Genre
Children's Fiction
Setting and Context
House on the country in the south of England, early part of the Twentieth Century
Narrator and Point of View
Third person narrator telling a little girl the story as told to her, mostly from the point of view of Arrietty Clock
Tone and Mood
Happy and hopeful, but also threatening and frightening as the family think they have been discovered
Protagonist and Antagonist
Pod is the protagonist; the rat catcher is the antagonist
Major Conflict
Major conflict between Pod and Homily regarding whether or not Arietty should be taken on Borrowing trips and whether it was going to jeopardize their secret existence
Climax
The rat catcher blocks both ends of the tunnel that would enable the Clock family to escape the gas he pumped down there
Foreshadowing
Arietty's conversation with The Boy foreshadows their discovery by Humans
Understatement
Homily says that she is worried which understates the level of preoccupation she has with possible dangers and possibility of being caught.
Allusions
No notable allusions in the novel
Imagery
The author describes the Clock family's home in minute detail precisely because they are so minute and describes everyday items in a way that makes them believable and plausible furniture items
Paradox
Aunt Sophy has known about Pod all along but drinks so much that she thinks he comes out of the decanter. He is not frightened about spending time with her but terrified of any other human seeing him in a glimpse for a second
Parallelism
There is a parallel with how trapped by adults that Arietty feels and how trapped in his room by adults The Boy feels
Metonymy and Synecdoche
The Humans encompasses each of the residents of the country house
Personification
The Clock is personified by the family of Borrowers who take its name
