The Birds by Daphne du Maurier (Book Analysis): Detailed Summary, Analysis and Reading Guide

By Bright Summaries

Unlock the more straightforward side of “The Birds” with this concise and insightful summary and analysis!

This engaging summary presents an analysis of “The Birds” by Daphne du Maurier, which centres on Nat Hocken, a farmhand and ex-soldier whose life is turned upside-down one night when a flock of birds begins attacking his family’s house. Although no one else seems to pay his warnings any heed, it soon becomes clear that this is no imagined threat: the birds’ sudden aggression is not an isolated incident, and attacks begin to occur around the country, with no apparent motivation other than an echo of the turning of the tides. The tension continues to grow throughout the story, as Nat does his best to gather supplies and protect his family, even as his hopes of survival begin to dwindle… “The Birds” is one of Daphne du Maurier’s best-known short stories, and is regarded as a cult classic of the horror genre.

Find out everything you need to know about “The Birds” in a fraction of the time!

This in-depth and informative reading guide brings you:

• A complete plot summary
• Character studies
• Key themes and symbols
• Questions for further reflection

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• Language: English
• Publisher: BrightSummaries.com
• Release date: Mar 28, 2019
• ISBN: 9782808015776

Book preview

ENGLISH PLAYWRIGHT, NOVELIST AND SHORT STORY AUTHOR

Born in London in 1907.

Died in Fowey in 1989.

Notable works:

Rebecca (1938), novel

The Apple Tree (1952), short story collection

The Scapegoat (1957), novel

Daphne du Maurier was a widely popular author and playwright in her time, with several of her novels and short story collections selling in the millions – as well as seeing numerous film adaptations – and her plays running hundreds of performances. While popular, however, critics saw du Maurier as unimportant to literary canon: dismissed with a sneer, as she herself said, as a bestseller (p. xv), though posthumously she has been granted far more respect. Her novels often focused on romance, which is perhaps the reason for this disregard, but her short stories typically invoked far darker moods and themes, dipping into the gothic as well as supernatural and horror genres.

RURAL HORROR STORY

Genre: short story, horror

Reference edition: Du Maurier, D. (2007) The Birds. In: ‘Don’t Look