Lady or Tiger Questions

ENG-4U Short Story Assessment

“The Lady or the Tiger?”

Before you read

1. Would you trust your life to a friend?

I would trust my life to my friend if he trusts me with his life. I say that because then we can both trust
each other at the same time when one has a problem.

2. Which is a stronger emotion – love or jealousy?

They both are. They are both equally strong because they can compete with each other. Jealousy usually
comes because of love and you can’t have one with out the other.

3. How completely can one person ever know and understand another?

In my opinion, one can’t completely know and understand another. People have many experiences that
other people may have not experienced. Everyone is a unique person.

After you read

1. What was your reaction to the ending of the story? How would your reaction be different if you
knew what was behind the door on the right?

My reaction to ending of the story is still a question because the author didn’t have a resolution. We don’t
know what’s behind the door the lady or the tiger. The author left as a suspense. My reaction will be sad
or happy depending on what’s behind the door. Sad if the tiger is behind the door because he will die and
happy if the lady is behind the door because he will still be alive and won’t forget his love.

2. a) In the kingdom described in the story, what happens when a person is accused of a crime? b)
Why do the members of the community support this method?

a) If a person is accused of a crime then they will be put in an arena with two doors, one with a beautiful
lady and one with a tiger. They have to pick one out of the two doors, if they pick the lady, they will get
married to her even if he is already married or not, which to the people means he was innocent. If the
person picks the tiger, they will most likely die to it which makes them guilty to the people.
b) The members of the community support this method because they find the trials exciting and
entertaining, as well as fair since the accused makes the choice.

3. a) What is the young man’s crime? b) Why are his actions considered criminal?

a) The young man’s crime was falling in love with the king's daughter.

b) His actions were considered criminal because he was considered someone low in the society. Which
meant he was considered a lower class.

4. a) What does the princess do when the young man is in the arena? b) What motive does she
have for sending him to his death, and what motive does she have for saving his life?

a) When the young man is in the arena, he looks at the princess, and she points to the right "without the
slightest hesitation." Whether she points to the door with the lady so he can be married and live, or to the
door where the tiger waits to kill him.

b) The princess could send the man to his death based on the lady behind the door was someone that the
princess did not want him to be with. On the other hand, the princess could save the man because she
loves him very much.

5. The story is told from the third-person point of view at the beginning. How does the point
of view change, and what is the effect of the change?

The point of view changes to first person when the author ends the story with a question. “Which came
out of the opened door, --the lady, or the tiger?”

6. Why do you think the story ends with a question instead of an answer?

The story ends with a question instead of an answer because the author wants us to think about what the
princess might have done, what she did, and what I would have done if I were the princess.

7. Most stories end by telling the readers what happened to the main characters. This story lets the
readers decide what happens. What is your opinion of this type of ending? Explain.

In my opinion, I do not like stories that have this type of ending, and I also don’t like cliff hangers.
8. In what ways is the king’s justice similar to flipping a coin to decide an important question?

It’s similar in a way because if you have a bet you have 50% chance winning by flipping a coin. In
the king’s justice system, you also have a 50% chance of living because you get to choose which
door to open.

9. At what point is the young man’s fate actually decided? Explain.

The young man's fate is decided when he opens the door to his right, which the princess gestured to
choose.

PLOT DIAGRAM

1. Fill in plot diagram.

Exposition:
 The characters are introduced,
 king's justice system: there are 2 doors. behind one is a lady, and behind the other,
a tiger. The accused must choose a door. If he picks the lady, he gets married. If
he picks the tiger, he gets eaten.

Rising Action:
 The princess and her lover are introduced,
 The king finds out of their love and is put through his justice system.
 The princess knows what’s behind the doors.
 Gestures to her lover to go to the right door.

Climax:
 He goes to open the right door.

Falling Action: There is no Falling Action.

Resolution: There is no Resolution.

LITERARY ANALYSIS

1. What conflicts does the young man have? Are his conflicts internal or external? Support your
answers with details from the story.

The man has both internal and external conflicts. An external conflict he has is which door to open –
possibly facing the tiger. An internal: whether to believe the princess.

2. Why is the princess’s internal conflict so central to the story?

The princess’s internal conflict is so central to the story because her decision governs if the young man
lives or dies.
ACTIVITY

Obviously, there is no resolution to the short story “The Lady or the Tiger?” Your job, in more than 200
words but not more than 500 words, is to write the ending. You must first write the last line of the next-to-
last paragraph of the story: “She had known she would be asked, she had decided what she would answer,
and, without the slightest hesitation, she had moved her hand to the right.” Now, continue with your ending..

She had known she would be asked, she had decided what she would answer, and, without the slightest
hesitation, she had moved her hand to the right. His heart started racing, as he came close to the door on the
right. As he lifted his hand to reach the knob, he started to sweat and shiver. You can see the silence in the
crowd as they await what's behind the door. He took a deep breath and said this is it. The princess gets up
and goes inside not seeing what's going to happen. He lifts his hands and grips on the doors knob on the
right. He closes his eyes with fear and opens the door. It was pitch black, and there wasn’t even an echo. He
slowly opens his eyes and proceeds to go inside. He walks out with the princess, everyone was shocked.
How did the princess get there? The king was also in shock, the king couldn’t break his own justice system.
So, the princess was married to him and he was innocent. The crowd started applauding and cheering as
they both got married.