Piglet
Piglet, like all the animals in the Hundred Acre Wood, is a metaphor for a certain type of personality. Piglet’s diminutive size lends him a sense of inferiority which makes him a metaphor for social anxiety. He is aware of his limitations while at the same possessing a Napoleonic drive to prove himself greater than his statue might imply. This collision between what wants to be and what he knows himself to be thus creates his anxious reaction to the world.
Eeyore
Eeyore is a metaphor for socially withdrawn figure whose outsider status is conferred upon by himself. In the sequel it will become much more apparent that part of Eeyore’s depressing pessimism results from a keener awareness of the inherent stupidity of many of the animals in the Hundred Acre Wood. Thus, Eeyore is not simply a metaphorical representation of melancholy, but of a specific melancholic type: the guy who seems the madness in the world around him, but knows nothing can be done to end it.
Rabbit
Rabbit is a metaphorical incarnation of what is nearly the exact opposite of Eeyore. Whereas Eeyore sees the disorder around and accepts it—thus becoming a gloomy Gus in the process—Rabbit sees the world in much the same way, but responds by attempting to impose order. Eeyore may well be accused of simply giving up any attempt to improve the world except when pressed to do so, but Rabbit can equally be accused of not seeing the world as it really. For all his obsessive attempts at creating order around him, ultimately he always fails and instead opens himself up to accusations of fascistic tendencies.
Owl
Owl has the reputation of being the smartest animal in the Hundred Acre Wood, but it does seem to be an honor that he has earned. He is smart, but frazzled, forgetful, and often just plain wrong. As a result, Owl can be effectively identified as a metaphor for misplaced reputation. Sometimes a reputation is imprinted upon a person not for reason due them, but by accident of birth. Obviously, as a metaphor, Owl is much more representative of the British class system than American democracy.
Pooh
Like Owl, Pooh is a particularly British metaphor. He is representative of a certain class of British individual who is not quite up there with the Lords and Ladies of the aristocracy, but is most definitely not working class, either. Pooh’s particular concern with intelligence and devotion to honey are symbolic constructs of his metaphorical nature. He is not really stupid, but capable of living a life of luxury that does not depend upon his being particularly smart or ambitious, either.
