Genre
Children's Literature
Setting and Context
A fictional time at the Desert of Drize
Narrator and Point of View
The story is told in the first person point of view. The narrator role switches between the boy and the old man.
Tone and Mood
The tone of the story is sympathetic and appreciative. On the other hand, the mood of the story is warm and optimistic.
Protagonist and Antagonist
The protagonist of the story is the Duckie while the antagonist is Duckie's inner conflicts.
Major Conflict
The major problem of the story was about Duckie and his inner conflicts. He was having a bad day but then he met a wise old man in the Desert of Drize
Climax
The climax of the story was when the old man told him about the lives of other critters.
Foreshadowing
In the beginning of the story, the old man told the boy that other people are much more unlucky than him.
Understatement
N/A
Allusions
N/A
Imagery
The author used several illustrations to exaggerate the difficulty of the lives of others. The illustrations depicted the complexity of their lives.
Paradox
The old man was in a terribly prickly place yet he was still smiling. He was happy to talk to the boy despite the bad conditions he were in.
Parallelism
"when you feel sour and blue..."
"...for the places and people you're lucky..."
"...your bedroom up here and your bathroom down there!"
"He has to cross t's and he has to dot i's."
"Well...he watched and he watched."
Metonymy and Synecdoche
The only metonymy in the story is the word "shoes" which refers to Ali Sard.
Personification
There are two scenarios of personification found in the story: bees working and ducks learning to read.
