The Tale of Peter Rabbit – Flopsy, Mopsy, Cotton-tail
The names of Peter’s siblings give the reader very visual descriptions of how they look. Flopsy immediately invokes the image of a rabbit with large ears, for example, and Cotton-tail appeals to the reader’s sense of touch, imagining the soft tail. Peter’s name on the other hand, invokes no image and thus contrasts Peter even further with his siblings.
The Tale of Benjamin Bunny – “He pricked his ears and listened to the trit-trot, trit-trot of a pony.”
The visual description of the sound of the steps the pony makes appeals to the reader’s sense of hearing. This is furthered by the repetition of the words, visualizing the rhythm of the steps as well. The beginning of the sentence indicates to the reader which sense will be appealed to and they find themselves in the same position as Benjamin: acutely listening with their imagination for the sound of the pony’s steps.
The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies – “He saw some funny little brown tips of ears sticking up through the lawn mowings.”
The text visualizes the sight of the little bunnies’ ears, poking through the grass. The reader is put into the position of Mr. McGregor, from his view towering above the small bunnies, seeing the large heap of green lawn mowings in front of him and, in sharp contrast, the brown fuzzy bunny ears peeking out.
The Tale of Mr. Tod – “rabbit bones and skulls, and chickens’ legs and other horrors”
In the story, Benjamin Bunny has just tracked down his kidnapped children, who were taken to be their abductor’s supper and he is looking through the window, observing where they are being held. The vivid description of old rabbit bones and skulls, laying scattered around the room, visualizing what is about to happen to the baby bunnies.
