The Bad Beginning Analysis

The Bad Beginning takes place entirely in an unnamed city that Lemony Snicket describes as "a dirty and busy" (1.2) place. Sounds cheery. The Baudelaire mansion is in the heart of the city (where i...

The narrator of our story is the author—Lemony Snicket. He tells us that it is his "sad duty to write down these unpleasant tales" and we have to feel pretty sorry for him. Though it's unclear at...

Since gothic lit features events that evoke feelings of dread, we'd say this story fits the bill pretty perfectly. However, it would probably be more accurate to say that the books in this series o...

The entire style of this story is designed to make you both weep uncontrollably and laugh hysterically. Just look at how Lemony Snicket describes the Baudelaire children after their parents' death:...

The title of this book and the entire series it's in pretty much explain themselves: The Bad Beginning details the start of all the troubles for the Baudelaire children, and A Series of Unfortunate...

We know from the first page of this story that things are not going to turn out well for the Baudelaires. Even so, though, the author gives a chance to bail out on the super sad ending right before...

The Bad Beginning is written for kids as young as eight years old, so most folks who make it past the third grade should be able to tackle this hill with no problem. Snicket's style is unique, and...

Daniel Handler came up with his pen name when he was researching his book The Basic Eight. He didn't want to give his real name when requesting materials from random organizations, so he had them m...

In this series of unfortunate events you won't find any mention of sex at all. (Unless you count Count Olaf's smarmy declaration that he and Violet "need to go home for [their] wedding night" (13.1...

Charles Baudelaire (first reference 1.1; throughout)"The Walrus and the Carpenter" by Lewis Carroll (1.2)Edgar Allan Poe (1.12)Edgar Albert Guest (2.3)The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri (11....