The Hunting of the Hare

I have never gone hunting. Not for sport, and not for food. I've gone fishing, but only catch and release fishing, and when I was little I insisted that we bury our pet fish in the backyard. When I was in fourth grade, I was in environmental club, where we were shown a documentary on Tyson foods and the process they use to make chicken nuggets. The documentary affected me so much that I was basically a vegetarian for six months, and I didn't eat chicken nuggets for at least five years. My parents were not thrilled to say the least. I still don't eat as much meat as the rest of my family, not because I think it's bad for you or even because some people think it's cruel to animals, but because the documentary grossed me out so much. On the same level, reading Cavendish's The Hunting of the Hare made me not want to hunt, ever. I felt so bad for the fictional rabbit in the story that I would feel guilty if I made any actual animal feel so scared. The poem was extremely successful in receiving empathy from its readers all while keeping you on the edge of your seat. It was detailed without being boring, and it made the reader feel like they were transported to the scene of the hunt. The Hunting of the Hare is one of the most compelling poems that I have ever read, and clearly gets the author's point across. Similarly, the hunt scene in Tom Jones is equally as graphic and convinced me (once again) that I will never go hunting. The deer hunt in the movie was like a visualization of Cavendish's poem, and the sound of the hounds barking only added to the terror of the scene. I've always been an animal person, but The Hunting of the Hare strengthened my reasons behind being one, and ensured that I wouldn't be picking up the hobby of hunting anytime soon.