your window right now, going through your trash and eating your leftover moo shu pork. But of course, the rabbits don't know about gulls—and the narrator drives that point home by giving us a very long description of the bird rather than just naming the species. If you know something, you can name it, but if it's new, you can only describe it, and we get to see that describing in action.