Genre
Children’s story
Setting and Context
The set place and time is not indicated in the story, but the actions take place first in some woods. Later, when Horton is caught by the hunters, he is traveling with a circus and visits the cities like New York, Chicago, and others, which assumes that the story takes place in the USA.
Narrator and Point of View
The story is revealed by the third person, but with rather deep insight into the characters.
Tone and Mood
The tone and mood vary from sad to playful and adventures.
Protagonist and Antagonist
Horton the Elephant is the protagonist; Mayzie the Bird appears as the antagonist.
Major Conflict
The major conflict of the story is conscious parenthood.
Climax
The moment when Mayzie the Bird recognizes Horton, and demands that the egg is hers, is the climax of the story.
Foreshadowing
“ME on your egg? Why, that doesn’t make sense… Your egg is so small, ma’am, and I’m so immense!” From the very beginning Horton the Elephant foreshadows that this adventure will bring him hardships.
Understatement
N/A
Allusions
The story contains allusions to such cities as New york, Chicago, Boston, Washington.
Imagery
The imagies of Horton, Mayzie, and the hunters, are depicted in the story.
Paradox
“There rang out the noisiest ear-splitting squeaks, from the egg that he’d sat on for fifty-one weeks!” The time spent on the egg being hatched is paradoxically long.
Parallelism
“They taunted. They teased him. They yelled.”
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
The animal characters of the story are personified throughout.
