The Child By Tiger Analysis

In “The Child by Tiger” by Thomas Wolfe, an African American man named Dick Prosser is subjugated to the harshness of society that makes him embark on a killing spree though town until his surrender which ends in his untimely death. In his surrender, Dick makes himself an example to all blacks if they were to get the same idea that he did. Even though Dick surrendered, he still was brutally shot multiple times by the mob and was then lynched in a tree and shot again. There are several events that caused Dick to do these things, events that released the “tiger” in him. The first event that had an effect on Dick was the car crash while he was escorting Mr. Shepperton. Lon Everrett collided with Dick on the road but preceded to blame Dick for the crash. Everrett attacked Dick and beat him into a pulp while Dick didn’t defend himself. The narrator described Dick during the fight, “Blood trickled from the flat black nostrils and from the thick-livered colored lips. Dick did not move. But suddenly the whites of his eyes were shot with red…” (727). This was Dick suppressing …show more content…
It doesn’t say for sure in the story if Pansy and Dick were involved with each other, but it would make perfect sense to why Dick was over at her house later on in the story before he killed people. It states in the story that Pansy was gloomy and solemn when she was working, like she was going to a funeral. It’s possible that Pansy was afraid of Dick while she was there and he was the reason why she left. “In response to all entreaties, all efforts to find the reason for her sudden and unreasonable decision, she had no answer except a sullen repetition of the assertion that she had to leave,” (728). Of course Pansy wouldn’t tell anyone about Dick and what he really was like because no one would believe her and she could’ve gotten in trouble if Dick found out. Either way, Dick was hurt by Pansy