Child By Tiger
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The opening stanzas from William Blakes poem “The Tiger” in “The Child By Tiger” by Thomas Wolfe help accentuate the theme of the story. They further relate to the passage in which Dick Prossers bible was left open to. The stanzas incorporated in the story reveal that with every good is evil.
“The Child By Tiger” inlays a sense of good with evil tailing it as its shadow. In the beginning, Blakes stanza questions “who could frame thy fearful symmetry?” Dick Prosser appears to be kind and moral, but later reveals his vengeful side as he chaotically kills people. His conflicts with society inspire the evil to spring forward and divulge himself. The reference to “tiger!” in Blakes stanza indirectly relates to the fact that Prosser is referred to as a cat through Wolfes story. Prossers evil self is illustrated as stealthily and smartly stalking his prey; pretending to be the same amongst the others. This evil, Prosser himself, exhibits tendencies of moral goodness as he tries to suppress his situational conflict. Evil stalks a prey smartly; it takes notice of every slight move, and every attempt to through it off fails because it always lands back on its feet.
Prosser was a very religious man; he had a bible that he constantly read and was worn from use. The last passage marked as read insinuates that Prossers death was destined. He was made to “lie down” in wait, and see what he could spread his “dread grasp” on. His role was to act as everyone else because his evil self was stalking the others. Prosser was the “deadly terrors” everyone ran from, for he was on “the path of righteousness for his names sake.” He was meant for the town to see the evil that it can create. All Prosser was, was a marionette controlled by the citizens.
Blakes poem relates to the standard of evil that the world