Conflict in "The Child by Tiger"
Conflict in "The Child By Tiger"
"The Child by Tiger" is narrated by a man who is remembering an event from his childhood. The story centers on Dick Prosser, who is a black hired hand for Mr. Shepperton. Dick is involved in several levels of conflict throughout the story.* These include intrapersonal conflicts, a conflict with society, and conflict with his environment. The first conflict is very important in the scheme of the story, because it provides the necessary conditions for this kind of an event to take place.
This is Dick's conflict with his environment. Although he is a free man, and seems to be very tolerant, Dick lives in a time and place where most people are less than friendly to black men, and do not see him as an equal. This becomes evident when the auto collision occurs, and the drunk man proceeds to assault
Dick without cause, and without fear of retaliation. This is because he knows that a black man is powerless in the society of the time. Society brings us to the second conflict, which is Prosser's conflict with society. One night, without warning, he begins a killing spree which spans the better part of a day, and spawns a fatal manhunt. His conflict with the society in general is characterized by his indiscriminate choice of victims.
These victims range from a police officer to an innocent black man looking out his window, to several citizens who try to put an end to his madness. This conflict is stopped when the mob catches up to him, and he surrenders in soldier-like fashion. The hint of the conflict lingers, however, when the mob leader brags about killing "a big one." The third and most interesting and complex type of conflict in this story is the intrapersonal conflict within Dick. He shows two very distinct sides which seem to intertwine at times. In the early going, he is portrayed as friendly and polite. He is depicted playing with the children and listening to the church services, singing songs. His Bible is always on the
"The Child by Tiger" is narrated by a man who is remembering an event from his childhood. The story centers on Dick Prosser, who is a black hired hand for Mr. Shepperton. Dick is involved in several levels of conflict throughout the story.* These include intrapersonal conflicts, a conflict with society, and conflict with his environment. The first conflict is very important in the scheme of the story, because it provides the necessary conditions for this kind of an event to take place.
This is Dick's conflict with his environment. Although he is a free man, and seems to be very tolerant, Dick lives in a time and place where most people are less than friendly to black men, and do not see him as an equal. This becomes evident when the auto collision occurs, and the drunk man proceeds to assault
Dick without cause, and without fear of retaliation. This is because he knows that a black man is powerless in the society of the time. Society brings us to the second conflict, which is Prosser's conflict with society. One night, without warning, he begins a killing spree which spans the better part of a day, and spawns a fatal manhunt. His conflict with the society in general is characterized by his indiscriminate choice of victims.
These victims range from a police officer to an innocent black man looking out his window, to several citizens who try to put an end to his madness. This conflict is stopped when the mob catches up to him, and he surrenders in soldier-like fashion. The hint of the conflict lingers, however, when the mob leader brags about killing "a big one." The third and most interesting and complex type of conflict in this story is the intrapersonal conflict within Dick. He shows two very distinct sides which seem to intertwine at times. In the early going, he is portrayed as friendly and polite. He is depicted playing with the children and listening to the church services, singing songs. His Bible is always on the