Genre
Children's literature
Setting and Context
New York City and the outskirts of the city, around the 1940s-1950s
Narrator and Point of View
Third-person omniscient
Tone and Mood
Tone: whimsical, determined, lively, earnest
Mood: lighthearted, cheerful
Protagonist and Antagonist
The protagonist is Stuart. The antagonists are Snowbell and the Angora.
Major Conflict
The central conflict of the story is Stuart's need to constantly overcome his small stature and mousy appearance. On a more narrative level, the central conflict revolves around Stuart and whether he will be able to find Margalo.
Climax
There is no discernible climax, as the novel is rather episodic, but a few options could be the departure of Margalo, or the disaster of Stuart's date, which prompts him to leave.
Foreshadowing
Mrs. Little tells Stuart emphatically that Snowbell will not touch Margalo, foreshadowing the imminent conversation where Snowbell tells the Angora that while he will indeed not eat the bird, the Angora can.
The day of the date dawns cloudy, foreshadowing the disaster that is to come.
Understatement
"The world was a big place in which to go looking for a lost bird" (75).
Allusions
When Stuart is pushing the Ping-pong ball "with all his might, the perspiration rolling down his cheeks" (7), there is an allusion to Sisyphus pushing the boulder up the hill.
"The Scarf Dance" is a piece by Cecile Chaminade
"Sleep, dwell upon thine eyes, peace in thy breast" (54) is a quotation from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.
The mention of Harriet Ames' relative being a "ferryman here in Revolutionary Days" (104) refers to the Revolutionary War of the 1700s.
Imagery
The most striking imagery is of Stuart himself—this tiny, dapper creature who comports himself like a gentleman and sails model boats and drives in tiny cars and uses doll's clothing and accessories. Stuart is an impossible creature, but he is beloved because he is so delightful and because E.B. White creates such a compelling portrait.
Paradox
n/a
Parallelism
n/a
Metonymy and Synecdoche
"The village was still asleep" (126).
Personification
"Over the pond the west wind blew, and into the teeth of the west wind sailed the sloops and schooners..." (30).
"Neither Dr. Carey nor Stuart could see the little automobile, yet it was rushing all over the room under its own power, bumping into things" (80).
"Does she [the canoe] leak?" (111)
