Genre
Fantasy fiction
Setting and Context
Set in a fictitious land
Narrator and Point of View
Third-person narrative.
Tone and Mood
The tone is animated, and the mood is whimsical.
Protagonist and Antagonist
The protagonist is Cecil Bean.
Major Conflict
There is a conflict between the lucky rabbit and the evil black cat in Cecil's life. The evil black cat brings bad luck to Cecil, which the attack by the lucky rabbit counters.
Climax
The climax comes when Millikin, the black cat, comes up with a scrumptiously evil strategy to evaporate Leek, the lucky rabbit, into the magician's hat and leave Cecil without any good luck for a while. Leek is trapped in the hat and cannot get closer to Cecil.
Foreshadowing
The black cat’s evil plans to trap Leek in the magician’s hat foreshadow Cecil’s misfortunes for the rest of his life.
Understatement
Cecil understated the ability of Millikin to turn his life upside down.
Allusions
n/a
Imagery
Sight imagery is depicted at the novel's beginning when the author paints a picture of Cecil's fortunes and misfortunes. The reader sees the little girl from the fourth floor intentionally dropping a wet watermelon on Cecil's head. Since Cecil is allergic to watermelons, he sneezes hard until the leaves on the ground are blown wildly. Therefore, from this description, the reader can create an imaginative image of what is happening at the begging of the novel.
Paradox
The main paradox is that the little girl congratulates Cecil after he gets a refined haircut. Initially, the little girl had dropped a watermelon at Cecil's head, but that was a blessing in disguise. After the watermelon hits Cecil, he looks around to see who did it, and luckily, he sees an advert asking all the young boys named Cecil to go for a free haircut.
Parallelism
n/a
Metonymy and Synecdoche
The term sesquicentennial is used as metonymy for a celebration.
Personification
The lucky rabbit and the black evil cat are personified as human beings because they can strategize how to counter each other's plans.
