ENGLISH 12
WRITING PROMPTS FOR THE TIGER’S WIFE and more
Write a thoughtful, well-developed essay on The Tiger’s Wife and at least one
of the other books we have read over the past few weeks.
Include ideas, themes, and characters from either a Borges short story in
Ficciones, the musings about time in Einstein’s Dreams, or Fuentes’ novella Aura in
your essay on Obreht’s The Tiger’s Wife. Use one or more of these other works to
draw comparisons, to reinforce a point you are making, or to reveal a contradictory
idea. Determinism (luck, chance, fate), time, memory, love, history, fantasy / reality,
etc. are all possible points of entry for incorporating Borges’ or Fuentes’ work.
1. Explore the ways in which The Tiger’s Wife demonstrates that the distinctions
between fantasy and reality depend on cultural assumptions, on political and historical
bias, and on the individual's state of mind at any given point in time.
2. Varying perceptions of time shape the lives of characters and their relationships in all
of our readings. Consider how time functions in the lives of different characters, what
it measures, how it affects their action and beliefs – and how these effects are
demonstrated.
3. In The Tiger’s Wife, many of the characters are victims of profound isolation,
alienation, and prejudice created by cultural divisions, familial ties, their homeland,
and their history. In what ways does their context control them and do they control it?
How do these outcasts learn to negotiate the various challenges they face?
4. Love is a powerful force in The Tiger’s Wife and Aura that connects and separates
those caught in their spell. Examine some of the beneficial and destructive
relationships in these books—between people and peoples, between people and
things, or between people and ideas.
5. War is the underlying setting in The Tiger’s Wife (and other readings). Examine how
war defines and alters the reality of everyday life—and in the process ennobles and
debases the character of the characters, eliciting stunning self-sacrifices and appalling
cruelty, both on cultural and personal levels.
ENGLISH 12
6. The epigraph for Aura is a poem by Jules Michelet that proposes some differences
between men and women. Apply the ideas and images in this poem to romantic and
familial relationships in both Aura and The Tiger’s Wife.
7. Immortality is presented as a blessing and a curse in The Tiger’s Wife, Aura, and other
readings we have explored. Arising from a range of desires, the conquest of death
takes a variety of forms, including stories, witchcraft, conflicts, beliefs, and dreams.
Examine the ways in which the pursuit or attainment of immortality affects the
individual and collective experience of life.
8. On p. 32 of The Tiger’s Wife, Natalia tells us, “Everything necessary to understand
my grandfather’s life lies between two stories: the story of the tiger’s wife and the
story of the deathless man.” Begin by analyzing how these two tales form the
parentheses of his life. Then, using other works and stories, look further into the ways
that stories define and illuminate various characters’ lives. Why and how are stories a
critical point of entry into understanding others?
You may choose your own topic if you prefer – look again at the discussion questions you
generated, as well as your class notes, for inspiration.
Requirements:
Length: 5 – 8 pages (12 point, Times New Roman, double spaced)
Turn in at least one revised and edited draft (the one we reviewed and maybe another)
with final – and a statement of intent.
Due: October 4