The Lady or the Tiger?
Frank Stockton
Readability: 8/10
Entertainment: 6/10
Thought-provoking: 8/10
The Lady or the Tiger is a short story written in the late 1800s by an American writer named Frank Stockton. The story is set in an olden time, where a barbaric king formulated a system of punishment for criminals. The trial would take place in the King's arena, and the slaughter– or celebration, would commence. There are two doors within the amphitheatre, one of which contains the fiercest tiger, and the other holds a lady. The criminal would then face his/her fate by opening either door, depending on their destiny. If they were to be guilty, the tiger would come out and devour him, but if he was accused, the lady would emerge and they would have to get married. One day the king found out that his daughter was having an affair with a commoner, the king decided to punish him by putting him in the arena. On the day of trial, the commoner gestures towards the royal maiden to ask for help, the maiden points to the right door, and the story ends there. The main point of the story is to provoke the readers thoughts on the two major themes of the story– jealousy and love. Was the maiden so full of jealousy that she fed him to the tiger? Or did she love him too much to watch him die and sacrificed him for another woman? The answer is ambiguous.
The writing style of this story is somewhat challenging for readers our age, as there are elaborate sentence structures and unfamiliar contexts and vocabulary. But the style is evidently not modern and the language used is very proper. I gave entertainment an above average score as I did find the story intriguing and definitely thought provoking. Overall the story is an interesting read so I highly recommend it!
The Lady or the Tiger is a short story written in the late 1800s by an American writer named Frank Stockton. The story is set in an olden time, where a barbaric king formulated a system of punishment for criminals. The trial would take place in the King's arena, and the slaughter– or celebration, would commence. There are two doors within the amphitheatre, one of which contains the fiercest tiger, and the other holds a lady. The criminal would then face his/her fate by opening either door, depending on their destiny. If they were to be guilty, the tiger would come out and devour him, but if he was accused, the lady would emerge and they would have to get married. One day the king found out that his daughter was having an affair with a commoner, the king decided to punish him by putting him in the arena. On the day of trial, the commoner gestures towards the royal maiden to ask for help, the maiden points to the right door, and the story ends there. The main point of the story is to provoke the readers thoughts on the two major themes of the story– jealousy and love. Was the maiden so full of jealousy that she fed him to the tiger? Or did she love him too much to watch him die and sacrificed him for another woman? The answer is ambiguous.
The writing style of this story is somewhat challenging for readers our age, as there are elaborate sentence structures and unfamiliar contexts and vocabulary. But the style is evidently not modern and the language used is very proper. I gave entertainment an above average score as I did find the story intriguing and definitely thought provoking. Overall the story is an interesting read so I highly recommend it!
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