Excerpt From 'Moon Tiger' By Penelope Lively

In the excerpt from the novel Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively, the speaker dramatizes three perspectives. A brother and a sister fight over a location to find the best fossils as their mother watches nearby. Commotion causes the sister, Claudia to fall down the cliff. The scene is viewed from three different perspectives. The author portrays complex relationships between brother and sister and mother and children using literary devices. The scene is first told from Claudia’s point of view. She has approached her brother, Gordon, and he accuses her of “taking his bit.” She pushes higher past him on the cliff because “it’s much better further up.” On the way up his leg gets in her way and the “not so solid [world] shifts under her clutching hands” as she falls into a thorn bush. The world falling away can also symbolize their relationship as being on the edge or fragile. The author’s tone and diction portrays the competition of the siblings and their drive in any way possible. …show more content…
As he pushes up the cliff, “he can feel her getting closer” and knows he has to fight back. The argument leads into a terrible thump. She was gone. Back at the top of the cliff Gordon stares “in horror and satisfaction.” The author’s imagery and insight allows the reader to know the expressions and feelings the brother has towards the fall. This lets the reader see the victorious feeling Gordon has. Gordon’s mixed feelings when Claudia falls adds to the complex relationship. The sibling rivalry overtakes safety. He is scared and ecstatic. The mixed emotions shows the layers of the relationship and within the layers, the complex