Fantastic Mr. Fox

                Fantastic Mr. Fox is a story of a fox, his family, and several other animals that became trapped and nearly starved to death, and would have if it weren’t for the cunning Mr. Fox. The story follows the typical short story timeline: exposition, rising action, conflict, more rising action, climax, falling action, and finally a resolution.

                The exposition introduced the three farmers, Boggis, Bunce, and Bean, as well as Mr. Fox, Mrs. Fox, and their four Small Foxes. Mr. Fox was the hunter of the family, and he would often sneak around at night taking live food from one of the farmers to feed his family. He was a very cunning fox, making it extremely difficult for him to get caught. “But Mr. Fox was too clever for them. He always approached a farm with the wind blowing in his face… the wind would carry the smell of that man to Mr. Fox’s nose from far away.” The farmers realized what was happening and decided to retaliate.

                The conflict occurred when the farmers waited outside of Mr. Fox’s home, all with guns, and all in such a way that they could not be smelled. When Mr. Fox left at night, he was surprised by several gunshots, but he was able to get away with only a mangled tail.

                The rising action continues as the farmers begin to dig Mr. Fox and his family out of their hole. But Mr. Fox is too clever for them and realizes that a fox can dig much faster than a human, so the Fox family begins tunneling through the hill as fast as possible, so as not to get caught by the farmers. They dig all day and night before they realize that they can’t catch Mr. Fox digging manually; they need to use machines to speed up the process. They get some farm equipment the next day and begin digging through the hill at a much faster pace. After several close scrapes, the hill collapses completely with Mr. Fox and his family underneath. The farmers can no longer dig but they don’t give up. They decide the best course of action is to wait until he is starving; he’ll make one last desperate dash in the open for some food.

                Eventually, “Boggis said, ‘What if the fox digs a hole right through the hill and comes out the other side?’” And so the farmers round up all the workers on their individual farms and surround the hill, camping for days and nights to make sure they get Mr. Fox. After several days without food and water, Mr. Fox comes up with a fantastic plan. He decides to tunnel his way to the farms, and successfully does so, first making his way to Boggis’s Chicken House. After which he meets Badger, who proclaims that he and the other animals are also starving. “’I know it’s your fault!’ said Badger furiously. ‘And the farmers are not going to give up until they’ve got you. Unfortunately that means us as well.’”  After seeing the pain he caused the other animals, Mr. Fox promises them a feast.

They make their way to Bunce’s Mighty Storehouse, and finally Bean’s Cider Cellar. The climax occurs when they are hiding in the cellar and Mabel, a large woman who had a strong desire for Mr. Fox’s tail, came to the cellar to grab some cider. With some luck, she did not grab the barrel of cider that Mr. Fox was hiding behind, and they were safe.

The falling action occurs when they make their way back and begin to feast. All the animals cheer for the fantastic Mr. Fox, only after stuffing their faces full of food. The resolution occurs when Mr. Fox realizes that, as underground creatures, they can tunnel their way to food whenever they want. “’And you know what this means?’ said Mr. Fox. ‘It meets that none of us need ever go out into the open again!’”