The supremacy of fright in The Tiger by S. Rajaratnam.
by
harshpatel2396 (student)
Harsh Patel
Mrs. Colwell
ENG 2D8
February 20, 2012
The Supremacy of Fright
Fear conquers the way a person thinks by manipulating their mind to act differently and carry out sudden decisions without giving the idea a second thought. This is shown in the story, “The Tiger” by S. Rajaratnam through two different perspectives from Fatima, a last stage-pregnant lady, and the villagers in her town. Fatima remains calm at an immediate sight of a tiger, but on the other hand, the villagers are restless to rid the tiger without understanding the situation. Afterwards, when Fatima is out of possible danger she feels sympathetic for the tiger as she sees the tiger is no threat to the village whereas the villagers become violent and decide to kill the tiger. Rajaratnam demonstrates how Fatima’s connection with the tiger influences her to view and react to the situation differently than the villagers. Therefore, if one takes time to analyze the situation in which fear is present, an individual can react in a more responsible manner.
Fatima controls her fear at the immediate sight of the tiger in a level headed manner whereas the villager’s reactions are more impulsive. On a cool evening, Fatima goes for a swim in where her relaxation turns into terror when a tiger appears on the river bank. Although a jolt of shock rushes to her, she finds a way to stay calm as she “had only a quiet fear of the tiger” (Rajaratnam 2). In consideration of the fright a person might have in such a situation will lead to make a quick decision; Fatima’s quiet fear shows she is able to remain calm and took the time to think. Even after a long time, Fatima did not budge from the same spot and just stares at the vicious yet harmless animal. Using her time effectively, “Fatima had studied the animal very carefully and … she waited, her body tense in the water and radiating a feeling of fearful strength.” (2) Evidently, she takes her time to observe the tiger even though she is scared which is an advantage because the tiger seems to have no interest in attacking her. Unlike Fatima, the villagers have a different reaction towards the presence of a tiger in their town. After listening to a twisted story from Fatima’s mother, the village, “was in panic… the women, clucking like hens at the sight of a wheeling hawk… [and] the men rushed around anxious.”(2) Clearly, the villagers show no form of patience nor sense to hold a group meeting to negotiate what needs to be done about this tiger. Furthermore, the villagers were impulsive as they were rushing around anxious to really do something as soon as possible instead of just relaxing and simply stopping to think about the situation. In the same way, this man named Mamood is really anxious about the tiger as he approaches Fatima’s house where there a desperate discussion takes place. Mamood prepares for the killing the tiger with all the, “impatience of one whose hunting spirit has been aroused. He was all for hunting the tiger at once, simply because he loved hunting.”(3) Mamood is all for killing the tiger at once, he does not care what other people think because his intense passion for hunting kicks in, showing how impulsive his reaction is towards this situation. As frightened as Fatima is from the tiger, she maintains her fear with a sensible approach and gradually understands the tiger before making a decision, whereas the villagers are restless and in haste to rid the beast that is allegedly threatening their lives. On the whole, Fatima is sensible, calm and takes the liberty to study her situation at the presence of sudden fear where on the other hand, the villagers show an impulsive reaction as there are totally under pressure in fearful state.
