Juan Luis Estrella

English 101
Mrs. Petrides
Literary Analysis
3/11/16

Literary Analysis
The short story, The Child by Tiger written by Thomas Wolfe, which was
published in 1937 talks about when segregation and racism were popular, especially in
the South. This short story was focused on a black man, named Dick Prosser, who went
on a killing spree causing numerous lives of both white and black men. The story took
place on from October all the way through Christmas of that same year; in the town
where Prossers employers lived. In the beginning of the story, Prosser was a very
likeable man and idolized by all the children; they showed him respect because of his
great strength and many talents. However, as the story continues, there were mysteries
and unknown events that changed Prosser. At the end of the story, Prosser changed his
personality and made an unspeakable action that affected the townspeoples perception
of him. There was hatred, violence, and rage after Prosser killed some folks in the town.
The children and the townspeoples point of view of Dick Prosser represented both of
his dark and bright characteristics.
Thomas Wolfe used the language, symbolism, and theme in William Blakes
Poem, The Tyger, in order to create his own short story, The Child by Tiger. The poem
tells a story of an exquisite tiger forged by its fearsome characteristics. Wolfe created
his main character, Dick Posser, based on the tiger in the poem. He assembled the
foundation of Possers characteristics by reflecting onto the tigers elegant feature while
also showing its dangerous and fearful strength. In this literary analysis, the reader will

Juan Luis Estrella

English 101
Mrs. Petrides
Literary Analysis
3/11/16
Page 2
learn how Wolfe interpreted an 18th century poem to write a short story during the early
20th century.
The Child by Tiger written by Thomas Wolfe contained a significant amount of
languages that were similar to William Blakes poem, The Tyger. The short story had
descriptive words that showed resemblance of Dick Prosser to the tiger in the poem.
One example of the language that came from the poem which was used for the story
was, Burnt the fire of thine eyes? (Blake line 6) to describe the flaming eyes of the
tiger. On the other hand, in the short story, the narrator tells how Prossers eyes became
red when he started to get mad or angry. For example, the author wrote, But suddenly
the whites of his eyes were shot with red, (Wolfe Pg.727) during the same time Lon
Everett, a drunken white person, punched him in the face. Prossers eyes turned red
because he was furious inside. However, he cannot fight back to defend himself
because during that time there was an unfair justice for people of color. He knew that he
would only get into more trouble if he fought back. In addition, there was a speculation
that sometimes Prosser gets angry after reading the bible. The narrator said, [H]is eyes
would be red, as if he had been weeping. We would know, then, that he had been
reading his Bible (Wolfe 726). He was probably too infuriated that he started crying.

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Juan Luis Estrella

English 101
Mrs. Petrides
Literary Analysis
3/11/16
Thomas Wolfe also used symbols that can be found in Blakes poem. For
example, the poet wrote, What the anvil? What dread grasp, (Blake line 19). One of
the symbols in the poem is the anvil, which symbolizes an object that helped forge the
fearsome strength and the magnificent beauty of the tiger. In The Child by Tiger, religion
and society were Dick Prossers anvil because it defined his characteristics. In the text,
Prosser had a bible in the middle of his room. He recited bible verses and talked about
God to the children. He might had been a gentle and kind man at the beginning of the
story because he was a man of God. However, being that man of God may have just
turned him to the most vicious murderer at the end of the story. Prosser said, de dry
bones in de balley. I tell you, white fokes, de day is comin when Hes comin on dis
earth again to sit in judgement. Hell put de sheep upon de right hand and de goats
upon de left. Oh, white fokes, white fokes, de Armageddon days a-comin, white fokes,
an de dry bones in de valley (Wolfe page 726). He believed that the end of the world is
coming when Jesus Christ comes back to earth and place judgement on all of the
people. This might be a reason why he started killing people. Moreover, there might had
been a possibility that he thought he was the chosen one that was sent from above to
place the judgement on individuals. Similarly, society defined Prossers as the ruthless
negro who went psycho and killed several innocent people. In the text Wolfe composed,
It was in this way, bullet-riddled, shot to pieces, open to the vengeful and the morbid
gaze of all, that Dick came back to town They took that ghastly mutilated thing and
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Juan Luis Estrella

English 101
Mrs. Petrides
Literary Analysis
3/11/16
hung it in the window of the undertakers place, for every woman, man, and child to see
(Wolfe page 739). The sheriffs way of killing Prosser was extreme and unnecessary.
However, this was the way to show the folks in town that Prosser was an evil human
being and that killing him brutally was justice for the people who Dick killed. This
execution forced people to view Prosser in a disgusting negative approach. Overall, an
anvil can help forge a sword with strength and beauty, like a tiger, but it can be used for
a wrong purpose, like Dick Prosser.
William Blake created a theme of good vs evil in his poem, The Tyger, which was
also used in Thomas Wolfes short story, The Child by Tiger. In The Tyger the author
wrote, Tyger Tyger, burning bright, In the forests of the night; What immoral hand or
eye, Dare frame thy fearful symmetry? (Blake lines 1-4 & 21-24) at the beginning and
end of the story to describe the good side of the tiger. It demonstrated the tigers
perfect balance. Similarly, Wolfe defined Prosser as the flawless military man with
boundless talent. For example, Spangler said, [A]nd the stamp of the military man was
evident in everything he did (Wolfe 724) to describe Prossers well-organization ability.
In addition, Spangler was amazed by how Dick holds a football. He said, Sheppertons
new Negro man, came along, gathered it up neatly in his great black paw and tossed it
to me (Wolfe 724). This description of Dick parallels to the tigers immortal hand in the
poem. Another symbol that Prosser that correspond with the tiger was his eyes. In the
short story it said, He could certainly shoot. He gave a modest demonstration of his
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Juan Luis Estrella

English 101
Mrs. Petrides
Literary Analysis
3/11/16
prowess one afternoon, with Randys .22, that left us gasping (Wofle 725). Because of
his military experience, Prosser had a sharp vision, much like a tiger. In contrast to the
tigers good side, William Blake created an evil, much darker, side of the tiger when he
wrote, What the hammer? What the chain, In the furnace was thy brain? What the
anvil? What dread grasp, Dare its deadly terrors clasp! (Blake lines 13-16). In these
few lines, the poet was raising a hypothesis that what if the beautiful tiger was actually
born evil or, could it be that it was the opposite as in what if the tiger became evil after it
acquired knowledge of the world. This was resembling to Prosser because he was a
great sympathetic man at the beginning of the story when he was playing with the
children. However, he changed throughout the story and ended up becoming this
murderer but the surprising part was that no one really knew who Dick Prosser really
was. The narrator said in the short story, There were dozen stories, a hundred clues
and rumors; all came to nothing in the end (Wolfe 742). There were various
speculations as to why Prosser murdered numerous men during Christmas day but
there was no evidence of any kind of motive. With this in mind, Wolfe used the hammer
and the chain in the poem to create a mystery in Prossers personality and behavior.
In conclusion, The Tyger by William Blake contained many languages, symbols,
themes that helped Thomas Wolfe to write The Child by Tiger. First, the languages in
the poem assisted on building Prossers characteristics. Second, the symbols, like the
anvil, from The Tyger supported Wolfe on to creating the main characters personality
and other characters point of view. At last, the theme of good vs evil in the poem gave
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Juan Luis Estrella

English 101
Mrs. Petrides
Literary Analysis
3/11/16
a helping hand onto creating the short storys own theme of good vs evil. Thomas Wolfe
effectively transformed the meaning of an old poem to strengthen his short story that
was flawless at its time.

Juan Luis Estrella

English 101
Mrs. Petrides
Literary Analysis
3/11/16
Reference:
Race, Truth, and Fiction in Thomas Wolfes The Child by Tiger. (2014, November 4).
Retrieved from http://theurbannews.com/our-town/2012/race-truth-and-fiction-inthomas-wolfes-the-child-by-tiger/