Instead, the cicada molts out of his nymph-style body and flies off into the sunset with other cicadas to enjoy the rest of his days.ĥ. With no money, no home, and no work to do, the cicada heads to the roof of the office building in what the reader is meant to think might be an attempt at suicide. After the 17 years, the cicada “retires” and is told to clean out his desk. The cicada works for 17 years under these conditions, which is interesting because 17 years is the amount of time some species of cicada will spend underground in its nymph stage as it feeds on the sap from tree roots. He is even forced to walk 12 blocks to use the restroom because the company does not allow him to use the one at the office, and the company docks his pay for the time spent traveling to the restroom and back. Not only is the cicada never thanked for his hard work, but he is also shunned and abused by his fellow office workers. The cicada works harder than the other humans, works longer than the other humans, and never makes mistakes. Plot: In this relatively short picture book, the cicada describes his life working in an office in which he is the only cicada-all others are human. Other minor characters include the cicada’s colleagues who beat him up for being different, the company’s HR representative who tells the cicada that human resources are for humans, not for cicadas, and the cicada’s boss, who simply tells the cicada to pack up his desk when the cicada retires.Ĥ. Although it is a short book, the cicada does change in the end via a metamorphosis that is both metaphorical and literal. The cicada is a very lonely and sad character who is totally ostracized by the humans in his office and in society in general. He simply refers to himself in third person as “cicada” throughout the book. The cicada wears a business suit, fitted with an extra pair of sleeves for his second set of “arms”, and works in an office full of humans that bully him. Characters: This book basically only has one character, an anthropomorphized cicada. Title: Cicadaby Shaun Tan, ISBN 978-9-0, Arthur A.

Cicada shaun tan book