Genre
Children's Fiction
Setting and Context
Paris at Christmastime
Narrator and Point of View
Third person narrator telling the story primarily from Armand's point of view
Tone and Mood
Threatening and despairing regarding the living situation; festive and hopeful at Christmas; optimistic at the end of the novel
Protagonist and Antagonist
The Calcets are the protagonists, that authorities who want to take the children from their mother are the antagonists
Major Conflict
There is conflict between Armand and Madame Calcet when he takes the children to sing in the square and they earn tips as she feels this is begging
Climax
At the end of the novel the family and Armand get a home and a job with security
Foreshadowing
Armand sees two social workers heading towards the Calcets and knows that if they find them they will remove the children from their mother
Understatement
Madame Calcet states that she is a good mother which is an understatement because she is a devoted mother who will do anything to make sure that her family is kept together.
Allusions
The children allude to Christmasses they have enjoyed in the past and allude also to Santa Claus and the magic he can make happen
Imagery
There is a great deal of imagery describing Christmas decorations, for example in chapter seven :"The tree was an unusual gray-green with needles as soft as feathers. Fastened to its graceful branches were little packages tied in red, white and blue papers that looked as if they might have been picked up near the Halle's. On the top of the tree hung a copper star, like the patch the gypsies used for mending pots and pans."
Paradox
Armand does not like children so his behavior is a paradox as he is generous, caring and fatherly towards them in a way that suggests he actually does like children very much.
Parallelism
There is a parallel between Suzy and Tinka as although they are living very different lives they both see their path to a better and more secure future to be through education.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
The market and the marketplace means the people bustling around within it
Personification
The market suggested that Christmas was nearly here, which gives Christmas the power of suggestion and therefore thought
