The Tiger Rising by Kate DiCamillo
Robert Horton
Robert or Rob Horton is a little boy who lives with his father at a motel called Kentucky Star. The death of his mother six months ago causes them to move from Jacksonville to Lister. The death makes Rob and his father gloomy, but they never spoke about her, and it was forbidden for Rob to cry. Rob has a rash on his itchy legs, so he uses medicine, and if he ever cried his father would hit them. Rob Horton is a sixth grader and he is very shy. He likes to live in his own kind of fantasy world that he makes up.
Rob vs. Piggy vs. Chief Bromden
Rob Horton in The Tiger Rising is a lot like Piggy from Lord of the Flies by William Golding, but also a lot different. They were both ostracized for their looks, such as Rob's legs filled with rashes and Piggy's weight and glasses. Some differences are that Rob didn't get killed like Piggy did, and that Rob eventually finds out about his true self, a lot like Chief Bromden in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey.
The day he found the tiger
One early, cloudy morning Rob Horton discovers a tiger. He felt like finding the tiger was luck. He found it from just walking deep in the woods, just killing time and wandering about. DiCamillo writes, "...hoping that maybe he would get lost or eaten by a bear and not have to go to school ever again" (1), meaning that he is just like any student who does not like the thought of school. Eventually, he came to an "old Beauchamp gas station building" and next to it was a cage. One might think he was crazy, but right there inside the cage was the tiger pacing back and forth. DiCamillo shows symbolism of being trapped in something when she writes, "it was like staring at the sun itself, angry, and trapped in a cage" (2). DiCamillo writes, "To Rob, it seemed as if the tiger was some magic trick, rising out of the mist. He was so astounded at his discovery, so amazed, that he stood and stared " (2), to demonstrate Ron's feeling towards finding the tiger on such a melancholy day. He also feels that if he looks away, then the tiger will vanish. The tiger took his mind away from his rash on his legs and he didn't think of his mother either. He also didn't want to think about two boys named Norton and Billy Threemonger. Another quote DiCamillo writes is, "Rob had a way of not-thinking about things. He imagined himself as a suitcase that was too full..." (3), also displaying Rob's feelings and thoughts. He "stuffs" all of his problems into a suitcase and looks it shut. Keeping everything balled up inside would be hard for him, but just imagine having to hide the tiger in his "suitcase."
Sistine Bailey, yes like the chapel
Sistine Bailey is first introduced when DiCamillo writes, "And while Norton and Billy and Rob watched, open-mouthed and silent, a girl with yellow hair and a pink lacy dress walked up the steps and onto the bus" (7). Rob thought she was strange to wear a lacy dress, because nobody wore them. She is a skinny girl who is also a sixth grader. Her mother makes her wear dresses to school, even though Sistine hates them. Another thing she hates is Florida and the South which is mentioned when DiCamillo writes, "...and I hate the South because the people in it are ignorant" (11). There is also some sort of baggage between her in father. DiCamillo writes, "My father is coming to get me next week" (11-12). She believes that he will take her to a better place, away from Lister. She later realizes that he is a liar. Sistine didn't like Rob at first, but he was the only she talked to. She can come off as aggressive because of the fights she gets herself into, but her mood changes when she talks to Rob. Sistine tells Rob how she hates it in Florida and hates how no one knows what the Sistine Chapel is, but when Rob tells her that he knows, she is surprised. DiCamillo writes, "It's in Italy. The pictures are painted on the ceiling. They're frescoes" (23). After that Rob just couldn't stop talking about it. It was if he felt so comfortable talking to Sistine about certain things.
The Tiger
While Rob is talking to Sistine, DiCamillo writes, "I don't got to go to school on account of my legs. I got a note that says so. Mr. Phelmer --- he's the principal --- he says the parents are worried that what I got is contagious. That means that the other kids could catch it" (23). Sistine responds with "Please let me catch it" (24). Rob starts to carve the tiger out of wood. He always dreams about if the tiger wasn't in the cage, if the tiger were to be free. In one of his dreams, he dreamed that Sistine was riding the tiger. As Rob was sweeping the laundry room, he met a woman named Willie May and she sees his carving. DiCamillo writes, "Sadness. You keeping all that sadness down low, in your legs. You not letting it get up to your heart, where it belongs. You got to let that sadness rise on up" (37), giving Rob advice. Rob decides to show Sistine the tiger when DiCamillo writes, "We got to walk through the woods" (42). They walked together and Sistine started to talk about her mother and asks about Rob's mother too. He tries to push the topic aside, but Sistine gets angry and starts to walk away. Rob runs to her and finally spills that his mom is dead. She says, "Okay" and they go back towards the tiger. When they get to the tiger Sistine is amazed and wants to set it free. Mr. Phelmer is a important character in a way that if he never gave Rob the note about his legs, Rob may have never been free, or friends with Sistine. In the end, Sistine and Rob get the keys to the cage to set the tiger free, but they run into a conflict when Beauchamp, the owner of the motel, tries to get to it first. Rob and Sistine set the tiger free and watches in amazement. Rob even says, "He ran so fast...like he was flying" (104). All of a sudden they heard Willie May scream and a crack of a gun. Rob walks over and sees that his dad, working for Beauchamp, killed the tiger. At that moment Rob attacks his father, punching at him, but his dad is strong so he does not move. Rob's "suitcase" spills out. Everything he kept so deep in his thoughts are released and now he is free. The tiger symbolizes power and strength, which is shown with Rob.