Genre
Children's literature
Setting and Context
The setting of the novel is rural Britain. It takes place in the 1960s.
Narrator and Point of View
The narrator of the book is an unnamed eight-year-old girl. The entire story is narrated from her point of view.
Tone and Mood
The tone of the novel is earnest and impassioned. The mood is comical.
Protagonist and Antagonist
The protagonist of the novel is the unnamed narrator. The antagonist is Mr Gregg, though he has a change of heart by the novel's end.
Major Conflict
The major conflict of the novel stems from the Greggs enjoying hunting and the narrator disapproving of it.
Climax
The climax of the story occurs when the Greggs are nearly shot by the ducks.
Foreshadowing
It is foreshadowed that the Greggs will become ducks when the reader learns that Mrs Winter was partially turned into a cat.
Understatement
N/A
Allusions
N/A
Imagery
N/A
Paradox
N/A
Parallelism
There is a parallelism between the Greggs and the ducks, when the Greggs suddenly find themselves under the threat of violence and without a home. It is this parallelism that ultimately teaches them to be more compassionate to the ducks.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
The ducks are personified in the book, as they are able to speak like humans, grow to human height and have human arms.
