Symbolism In Sharon Draper's 'Tears Of A Tiger'

Tears of a tiger is a novel about a boy named Andy. Andy had a really terrible drinking and driving accident with his friends. One of his friends, Robbie, died and Andy feels completely guilty for his death. Throughout the book he showed signs of depression and his problems kept progressing socially, emotionally, and performance-wise. Depression, a frighteningly common disorder. “Depression has symptoms such as talk of death, rapid mood swings, expression of guilt, troubles of finishing projects, too little sleep and complaints of headaches, and trouble keeping friends” ( Teen Health Wellness p. 4-5). These symptoms were all present in the novel to the main character. For example, after the car crash that Andy’s best friend Robbie died in, his talk with the psychiatrist was “ ( Andy) Well if you say so. But I really am okay now. I have headaches sometimes, and I can’t sleep some nights, but I feel a whole lot better than I did right after the accident. How did you feel then? (Psychiatrist) Like a piece of crap. (Andy) Why? (Psychiatrist) ‘Cause it was my fault that Rob died. I was drinkin’. I was drivin’ (Andy)” (Draper p.43) This quote just presented expression of guilt, too little sleep and complaints of headaches. Another example is when Andy and Keisha (Andy’s girlfriend) started to slowly depart from each other when Andy had these rapid mood swings on Keisha and got so unacceptable for Keisha that she ended their relationship. That displayed Andy not

“Fine then! But I am better than you in EVERY WAY!” You shout at your former friend, the anger welling up inside of you. “ Don’t even try to act like you could ever be better than me. You never could. So you can stop trying.” As soon as you spit those words out, you finally realize what you’re getting into. “You ARROGANT beast!” Your opponent shouts at you, not hesitantly at all, like the insult was a bitter taste he had to get out of his mouth. Before you know it, your actions are fueled by the burning passion of rage. About five minutes later, you are still punching the air as you are pulled of him, still trying to swing at his head, trying to hit him just once, or maybe even as many times as he hit you. You think about the fight. You don’t want to admit it, but you WERE an arrogant beast, like he said. And look where it got you. Bruised, bloody, and beaten up. Arrogance can lead to violence, and the story, “The Fight”, by Adam Bagdasarian, can very clearly reflect this theme. In the beginning of the story, Adam was cocky and arrogant. All he thought about was how great and tough he was. In the middle of the story, another middle schooler, Mike, challenged him to a fight, and Adam was petrified. At the end of the story, Adam lost the fight and was not as cocky and pride-filled.

What defines a “good” or “bad” person? The answer is complicated because we all have different perspectives on what we believe to be right and wrong. We as individuals have our own set of ethics by which we try to use when making decisions. However, when a person encounters a difficult dilemma, that choice can impact and even alter a person’s life. “Good People” by David Foster Wallace is an informative and insightful story of a young, unwed, Christian couple that are facing the conflicts of an unplanned pregnancy. Although outwardly this story seems to focus on “to abort” or “not to abort,” the underlying theme focuses on the internal conflicts the young man faces when weighing out the consequences of a decision. David Foster Wallace uses symbolism and an omniscient third person point of view in “Good People” to illustrate the internal battle one faces when dealing with the moral and religious dilemmas such as an unplanned pregnancy.

Symbolism is a powerful tool used by people every day to force people to look past the obvious and find the deeper meaning. Symbolism is used by authors, musicians, priests, and many others. James Joyce, a well-known Irish author, uses symbolism repeatedly throughout his collection of short stories published in 1916. In these stories, titled Dubliners, Joyce uses symbolism not only to enhance the stories, but to also show the hidden, underlying message of each story without coming out and saying it directly. Joyce’s stories are centered on the problems of Dublin and through his use of symbolism Joyce is able to focus attention on what problem each story is addressing. James

Literature is the window to realizing the negatives of society and how destructive certain norms can be. Readers are brought into a completely different story than their own, but by using similar issues in today’s world, the readers can actually learn from the story and its overall message. All writers write for a purpose, whether it’s for a new meaning to life, to live a different life than our own, or to impact others on an emotional level by teaching them to see the importance of the little things. As a reader, you search for pieces of literature that interest you whether you find the story like your own, or wish you lived the life in the story. By using issues in today’s within their works, authors are able to grab the reader's attention long enough for them to get across what they wanted to get across. Often in many works of literature, writers use societal issues as their basis for the work’s themes and symbols. By doing so, this allows the reader to question the morality behind social norms and how impactful certain ideals can be in people’s lives.

There are some images and events that stick with a person forever and can change their entire outlook on life. Sometimes these events are experienced indirectly, through the media, but that does not mean that it impacts the person any less. Audre Lorde is one of those people who is indirectly affected by a tragedy that she witnesses through the eyes of the media and her society. For Audre Lorde, the brutal murder of a young African American boy sticks with her and inspires her to write an emotional poem entitled “Afterimages.” The image of the boy, Emmett till, is forever engraved in Audre Lorde’s brain (Lorde 48). Her poem clearly expresses how distraught she is, not only with what happens to Emmett Till, but also with the views of society as a whole. The theme for Audre Lorde’s “Afterimages” is traumatic events can reflect the attitudes of members of a society and can also significantly impact the lives of young people.

In the novel tears of a tiger author Sharon Drapper develops the theme bad support system by showing the adults in the protagonist Andy’s life and how they should have helped him but failed to do so. The author also tries to inform the reader and make them think about who their support system is and how they help them and also for the readers to compare the support systems in the book with the support system in their life. Draper develops the book by using the theme bad support system by showing that Andy’s psychiatrist and coach are not good enough to figure out and is hiding under the smile that he shows them and how they were falling for it very easily. As the author stated on page 114 “[Andy] no real problem.

Tears of a tiger is a young adult novel about the struggles of not only being a BLACK teen in a world where WHITE is acceptable, but also the struggles of “teenagehood” and feeling like no one truly understands. The protagonist Andrew (Andy) Jackson goes through a devastating lost at the age of 17, and constantly blames himself. I wish he could have truly found someone to talk/ work through his issues with. He reminds me of myself in a way. I have always grown up in a predominantly white area, and as a young kid it never affected me, or so I thought. I never realized how important it was to have people to relate to that look like you. Going from North Carolina, to Lorain, Ohio, to Cleveland, Ohio, to finally Brunswick, Ohio all in the span of about 7 years, I now struggle with my inner feelings about my skin color and culture.

Symbolism is evident in many fictional and nonfictional works. However, it is rare for symbolism to have religious aspects. Flannery O’Connor is one author who is noteworthy for creating religious symbolism. O’Connor runs the gamut using crooked crosses, portraying a Mr. Shiftlet, and a purgatory, portraying a waiting room. In the story, “The Revelation”, Flannery O’Connor used religious symbolism through a waiting room, the character of Mary Grace, and the sun.

Andy’s guilt is evident through his actions in the novel of Tears of a Tiger. Characterization plays an important role in the reader’s understanding of character development. Readers of Tears of a Tiger and Deep and Dark and Dangerous find Sissy and Andy to both be lonely. For example in Deep and Dark and Dangerous Sissy states, “Now you feel sorry for me. You don’t really like me.

However, this anger presented in the novel is not a negative one. The characters are about to burst out of it and as result they will seek improving their conditions and fighting against this inhumane treatment. Many people agree on the fact that the novel is greatly about anger. For instance, Malcolm Cowely believes that the novel is one among the “great angry books that have the power to spur readers on to protest and action.” ( Cowely, American Tragedy p.382-383)

As a result, Winnie isn't treated the same as males, demonstrating her struggle of being a female. Using Jesus as a reference, she states that society appeals more to men: “When Jesus was born, he was already the song of God (322).” While Winnie states this, she mentions her inauspicious early life and how it contradicts with the advantageous male figure. “I was the daughter of someone who ran away, a big disgrace (322).” These statements show a dichotomy between the two genders as a figurative line divides them like Trump’s dream border. It represents the border that women cannot cross due to society’s norms or else they will be persecuted for not abiding by the status quo. In Winnie’s society, women are held as frail, household figures, not recognized as an empowering group. Even if women pursue this liberation, people begin to forget what they have accomplished. Thus, Tan’s message to readers to how immediate change —when rushing or skipping an imperative step— is inefficient. To provide change for women, Tan encourages readers to complete the first step: revamp their own stereotypes of women before changing society’s. By doing so, they become empowered, inspiring other women and impacting their beliefs on gender roles. This is Tan’s lesson all constructed under one found

In the novel The Red Badge of Courage, by Stephan Crane, the author uses symbolism to illustrate the main character’s actions and the setting’s scenery. Henry Fleming, the protagonist of the novel, cannot decide whether he can be a hero or if he will fall as a coward. The symbolism used in The Red Badge of Courage represents Henry’s decision to fight proudly and how common items mean more than what meets the eye.

Growing up in such a judgemental world, we all get judged on the things we do, the clothes we wear, the way we look and the place we originate from. These aspects all blend into one major theme of societal pressure and create many difficulties for some teenagers growing up in this society. The texts, Try by Colbie Caillat, Thrift Shop by Macklemore, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini and Dead Poet’s Society by Peter Weir, all incorporate different ways to express or overcome societal pressure, foreshadowing some sort of advice to the viewer or listener. This allows them to think about their actions and construct a unique world that is suitable for their own culture or living habits.

1. Blue Velvet is a crime movie. Firstly, in the movie, we do not see the extended family which also consists of the children. The opening shot starts on a blue sky and then tilts down to red roses over the picket fence. The next shot is of the firetruck slowly going with a fireman smiling.