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Literary Elements

Characterization

Andy, the main character, felt as if Rob's death was all his fault. After Rob's death, Andy had suffered through Depression. You can see how depressed he was through his poetry. On page 63, Andy had to write a poem about hope for his English homework. In his poem he wrote," I cannot see the future/ And i cannot change the past / But the present is so heavy/ I don't think I'm going to last." This poem is ironic because it's suppose to be about hope but what he writes isn't about hope. The poem shows a lack of hope. Andy doesn't see a reason to live after he lost his bestfriend. Andy ended up giving up on himself, he committed suicide on April  3rd. 

Plot

 Exposition

  • The newspaper article about Rob's death.

  • The big basketball game.

  • Introduction to several of the characters.

 

Rising Action

  • Andy gets counseling.

  • Keisha and Andy relationship is having issues and they eventually break up.

  • Several students think Andy is a murderer.

  • The teachers judge Andy.

  • Andy's parents dont pay attention to him.

  • Andy has a dream that he is having a conversation with Rob. In this conversation, Rob says that he wants Andy to come be with him,in heaven.

 

Climax

  • Andy commits suicide

 

Falling Action

  • ​Rhonda finds Andy's body.

  • A police report was filed.

  • Hazelwood High deals with the death of Andy.

 

Resolution

  • Andy's friends and family write goodbye letters to him.

Theme

One of the themes of Tears of a Tiger  was death. On page 1, there was a newspaper article called, "Teen Basketball Star Killed In Fiery Crash." In this newspaper article it said,"Robert Washington,age 17,captain of the Hazelwood High School basketball team, was killed last night in a fiery automobile accident on I-75." Andy was the driving while intoxicated, which waas the main cause of this accident. On page 166-167,there was a police report and in that police report it said," Mrs.Jackson went to her son's bedroom where Andrew's body was found with a fatal gunshot wound to the head. Police and life squad were summoned at 4:11. Andrew was pronounced dead at the scene." Andy was going through so much, that he ended up taking his own life.

Setting

There were several different settings in this book. One of the settings in this book was Hazelwood High. On page 23, Coach Ripley asked Andy,"How are you,Andy? How was your first day back to school?" Another setting in the book is at the Psychologist office. On page 41, the name of the chapter is "How do I feel?" Andy's first visit to the Psychologist.  One of the last settings in the book is at Andy's house. On page 146, Andy said, " Hi,Dad, you're home early.What's to eat? I'm starved!" 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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