Sharon Draper's Tears Of A Tiger
Summary
Tears of a Tiger is the first book in Sharon Draper's Hazelwood High trilogy. The novel begins with a brief newspaper article about a fiery automobile accident in which one Hazelwood High student, Robert Washington, was killed. The article also notes that Andrew (Andy) Jackson was injured in the wreck and that he had been drinking and driving. The next chapter consists of a flashback locker-room conversation between Andy Jackson and Robbie Washington from the night of the accident. The boys are excited about the basketball game that they just completed and discuss their plans for after the game. Andy mentions his girlfriend Keisha to Robbie and Gerald, another Hazelwood High student, and then the boys talk about the beer that they have chilling in Andy's trunk. Gerald declines to go with the boys, citing his abusive stepfather's strict rules.
After the crash, the Hazelwood High community struggles to cope with Robbie's seemingly senseless death. Keisha, Andy's girlfriend, calls …show more content…
her friend Rhonda to let her know that Robbie died in the crash. Andy struggles through his statement to police and explains that he and the other boys had been drinking, causing Andy to lose control of his car and crash it. Andy, B.J., and Tyrone were able to get out of the car, but Robbie, who was riding in the front passenger seat, was trapped inside and burned to death. Andy cannot get the image of his dying friend out of his head, and B.J.'s prayer in the next chapter demonstrates that he cannot sleep or find any meaning in the horrific accident.
When Andy returns to school, he talks to his basketball coach and expresses that he is having an extremely difficult time getting past the accident. He feels gnawing guilt over Robbie's death and cannot understand why his sentence was so light. Coach Ripley tries to encourage Andy by telling him that he, the police, and the judge believe that Andy will correct his behavior and that he had already paid the consequences for his actions. Andy tries to accept that, but the only part of his life that seems to go well during this time is basketball.
About a month after the accident, Andy begins seeing a psychologist named Dr. Carrothers. At first, Andy is reluctant to talk openly with Dr. Carrothers, but his curiosity in meeting an African-American psychologist motivates him to ask questions and to form a tentative bond with the counselor. During his first session, Andy tells Dr. Carrothers that he cannot forgive himself for Robbie's death and that he has no connection with his parents. Andy resents his father's constant working and his inability to be at his basketball games and cannot understand his mother's disdain for coming to his games. He confesses to Dr. Carrothers that his parents do not understand him or appreciate any of his interests.
As the school year progresses, Andy's grades continue to slip. Keisha, his girlfriend, tries to encourage him to turn in assignments, but Andy is apathetic. When Dr. Carrothers questions Andy about his poor grades, Andy expresses his belief that his teachers do not expect him to do well as an African-American male, so he simply does not care about completing their assignments.
Christmas is an especially difficult time for Andy, and even though Keisha tries to lift his spirits, small reminders of Robbie and his parents force Andy to recognize once again that he will never spend time again with Robbie. He later writes a letter of apology to Robbie's parents and includes some of the lasting memories of the good times he shared with Robbie. Writing the letter boosts Andy's spirits for a while, but then a class discussion about Macbeth, murder, and suicide upsets him, and he hurriedly leaves the classroom. At lunch, B.J. and Tyrone convince Andy to go see a school counselor, but she only further discourages Andy by telling him that his depression is a good sign—a sign of healing.
As the spring semester progresses, teachers' conversations about Andy and calls to Andy's parents reveal Andy's continuing academic decline and his manic behavior. To hide his depression, Andy acts out in class, pulls pranks, and eventually embarrasses and belittles Keisha, forcing her to break up with him. He tries to convince himself that he does not need anyone and that he will make it on his own, but his failing grades, his dad's failure to understand him, and his inability to forgive himself for Robbie's death lead him to the breaking point.
On April 2, Andy makes his last attempt to get help. He tries calling Dr. Carrothers, who had previously told him that he could call at any time, but Dr. Carrother's answering service informs Andy that the counselor's mother had a heart attack and that he is unavailable to take calls. Andy then calls Keisha's house, even though they are no longer dating, but her mother tells Andy that it is after midnight and that she will not wake up her daughter. The next day, Andy begins walking to school but decides to turn around and go home. Home alone, he sits on his bed with his dad's hunting rifle and ponders what to do. He is afraid of death, but he cannot think of any other way than suicide to end the pain he endures by living. While Andy is at home, his classmates discuss his absence, but it is not until Andy's mother arrives home with his little brother Monty that Andy's lifeless body is found in his room. The novel ends with a series of letters written by Andy's classmates and friends. Most of the letters express anger toward Andy for taking his life. Keisha writes that she understands that Andy was looking for an escape from the pain, and B.J. prays for Andy's soul and tries to express to God why Andy took his life. The final chapter features Monty's conversation with Andy at his grave. Monty tells Andy that their mother and father have separated, that he has trouble sleeping at night, and then promises Andy that he will continue to visit him.
Themes
Depression
Sharon Draper uses Andy Jackson's character to illustrate the progression of depression, especially in a teenager, and to note how seemingly easy it is for those connected to a depressed individual to miss or ignore the signs of deep depression. While Andy's parents recognize early on that Andy needs professional help, they do not follow up with the psychologist or try to talk to Andy themselves. The novel contains just two conversations between Andy and his parents, and the conversations further demonstrate how disconnected the family is. Andy's coach, psychologist, girlfriend, and teachers all note to themselves or to others that Andy is depressed, but no one knows how to help him or takes decisive action to do so. Andy, like many who deal with grief, learns to mask his pain by cracking jokes and pulling pranks. When he finds the courage to reach out to someone for true help, he cannot get in touch with anyone who he believes cares about him. Draper's discussion of Andy's depression urges school officials and family members to be proactive and relentless when it comes to helping someone who is grieving.
Parent-Teen Relationships
As an African-American teen, Andy cannot relate to his parents and believes that they do not care to relate to him. He tells Dr. Carrothers that his mom can barely bring herself to come to his games because she is so involved with her sorority activities, and Andy's conversation with his dad about the origin of his name makes Andy believe that he and his dad will never have the same goals or understand one another. Draper also includes comments about or by Gerald, another Hazelwood teen, which reveal that Gerald is abused by his alcoholic stepdad. For Gerald, school is an escape from his troubled home relationship. Draper's characterization of the relationship between a teen and his or her parents realistically describes normal teen angst coupled with African-American generational conflict.
African-Americans and Education
All of the main characters featured in the novel are African-American, and through Andy's conversations with Dr. Carrothers and by providing examples of students' schoolwork and dialogue, Draper uses Tears of a Tiger to shed light on the unique issues that still affect African-American students. Andy, though he knows that he is gifted in some areas, does not want to appear to be "smart." He tells Dr. Carrothers about a time when he earned an A on a test, and the teacher embarrassed him by publicly expressing her surprise at his high score and then implying that he might have cheated to get the score. Similarly, Andy and some of his friends make fun of another African-American student named Marcus who always completes his homework and who earns high grades. To Andy, it is just not worth it to let anyone know that he is intelligent; he believes that it does not fit the image that he wants to portray. The only teacher who seems genuinely concerned about her students is Andy's English teacher. When her students complain about writing and reading poetry, she encourages them to relate the lyrics of their favorite songs to poetry. Draper, a former English teacher, uses the school setting to touch on the problems she witnessed in the educational system, especially in regard to African-American students, issues such as low expectations, racial stereotypes, and complacency.
Suicide
While the reader most likely would not predict Andy's choice to commit suicide, Draper steadily builds up to Andy's feelings of despair and then focuses the last chapters of the book on the devastating effects of suicide on families and friends who are left behind. She includes a brief police report titled "Facts Without Feelings" that describes the suicide scene at the Jackson home. Later, when the students angrily express to a grief counselor that she did not do enough to prevent Andy's death, the counselor desperately tries to help the students deal with their grief by requesting that they write letters to Andy. Tyrone's letter illustrates his anger toward Andy but primarily shows his regret that Andy will not be with him and his friends for significant future events. Gerald's letter bitterly questions Andy's choice and demonstrates Gerald's struggle to choose life each day even though it means enduring the stench of alcohol and more beatings from his stepdad. Gerald cannot fathom how Andy would not choose life, no matter how painful it might be. Keisha and other students demonstrate some understanding of why Andy made his choice but do not condone it. Rhonda's letter is perhaps the most poignant in expressing how difficult it has been to find meaning in Andy's death. She asks him if he thought about who would find his body, if he realized that his little brother would no longer have him around, or if he considered the unforgettable mess his suicidal choice made. More than any of the other characters, Monty, Andy's little brother, provides insight into suicide's ability to splinter a family. At Andy's grave, Monty describes his parents' separation, his struggle as a six-year-old boy to go on without his older brother's guidance, and his wish that Andy could be with him to experience all the good things in life.
Characters
Andrew Jackson
While the novel is told from a variety of viewpoints, Andy Jackson is its protagonist. A high school senior, Andy is a fun-loving basketball player before an automobile crash causes the death of his best friend. After the accident, the novel follows Andy's struggle with grief, guilt, and fear. Draper uses a stream-of-consciousness narrative in some of the novel's chapters to illustrate Andy's struggles. His inner dialogue demonstrates that he cannot forgive himself for drinking and driving the night of the accident. He tries to figure out if his deceased friend Robbie forgives him or is angry with him, but he cannot find the answer. Throughout the novel, Andy seeks help from various individuals, such as his psychologist and his girlfriend, but no one is able to convince him that he can have a future and that he can forgive himself.
Keisha Montgomery
Keisha is Andy's girlfriend throughout most of the novel. Initially after the crash, she is extremely patient with Andy. She comforts him when he cries and gives him distance when he needs it. However, she soon realizes that she longs for a normal teenage life and that she cannot provide Andy with the hope or answers that he seeks. When Andy belittles her at a talent show that he is hosting, Keisha is devastated and breaks up with him.
Rhonda
While Rhonda does not have a close relationship with Andy, her character provides the reader with important plot details through her conversations with Keisha (her best friend) and her letter to Andy. She is a practical friend to Keisha and tries to listen to others without judging them. She is also thoughtful; on the day of Andy's suicide, Rhonda stopped by his house to drop off some homework that he had missed. She is there when Andy's mother discovers his body and longs for Andy to realize the pain that his death caused everyone who loved him.
B.J. and Tyrone
Both young men rode in the backseat of Andy's car on the night of the accident. While Draper does not develop their characters fully, she does use them as a foil to Andy, showing the marked difference in how some people deal with grief compared to others' reactions. B.J. "turns to religion" after the crash, whereas Tyrone gets back into his school routine and develops a relationship with Rhonda. Though both characters struggle with sleeplessness and nightmares, they are somehow able to cope.
Dr. Carrothers
Andy's parents send him to Dr. Carrothers, a psychologist, to discuss his grief. At first, Andy expresses surprise at meeting an African-American counselor. He soon realizes that Dr. Carrothers is genuinely concerned about him. Dr. Carrothers encourages Andy to discuss not only his feelings about Robbie and the accident but also his struggles with school and family. Through Andy's conversations with Dr. Carrothers, the reader discovers significant details about Andy's self-perception and problems in an overcrowded school system (school counselors have time for scheduling and testing only, and students get lost in crowded classrooms). Dr. Carrothers's character serves as a role model to Andy and a reminder to readers that someone who struggles in school can still do well in life with enough work and determination. Dr. Carrothers is honest about the issues that he faced growing up and reminds Andy that he can confide in him at any time.
Andy's Parents
Most of what the reader knows about Andy's parents is from Andy's point of view. His mom and dad are professionals, and Andy's only fond memories of spending time together as a family are from his childhood. Andy's dad is a businessman and discusses his desire for Andy to follow in his footsteps, but Andy views his dad's profession and attitude as "trying to be like white people" and wants nothing to do with his dad's goals. Similarly, Andy's mom is distant from her son through much of the novel. She carries on a brief conversation with him that seems to be moving toward a connection with her son but then turns the focus of the dialogue to how tired she is. Draper's choice to characterize Andy's parents in such a manner causes the reader to recognize the generation gap that exists between African-Americans who grew up during the Civil Rights Movement and their children.
Monty
Andy's six-year-old brother provides Andy with brief reminders of the innocence of youth. Andy longs to shield his brother from tragic experiences and hopes that his brother will have a better relationship with their parents. Monty provides readers with insight into the tendency of young siblings to idolize their older brothers and sisters. Ironically, even though Andy wishes that Monty will have a much better life than he has had, Andy still makes the choice to kill himself in the house, seemingly neglecting to realize the negative impact that his choice will have on his little brother. Monty's conversation with Andy is the novel's final chapter, and it illustrates Monty's struggle to figure out why his brother is no longer there with him.
Literary Criticism and Significance
Sharon Draper's Tears of a Tiger was first published in 1994 and remains a popular work because of its focus on relevant teen issues—drinking and driving, parent-child conflict, depression, and academic struggles. Listed as one of the top 100 books for young adults for the millennium, the novel also won the prestigious Coretta Scott King Award (1995) and the ALA Best Book Award for Young Adults (1995).
While Draper's realistic characters and gripping plot will certainly appeal to most young-adult readers, her choice to write each chapter in a different style elevates her work beyond that of a typical teen-angst novel.
Draper switches from newspaper excerpts to letters to dialogue to class assignments to phone calls, making it possible to view the aftermath of the tragic crash from a variety of complex perspectives. Thematically, Draper explores and undermines stereotypical views of the African-American teen. One of Andy's teachers has low expectations and cannot believe that Andy could do so well on a test. Even Andy tries to live up to what he thinks an African-American male in high school should be: an athlete who jokes around in class and does not care about his grades. Throughout the novel, Draper provides positive examples of African-Americans who are successful and admirable—Andy's psychologist and many of Andy's friends—to show Andy that he can expect more from
himself.
While Tears of a Tiger is the first book that Draper wrote and published in her Hazelwood High trilogy, it is not the first chronologically. After the success of Tears, Draper went back in time with Forged by Fire, the second novel of her trilogy, to tell Gerald's story. The third novel,Darkness Before Dawn, answers questions that Draper's readers had about the future of B.J., Tyrone, Keisha, and Rhonda.
Tears of a Tiger is the first book in Sharon Draper's Hazelwood High trilogy. The novel begins with a brief newspaper article about a fiery automobile accident in which one Hazelwood High student, Robert Washington, was killed. The article also notes that Andrew (Andy) Jackson was injured in the wreck and that he had been drinking and driving. The next chapter consists of a flashback locker-room conversation between Andy Jackson and Robbie Washington from the night of the accident. The boys are excited about the basketball game that they just completed and discuss their plans for after the game. Andy mentions his girlfriend Keisha to Robbie and Gerald, another Hazelwood High student, and then the boys talk about the beer that they have chilling in Andy's trunk. Gerald declines to go with the boys, citing his abusive stepfather's strict rules.
After the crash, the Hazelwood High community struggles to cope with Robbie's seemingly senseless death. Keisha, Andy's girlfriend, calls …show more content…
her friend Rhonda to let her know that Robbie died in the crash. Andy struggles through his statement to police and explains that he and the other boys had been drinking, causing Andy to lose control of his car and crash it. Andy, B.J., and Tyrone were able to get out of the car, but Robbie, who was riding in the front passenger seat, was trapped inside and burned to death. Andy cannot get the image of his dying friend out of his head, and B.J.'s prayer in the next chapter demonstrates that he cannot sleep or find any meaning in the horrific accident.
When Andy returns to school, he talks to his basketball coach and expresses that he is having an extremely difficult time getting past the accident. He feels gnawing guilt over Robbie's death and cannot understand why his sentence was so light. Coach Ripley tries to encourage Andy by telling him that he, the police, and the judge believe that Andy will correct his behavior and that he had already paid the consequences for his actions. Andy tries to accept that, but the only part of his life that seems to go well during this time is basketball.
About a month after the accident, Andy begins seeing a psychologist named Dr. Carrothers. At first, Andy is reluctant to talk openly with Dr. Carrothers, but his curiosity in meeting an African-American psychologist motivates him to ask questions and to form a tentative bond with the counselor. During his first session, Andy tells Dr. Carrothers that he cannot forgive himself for Robbie's death and that he has no connection with his parents. Andy resents his father's constant working and his inability to be at his basketball games and cannot understand his mother's disdain for coming to his games. He confesses to Dr. Carrothers that his parents do not understand him or appreciate any of his interests.
As the school year progresses, Andy's grades continue to slip. Keisha, his girlfriend, tries to encourage him to turn in assignments, but Andy is apathetic. When Dr. Carrothers questions Andy about his poor grades, Andy expresses his belief that his teachers do not expect him to do well as an African-American male, so he simply does not care about completing their assignments.
Christmas is an especially difficult time for Andy, and even though Keisha tries to lift his spirits, small reminders of Robbie and his parents force Andy to recognize once again that he will never spend time again with Robbie. He later writes a letter of apology to Robbie's parents and includes some of the lasting memories of the good times he shared with Robbie. Writing the letter boosts Andy's spirits for a while, but then a class discussion about Macbeth, murder, and suicide upsets him, and he hurriedly leaves the classroom. At lunch, B.J. and Tyrone convince Andy to go see a school counselor, but she only further discourages Andy by telling him that his depression is a good sign—a sign of healing.
As the spring semester progresses, teachers' conversations about Andy and calls to Andy's parents reveal Andy's continuing academic decline and his manic behavior. To hide his depression, Andy acts out in class, pulls pranks, and eventually embarrasses and belittles Keisha, forcing her to break up with him. He tries to convince himself that he does not need anyone and that he will make it on his own, but his failing grades, his dad's failure to understand him, and his inability to forgive himself for Robbie's death lead him to the breaking point.
On April 2, Andy makes his last attempt to get help. He tries calling Dr. Carrothers, who had previously told him that he could call at any time, but Dr. Carrother's answering service informs Andy that the counselor's mother had a heart attack and that he is unavailable to take calls. Andy then calls Keisha's house, even though they are no longer dating, but her mother tells Andy that it is after midnight and that she will not wake up her daughter. The next day, Andy begins walking to school but decides to turn around and go home. Home alone, he sits on his bed with his dad's hunting rifle and ponders what to do. He is afraid of death, but he cannot think of any other way than suicide to end the pain he endures by living. While Andy is at home, his classmates discuss his absence, but it is not until Andy's mother arrives home with his little brother Monty that Andy's lifeless body is found in his room. The novel ends with a series of letters written by Andy's classmates and friends. Most of the letters express anger toward Andy for taking his life. Keisha writes that she understands that Andy was looking for an escape from the pain, and B.J. prays for Andy's soul and tries to express to God why Andy took his life. The final chapter features Monty's conversation with Andy at his grave. Monty tells Andy that their mother and father have separated, that he has trouble sleeping at night, and then promises Andy that he will continue to visit him.
Themes
Depression
Sharon Draper uses Andy Jackson's character to illustrate the progression of depression, especially in a teenager, and to note how seemingly easy it is for those connected to a depressed individual to miss or ignore the signs of deep depression. While Andy's parents recognize early on that Andy needs professional help, they do not follow up with the psychologist or try to talk to Andy themselves. The novel contains just two conversations between Andy and his parents, and the conversations further demonstrate how disconnected the family is. Andy's coach, psychologist, girlfriend, and teachers all note to themselves or to others that Andy is depressed, but no one knows how to help him or takes decisive action to do so. Andy, like many who deal with grief, learns to mask his pain by cracking jokes and pulling pranks. When he finds the courage to reach out to someone for true help, he cannot get in touch with anyone who he believes cares about him. Draper's discussion of Andy's depression urges school officials and family members to be proactive and relentless when it comes to helping someone who is grieving.
Parent-Teen Relationships
As an African-American teen, Andy cannot relate to his parents and believes that they do not care to relate to him. He tells Dr. Carrothers that his mom can barely bring herself to come to his games because she is so involved with her sorority activities, and Andy's conversation with his dad about the origin of his name makes Andy believe that he and his dad will never have the same goals or understand one another. Draper also includes comments about or by Gerald, another Hazelwood teen, which reveal that Gerald is abused by his alcoholic stepdad. For Gerald, school is an escape from his troubled home relationship. Draper's characterization of the relationship between a teen and his or her parents realistically describes normal teen angst coupled with African-American generational conflict.
African-Americans and Education
All of the main characters featured in the novel are African-American, and through Andy's conversations with Dr. Carrothers and by providing examples of students' schoolwork and dialogue, Draper uses Tears of a Tiger to shed light on the unique issues that still affect African-American students. Andy, though he knows that he is gifted in some areas, does not want to appear to be "smart." He tells Dr. Carrothers about a time when he earned an A on a test, and the teacher embarrassed him by publicly expressing her surprise at his high score and then implying that he might have cheated to get the score. Similarly, Andy and some of his friends make fun of another African-American student named Marcus who always completes his homework and who earns high grades. To Andy, it is just not worth it to let anyone know that he is intelligent; he believes that it does not fit the image that he wants to portray. The only teacher who seems genuinely concerned about her students is Andy's English teacher. When her students complain about writing and reading poetry, she encourages them to relate the lyrics of their favorite songs to poetry. Draper, a former English teacher, uses the school setting to touch on the problems she witnessed in the educational system, especially in regard to African-American students, issues such as low expectations, racial stereotypes, and complacency.
Suicide
While the reader most likely would not predict Andy's choice to commit suicide, Draper steadily builds up to Andy's feelings of despair and then focuses the last chapters of the book on the devastating effects of suicide on families and friends who are left behind. She includes a brief police report titled "Facts Without Feelings" that describes the suicide scene at the Jackson home. Later, when the students angrily express to a grief counselor that she did not do enough to prevent Andy's death, the counselor desperately tries to help the students deal with their grief by requesting that they write letters to Andy. Tyrone's letter illustrates his anger toward Andy but primarily shows his regret that Andy will not be with him and his friends for significant future events. Gerald's letter bitterly questions Andy's choice and demonstrates Gerald's struggle to choose life each day even though it means enduring the stench of alcohol and more beatings from his stepdad. Gerald cannot fathom how Andy would not choose life, no matter how painful it might be. Keisha and other students demonstrate some understanding of why Andy made his choice but do not condone it. Rhonda's letter is perhaps the most poignant in expressing how difficult it has been to find meaning in Andy's death. She asks him if he thought about who would find his body, if he realized that his little brother would no longer have him around, or if he considered the unforgettable mess his suicidal choice made. More than any of the other characters, Monty, Andy's little brother, provides insight into suicide's ability to splinter a family. At Andy's grave, Monty describes his parents' separation, his struggle as a six-year-old boy to go on without his older brother's guidance, and his wish that Andy could be with him to experience all the good things in life.
Characters
Andrew Jackson
While the novel is told from a variety of viewpoints, Andy Jackson is its protagonist. A high school senior, Andy is a fun-loving basketball player before an automobile crash causes the death of his best friend. After the accident, the novel follows Andy's struggle with grief, guilt, and fear. Draper uses a stream-of-consciousness narrative in some of the novel's chapters to illustrate Andy's struggles. His inner dialogue demonstrates that he cannot forgive himself for drinking and driving the night of the accident. He tries to figure out if his deceased friend Robbie forgives him or is angry with him, but he cannot find the answer. Throughout the novel, Andy seeks help from various individuals, such as his psychologist and his girlfriend, but no one is able to convince him that he can have a future and that he can forgive himself.
Keisha Montgomery
Keisha is Andy's girlfriend throughout most of the novel. Initially after the crash, she is extremely patient with Andy. She comforts him when he cries and gives him distance when he needs it. However, she soon realizes that she longs for a normal teenage life and that she cannot provide Andy with the hope or answers that he seeks. When Andy belittles her at a talent show that he is hosting, Keisha is devastated and breaks up with him.
Rhonda
While Rhonda does not have a close relationship with Andy, her character provides the reader with important plot details through her conversations with Keisha (her best friend) and her letter to Andy. She is a practical friend to Keisha and tries to listen to others without judging them. She is also thoughtful; on the day of Andy's suicide, Rhonda stopped by his house to drop off some homework that he had missed. She is there when Andy's mother discovers his body and longs for Andy to realize the pain that his death caused everyone who loved him.
B.J. and Tyrone
Both young men rode in the backseat of Andy's car on the night of the accident. While Draper does not develop their characters fully, she does use them as a foil to Andy, showing the marked difference in how some people deal with grief compared to others' reactions. B.J. "turns to religion" after the crash, whereas Tyrone gets back into his school routine and develops a relationship with Rhonda. Though both characters struggle with sleeplessness and nightmares, they are somehow able to cope.
Dr. Carrothers
Andy's parents send him to Dr. Carrothers, a psychologist, to discuss his grief. At first, Andy expresses surprise at meeting an African-American counselor. He soon realizes that Dr. Carrothers is genuinely concerned about him. Dr. Carrothers encourages Andy to discuss not only his feelings about Robbie and the accident but also his struggles with school and family. Through Andy's conversations with Dr. Carrothers, the reader discovers significant details about Andy's self-perception and problems in an overcrowded school system (school counselors have time for scheduling and testing only, and students get lost in crowded classrooms). Dr. Carrothers's character serves as a role model to Andy and a reminder to readers that someone who struggles in school can still do well in life with enough work and determination. Dr. Carrothers is honest about the issues that he faced growing up and reminds Andy that he can confide in him at any time.
Andy's Parents
Most of what the reader knows about Andy's parents is from Andy's point of view. His mom and dad are professionals, and Andy's only fond memories of spending time together as a family are from his childhood. Andy's dad is a businessman and discusses his desire for Andy to follow in his footsteps, but Andy views his dad's profession and attitude as "trying to be like white people" and wants nothing to do with his dad's goals. Similarly, Andy's mom is distant from her son through much of the novel. She carries on a brief conversation with him that seems to be moving toward a connection with her son but then turns the focus of the dialogue to how tired she is. Draper's choice to characterize Andy's parents in such a manner causes the reader to recognize the generation gap that exists between African-Americans who grew up during the Civil Rights Movement and their children.
Monty
Andy's six-year-old brother provides Andy with brief reminders of the innocence of youth. Andy longs to shield his brother from tragic experiences and hopes that his brother will have a better relationship with their parents. Monty provides readers with insight into the tendency of young siblings to idolize their older brothers and sisters. Ironically, even though Andy wishes that Monty will have a much better life than he has had, Andy still makes the choice to kill himself in the house, seemingly neglecting to realize the negative impact that his choice will have on his little brother. Monty's conversation with Andy is the novel's final chapter, and it illustrates Monty's struggle to figure out why his brother is no longer there with him.
Literary Criticism and Significance
Sharon Draper's Tears of a Tiger was first published in 1994 and remains a popular work because of its focus on relevant teen issues—drinking and driving, parent-child conflict, depression, and academic struggles. Listed as one of the top 100 books for young adults for the millennium, the novel also won the prestigious Coretta Scott King Award (1995) and the ALA Best Book Award for Young Adults (1995).
While Draper's realistic characters and gripping plot will certainly appeal to most young-adult readers, her choice to write each chapter in a different style elevates her work beyond that of a typical teen-angst novel.
Draper switches from newspaper excerpts to letters to dialogue to class assignments to phone calls, making it possible to view the aftermath of the tragic crash from a variety of complex perspectives. Thematically, Draper explores and undermines stereotypical views of the African-American teen. One of Andy's teachers has low expectations and cannot believe that Andy could do so well on a test. Even Andy tries to live up to what he thinks an African-American male in high school should be: an athlete who jokes around in class and does not care about his grades. Throughout the novel, Draper provides positive examples of African-Americans who are successful and admirable—Andy's psychologist and many of Andy's friends—to show Andy that he can expect more from
himself.
While Tears of a Tiger is the first book that Draper wrote and published in her Hazelwood High trilogy, it is not the first chronologically. After the success of Tears, Draper went back in time with Forged by Fire, the second novel of her trilogy, to tell Gerald's story. The third novel,Darkness Before Dawn, answers questions that Draper's readers had about the future of B.J., Tyrone, Keisha, and Rhonda.