Elements in The Child by Tiger
"The Child by Tiger" is not only a wonderful short story but an excellent learning tool as well. Much can be learned from the way the author writes the story. Thomas Wolfe uses characters, setting, and imagery to establish a theme of violence and savagery of the human soul. Characters of young boys and older men, whites and blacks, are used in a unique and realistic way to convey Wolfe's message about life. The young white boys learned in one night the harsh reality of evil. The boys go to sleep one night in houses "warm with crackling fires and shaded light" only to awake during the night as adults to a world of lawless savagery (Wolfe, 702). Black people are also used in "The Child by Tiger" to show violen
This red-on-white color imagery really ties everything together; it foreshadows Dick's eventual violence. Thomas Wolfe uses setting to establish theme as well. Wolfe's points are accentuated in the easy to understand way he writes his story; it is easy to understand the tone and theme. Because of this separation and time frame, the theme of violence and savagery of the human soul is strongly outlined. Finally, imagery shows that the innocence of childhood is gone forever for the boys when Dick's spotless old basement room is locked up forever. The author conveys a message to readers about human feelings and emotions. Imagery is the most significant reflection of theme. In addition, the title in itself, "The Child by Tiger," represents Dick as an innocent child with a tiger's violence in him. "The Child by Tiger" was written around 1937. The first sentence of the story sets it back about 25 years before this date. Then Dick's first murder falls into the imagery category when the man he shoots falls face first into the snow and "a huge dark stain of blood-soaked snow widened out around him" (Wolfe, 702). Also, the story takes place in a town separated into housing for whites and a little community for blacks to live in. On a few occasions when Dick is abused or threatened he remains passive but "the whites of his eyes" are "shot with red" (Wolfe, 699). "The red-on-white color imagery which pervades Macbeth is also highly significant in Wolfe's story" (Wilhelm, 179).
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Acceptance Essays
