Tears of a Tiger Themes

From the very beginning of Tears of a Tiger, we're asked to think about the idea of death. Robbie's death in the accident makes pretty much every character confront the fact that they are not immor...

Pretty much every student in Tears of a Tiger feels guilty at some point. Tyrone feels badly for having beer and thinking everything was funny the night of the accident; B.J. blames himself for not...

Tears of a Tiger depicts ordinary Americans who happen to be black—and, to some degree, explores how race impacts their lives. For the most part, race is a latent backdrop in the novel. Most of...

Tears of a Tiger is the equivalent of a bro hug—think: gruff affection and hearty back pats, plus a little teasing tossed in on the side. But things go horribly wrong when Robbie dies in a car cr...

If you're looking for drugs and alcohol in Tears of a Tiger, you don't have to go very far—like, not even past the first page. There, you'll find the police report detailing that the guys were dr...

Who's afraid of the dark? In Tears of a Tiger, a lot of people are. Over and over again, we see the light give in to darkness in the novel. When Andy tells us how he's feeling through poetry or his...

Andy isolates himself after the accident. That's pretty much all we needed to say about the theme of isolation in Tears of a Tiger. Just kidding, we'll go on. When Andy feels overwhelmed by guilt a...

Andy's choices aren't so hot in Tears of a Tiger. First they lead to Robbie's death, then he stays on a path of destruction instead of getting help, and ultimately, Andy makes the choice to end his...