The Tiger Essay

Submitted By Sean-Briggs
Words: 908
Pages: 4
Open Document
“The Lady, or the Tiger?” Final

In Frank Stockton's "The Lady, or the Tiger?" a half-barbaric king conceived a way of exercising justice on offenders against his rule. He placed his suspects in an arena and had him choose to open one of either of two doors that would open into the arena. Behind one of the identical doors lurked a ferocious tiger that would leap out and devour the accused. But behind the other door awaited a lovely maid who would, come forth and be married at once. All of this was popular among the audience, and even their thinking members could not deny that it was a fair test. And, unless someone were to find out what laid behind the doors. The public experienced pleasing suspense and an immediate resolution. Best of all, everyone knew that the accused person chose his own ending. Now it happened that a handsome young courtier dared to love the king’s daughter, who was lovely, yet just as barbaric as her father. The man, however, though of the court, was of low station. And his temerity was therefore an offense against decorum and the king. Such a thing had never happened in the kingdom before. So, the king put the courtier in the arena to allow fate to decide his punishment or reward, but the “hot-blooded, semi-barbaric princess” finds out which door has what behind it, and signals to the courtier what door to open. The question Frank Stockton asks the reader is, “Which came out of the opened door, --the lady, or the tiger?” But it, without a doubt, was the tiger.

If, the princess directed her courtier to the lady, she would suffer every time she saw him and the lady together. She would not be able to, with all her fervor, stand watching her courtier with another lady. She would have an active reminder of what she had lost that would torture her constantly. However, if she directed him to the tiger, her pain could end quickly, never having to see him again. Instead of a living reminder of her loss, there would only be a memory that would fade over time. Which would make sense given her nature, and tendency for control. If she allows him to live and be with the lady she will have no control over the courtier’s life. But, if she allows him to be eaten by the tiger, she will have had control over him up until his last breath.

Secondly, it is constantly mentioned that the princess is “passionate” and “semi-barbaric” like her father. If she is partially barbaric, watching the death of her lover would not faze her as it might faze others, for she has already been habituated to blood and gore. In addition, if she were like her father in the way of wanting to be fair and just, it would make it more likely that she would pick the tiger; after all, her lover is guilty of the crime described. To elaborate on this point, consider this: If the princess truly loved the man convicted, why did she have such a difficult dilemma over the lady and the tiger? If her love was true, it should have trumped all else. The moral dilemma shows that her love was not as strong as we could imagine. Therefore, she would be more likely to choose the tiger to support the moral beliefs she shares with her father.

Finally, even Stockton makes his own hints
Show More

Related Documents: The Tiger Essay

Tiger Woods Sacrifice

In the articles, "The Secret Life of Tiger Woods" by Write Thompson and "Are parents ruining youth sports? Fewer kids play amid pressure" by Michael S. Rosenwald, describe a famous golfer's life other than doing golf, and how fewer kids are playing sports because of pressure. However, is it really worth the sacrifices one gives to become that 'elite' athlete? I do not think so. I do not believe that becoming an elite athlete is worth all of the sacrifices one gives to become it, because there is…

Words 1054 - Pages 5

Essay on Tiger Mom

Tiger Moms 1. Should the America fear of “losing ground to China and other rising powers” and of inadequately preparing their children to “survive in the global economy”? American parents are not teaching their children to do something for their country and for their own in global economy prospective. In America most of their children are involved in playing video games , internet ,social networking , etc. wherein developing countries these things are used in a productive manner which enhances…

Words 452 - Pages 2

Tiger Essays

to the tiger or to the lady. The lover’s destiny was in the princess’s hands since she knew what was behind the doors. If the princess sent to the tiger, he would die and if she sent him to the lady, the lover would marry her. It was a tough decision because she hated the lady, she wanted to have a semi barbaric futurity with the lover but at the same time, she doesn’t want to see the horror of the tiger death and she wants to legitimize their love. The princess sent the lover to the tiger because…

Words 691 - Pages 3

Tiger Lily Quotes

person of that group inparticular? This is the journey of a young girl called Tiger Lily, in the book Tiger Lily. This story takes place on Neverland, a place you may recognize from the story of Peter Pan. the entire book is narrated by a very special faerie called Tinkerbell(Tink). This is before Wendy came to Neverland and who the lost boys are, as well as where the lost boys, mermaids, faeries and the pirates came from. Tiger Lily was a baby girl that had been found on the island by a tribe called…

Words 698 - Pages 3

Tiger Woods Essay

Deontology, Should Tiger Woods have his contracts reinstated by the companies that dropped him? I will be discussing both of these theories and the positive and negative side of each. I will also tell you my thoughts and how I would answer this question. The Tiger Woods scandal brings up many questions concerning today’s society and the ethical and moral obligations that celebrities have when companies invest in you in exchange for your endorsement of their products. Although, Tiger Woods may be a…

Words 817 - Pages 4

The Lady Or The Tiger Essay

“The Lady or the Tiger?” is a short story by Roger Stockton, is about a servant who has secret relations with the king’s daughter, and then gets put in jail. The king had made it so trials were held in the arena, where the accused chose between two doors, one with a ferocious tiger and one with a beautiful woman to marry. The servant goes to trial where the daughter, who secretly knows what is behind which doors tells him to choose the door on the right. Although the story does not say, I believe…

Words 395 - Pages 2

The Lady Or The Tiger Quotes

units everyone together to pursuit everyone’s ambition for greatness. In the fiction story “The Lady or the Tiger?” Frank R. Stockton, he introduced a princess that acquires the information on her lover’s fate due to her father, The King finding out their secret love affair. The princess gathered information on the two doors which one obtained the fair maiden and the one with the hungry tiger. The decisions she had to decide from would be more crucial, would she let her lover marry another woman or…

Words 584 - Pages 3

The Lady Or The Tiger Character Analysis

emotional plot twists, or even an appropriate use of humor. The text, "The Lady or the Tiger", by Frank R. Stockton, would be an example of a quality story. In "The Lady or the Tiger”, a barbaric king enforces harsh rules over his kingdom and anyone who disobeys these rules is sent to a coliseum. When inside the coliseum, the accused has to pick a door, behind one door is a fair maiden and behind the other is a fierce tiger. One day, the king was made aware that his exquisite daughter had a lover. Consequently…

Words 1099 - Pages 5

Snow Tigers Research Paper

Tigers are uncommon in the fossil record. The distinct fossils of tigers were discovered in Pleistocene deposits – mostly in Asia. However, tiger fossils 100,000 years old have been discovered in Alaska. White Bengal tigers (also commonly known as 'Snow Tigers') have light cream colored coat and inherits light brown/ grey stripes. They can grow from 8 to 10 ft, weigh 350-570 lbs, and hunt at night. White Bengal tigers are known to occur in tropical lowland evergreen forest, monsoonal forest, dry…

Words 365 - Pages 2

Tiger Woods Research Paper

greatest of all time in golf, if not meet Tiger Woods? Did you know that Tiger Woods won his first Masters at only 20 years old and he still had more to come with his golf career? Many people are amazed at what such a young boy can do at a high level. Tiger Woods has changed the sport of golf, He deserves his influence for opening everyone's eyes to the sport of golf. Here is his path to becoming the greatest golfer of all time. At 20 years of age, Tiger Woods won the Masters, the hardest tournament…

Words 788 - Pages 4