English Courses/American Literature Resources for TeachersCourse
Lesson Transcript
InstructorLauren PoseyShow bio
Lauren has taught intermediate reading in an English Language Institute, and she has her Master's degree in Linguistics.
In this lesson we discuss James Thurber's fable, 'The Tiger Who Would Be King.' We discuss the plot of the story, its moral, and the overarching theme.Updated: 07/31/2023
Table of Contents
- Stories With Purpose
- What Happened?
- The Overall Theme
- A Life Lesson
- Lesson Summary
Why are stories written? There are, of course, many ways to answer this question. Some stories are written to inform and some are written to entertain. Others, however, are written to teach an important life lesson. Fables are a type of story with this purpose. Fables are short fictional stories, usually starring animals, that have a moral, or life lesson. Aesop's fables are a classic example, but other authors wrote fables as well. James Thurber's The Tiger Who Would Be King is one such fable.
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As is common for fables, the main characters of Thurber's story are animals. In it, a tiger decides he wants to be the king of the animals. He claims that the other animals want him to be king, but his wife does not see any evidence to support this. The tiger then challenges the lion, who is currently king. The lion ferociously defends his throne, and the two fight all day.
The other animals also take part, splitting themselves between the two sides. However, they do not really know why they're fighting, or why one might be a better king than the other. ''Hey, join in the fight simply to be part of the struggle for power.'' When the fight is over, all the animals are dead except the tiger, and he is dying. Technically he wins, but there is no one left to rule.
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Short stories usually have an overarching theme, or topic, and The Tiger Who Would Be King is no exception. Here, the theme is the desire to have power for its own sake, instead of wanting power to help people. The tiger wanted power; he wanted it so badly that he convinced himself the other animals wanted him to be king. He told his wife that ''The creatures are crying for a change.'' The tigress listened, but she could hear no crying, except that of her cubs.
We see that the need for power is all in the tiger's head and not based on an actual need from others. Along the same lines, the lion wants to keep his power and defends it at all costs, including his life.
The other animals support the bid for power by joining in the fight, instead of letting the two fight on their own, or trying to stop them. They don't know why they are fighting, but they want to be part of the power struggle. All of these actions support the ''desire for power'' theme.
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According to Thurber, the moral of The Tiger Who Would Be King is ''You can't be king of beasts if there aren't any.'' This also ties into the theme; the desire for power is what led to the fight that killed all the animals.
The story shows that power for its own sake is meaningless. It doesn't matter that the tiger became king; there were no animals left to rule over, and he was also dying. If you destroy everything in the pursuit of power, then that power no longer matters. Though the story is about animals in a very specific situation, its lesson is applicable to real life. This is the purpose of a fable.
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The Tiger Who Would Be King by James Thurber, is an example of a fable, a short piece of fiction that usually features animal characters and offers a moral or life lesson. In the story, the tiger challenges the lion to be the king of beasts. The other animals join their fight, splitting themselves between the two sides. By the end, all but the tiger are dead, and even he is close to dying.
The overarching theme, or topic, of the story, is the desire for power. Power led the tiger to attack the lion and the lion to fiercely defend his position. It also led the other animals to join the fight. As a fable, the story has a moral. In this case, the moral is that power for its own sake is meaningless. It doesn't matter if you become king if there is no one left to rule.
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