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 immortal, a realization that surprises and scares the teens, who don't have much experience dealing with death. These kids don't feel invincible any longer, though, that's for sure. Plus Andy struggles with the value of his own life throughout the book, and ultimately decides to commit suicide. In short, death's on nearly every page of this book, Shmoopers.
Questions About Mortality
- Think about Andy's relationship with death at different points in the novel. How does he think about death in the beginning? In the end? When he sees the wall where he crashed?
- How is Andy's death different than Robbie's? Do people respond to them in the same way?
- Andy tells us "It seems like bein' dead is the only way I'll ever feel alive again." What do you think he means by this? Do you think he accomplishes it?
Chew on This
Andy thinks that his life will get easier by dying, but it actually just ends his and makes everyone around him have a harder time.
Robbie and Andy's deaths are equally tragic, though one was an accident and the other was a suicide.