One of the first noticeable characteristics about Rat is his generosity. Rat - Rat, also known as River Rat and Ratty, is one of the four central figures in the novel. This makes their small ambush more effective and also shows how much wiser he has become in the ways of the above ground world. Towards the end of the novel, Mole ventures out alone, and in disguise and convinces the Stoats that a massive attack is coming to Toad Hall. But he is also rather independent for someone so new to the area, which gets him into a lot of trouble. In the beginning of the novel, he is much like a child, seeing everything for the first time. He is new to the River Bank community and to the entire world above ground. He is always willing to help another animal in need. Mole - Mole is arguably the most passionate of all of The Wind in the Willows characters. The Wind in the Willows shows us a quartet of endearing characters, friends with real virtues contributing to each other’s moral growth. He meets Badger, paying him a visit in the Wild Woods and at the end of the novel, the four are forced to join together to try and recapture Toad Hall which has been taken over by Stoats and Weasels.

They visit Toad -him of 'the finest house on the whole river or anywhere else for that matter'- and hit the open road in horse-and-cart where they meet with an accident which cuts short their adventure and introduces Toad to his latest obsession and eventual downfall: the motor-car.Ī world of friendships, the joy of carefree wandering, of picnicking, and playing has opened for Mole. There, he meets Rat who invites Mole into his boat, something else he has never seen before.

He finds himself by a river for the first time in his life. Mole has a sudden case of spring fever, and bravely sets out to wander the fields and meadows.

The open road wind in the willows