Semi-Barbaric Rivalry

All of Stockton’s themes were expertly illustrated through his writing style and his writing style communicated his ideas clearly. Coinciding with the theme of choices and consequences, the lady behind the door symbolizes innocence and happiness, as if they accused selects this door, they will be granted immediate innocence and marriage. If the door with the tiger is selected, the suspect will be devoured as he is considered guilty in this justice system, thus, the tiger symbolizes guilt and angriness. Most importantly, the arena is symbolic of life and the critical choices made during life. In the short story, the author makes the audience ponder who makes or influences our choices, as the young man relied on the princess to make the decision

This time the subject that was being accused was his lover. The young boy had two doors to choose from, behind one awaited a young beautiful maiden that he would be set to marry if that were to be his fate, however behind another door was a hungry tiger that he would suffer at the claws of if he were to pick it. The king had arranged this entire sick and twisted affair, a quote from the short story states that “It mattered not that he already possesses a wife and family, or that his affections might be engaged upon another object of his own selection; the king allowed no such subordinate arrangements to interfere with his great scheme of retribution and reward”. The princess knew this which in turn unsettled her for she loved him with an ardor that had enough barbarism to make to extremely warm and strong. The fact that her personality was depicted as being semi barbaric and that her love for him had barbarism in it is a hint that the princess would subject her lover to death than see him with another woman.

All in all, the tiger will emerge from the door on the right because like most women, this princess will do almost anything for her own happiness and to keep the one she loves. That is why she chooses death of her lover, the accused man, over giving the man a life happy with a lovely damsel. She assumes that if he shall die of being eaten, they will meet once again happy in love. He will love her and only her, and not be married or be in love with another woman. The princess’s mission is accomplished.

In addition to her barbaric nature, the princess hated the lady behind the door. The lady dared to look at the man that faniced the princess. She is extremely jealous of the lady. In paragraph fourteen the princess says, "It was one of the fairest and loveliest of the damsels of the court who had been selected as the reward of the accused youth." The princess wanted the man all to herself. She stated that she seen no problem with him opening the door to the tiger and wait for her in

‘The Lady or the Tiger?’ The choice had to be made because one so innocent was guilty of falling in love with a princess, causing the princess to fall for him too. This union of a worthless commoner and a semi- barbaric princess was unacceptable for the princess’s even more barbaric father, the king, as ‘never before had a subject dared to love the daughter of a king’. (pg. 34) The decision was made and the date was set, the youthful soul was sent into the arena and fate decided the rest. If he had died or if he had lived, he was lost to the princess forever. The princess chose to kill her lover and save herself the misery of having to see him share a life with another. That day in the arena, the guilty opened the tiger’s door.

At the end of the story, “The Lady or the Tiger,” the man had a choice to pick which door. The main question is which door did he pick? The one with the tiger that would lead to certain death or the door that had the lady behind it in which he would have gotten married to. I believe the princess lead him to opened the one with the tiger. Even though she would have had to watch her lover die a painful death I don’t think she could have bared to watch him be with another. One other reason it leads me to believe she picked that one is because she was semi-barbaric, like her father. It even said in the story that she enjoyed watching them as much as he did. The princess knew the game and knew that if she picked the one with the lady behind it they would be happily married.

The criminal, the princess’ ex-lover, saw a guard come close to his cell, and unlock it, the key clicked in place. Rough hands grabbed him, it was time for the final judgement, the arena; would he live, or die? As he stumbled out onto the sandy stadium, the crowd cheered, but he only looked up, to the princess. Ultimately, the real loss was of the princess, who had either a dead soul mate, or one with another woman. In “The Lady, Or the Tiger?”, Stockton’s choice of point of view brings to mind the telling of an ancient tale rather than a formal narrative, encourages the reader to keep thinking even after the original narration has ended, as does his choice in framing the exposition and the plot structure.

“The Lady, or The Tiger” by Mr. Frank R. Stockton has compelled readers for as long as time. This story ends with all wondering, so which is it, the delicate and fair young lady or the savage, fierce, wild-eyed tiger standing behind the door. This makes us ponder whether human heart chooses love or jealously. Within this essay, there will be proof that it is the stunning young woman behind the door. Although there is evidence proving that it is the tiger, in a sense there is more evidence stating that the elegant and barbaric princess allowed her real lover to continue living. To begin let us start with the small dwindling points that the tiger, lye behind the door.

…Without the slightest hesitation, he went to the door on the right, and opened it. Before the gate had even reached a foot off the ground the young lover, heartbroken, watched four frantic feet pacing back and forth and heard a deep, rhythmic panting. His mind frenziedly raced with dozens of thoughts: How could you do this to me? My dear lover, do you care but only for yourself? Someone must have forced her to tell me to choose the right door! What sort of fool am I to fall in love with the fairest lady in the kingdom?! What am I to do now? Run… The tiger steadily stepped out of his dark cage, allowing the afternoon sun to warm his striped fur. He gazed first at the masses seated breathlessly around the stadium

I believe the princess pointed her man in the direction of the tiger because she was jealous and would rather have him killed then see him love another women. “But how much oftener had she seen him at the other door I don't think she could see him with another women when he's the love of her life, I think when you love someone you couldn't see yours self with someone else you wanna be with that person that you love the most.

One of the main characters in “The Lady or The Tiger” by Frank Stockhorn, was the semi-barbaric princess. From beginning, the unnamed princess had ambiguity written all over her, and it was generously displayed near the end of the story. The end started with the young man asking the princess in a secretive manner about who was behind each door, either the lady who he would get married too, or the tiger, by which who would eat him, including which door he should choose. The princess points to the right and the prince believes his lover without hesitation. He opens the right and the story is cut off there , leaving the reader with the question, who was behind the door? At that moment, we learn about the princess’s dilemma ; “She had lost him,

The tiger emerges from the door at the end of “The Lady, or the Tiger” by Frank R. Stockton. One reason that the tiger emerges from the door is because the princess hated the lady behind the other door didn't want her lover to be with that other woman. For example, when the princess thought of how she’ll lose her lover in both ways, she thought “ would it not be better for him to die at once, and go to wait for her in the blessed regions of semibarbaric futurity”(304)? This quote showed that the princess didn't want to lose her lover to another lady that she hated so much, so the princess would rather have her lover die from the tiger and wait for her in heaven then have him fall into the hands of another lady. Another reason it is the tiger

In Addition, to the claim that the princess chose the tiger’s door is supported by the fact that she hated the young damsel because she knew that she had admiration toward her lover. Stockton say to the readers, “The girl was lovely, but she had dared to raise her eyes to the loved one of the princess: and, with all the intensity of the savage blood transmitted to her through long lines of wholly barbaric ancestors, she hated the woman who blushed and trembled behind the silent door”(3). The princess knew the young damsel, she was young and beautiful as well as the young man. She hated the fact that the damsel dared to show her admiration towards her lover. The princess wanted the young man to be with her and nobody else. She hated the woman and would not give her the benefit of getting married with her lover.

The author of “The Lady or the Tiger?” mentions that, “No matter how the affair turned out, the youth would be disposed of,” which means that justice would not be served, and the youth would not be with his lover anymore. The youth and the princess had been lovers until the king learned of their love affair, and wished to punish the youth. The young man was put to a trial by tiger, a trial of the king’s own creation. The lover can not be with the princess either way the trial turns out. One way is that he is devoured by the tiger and does not live to be with her. The other way is that he gets married to the maiden behind the other door and can not be with the princess. Justice is not served because loving a person should not be a crime, and

The way I see things is that the Semi-Barbaric Princess led her lover to the door where the tiger is behind. The story quotes “She loved him with an ardor that had enough of barbarism in it to make it exceedingly warm and strong” but the story also quotes “This love affair moved on happily for many months.” owing to the fact that the relationship has only been going on for a few months I don’t think that the princess would do anything for her lover, especially if that means giving him up so that he can live happily with someone she deceives. The princess knew which door was which and she was jealous of the lady behind one of the doors. The story says this about the lady “It was one of the fairest and loveliest of the damsels of the court who had been selected as the reward of the accused youth… And the princess hated her.” The princess disliked the girl behind the door, so if she led her lover to her and watched them get married, it would hurt her. The story also quotes, “Often had she seen, or imagined that she had seen, this fair creature throwing glances of admiration upon the person of her lover, and sometimes she thought these glances were perceived, and even returned. Now she had seen them talking together.” This quote shows that the princess was a little jealous of the lady because she believes that her lover and the lady had been exchanging glances back and