75 pages • 2 hours read
Tae KellerWhen You Trap a Tiger
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2020A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Symbols & Motifs
Symbols that Represent New Roles
There are several objects in the story that symbolize Lily’s defiance against her role as the quiet one in the family. First, Ricky places a camo hat on Lily’s head as they work on her tiger trap. Sam questions the hat, but Lily doesn’t take it off. It symbolizes a new potential role for Lily, as she would never wear something so odd. Ricky leaves the hat behind for Lily “just in case you find a hypothetical tiger” (137), a token of support as well as a symbol of her role as Halmoni’s protector. Lily brings the hat as protection when meeting the tigress on the first night of stories. Additional means of protection associated with her new role as tiger trapper are Halmoni’s mugwort and pearl pendant (the latter being of sentimental value as well).
The star jars foreshadow Lily’s eventual role as storyteller. Lily’s belief that the vessels hold trapped stories—and her crucial role in releasing them—speak to her love for Halmoni, her desire to save her. The idea of a jarred story sent across great distance and time symbolizes enduring love. Lily incorporates this image into the story she tells a dying Halmoni.
Motif of Name-Calling and Labels
The motifs of name-calling, unfair labels, and stereotypes come up throughout the novel. First, Sam tells Lily, “‘You’re being a QAG.’ QAG is Sam for Quiet Asian Girl. As in, a stereotype” (20). Lily’s courage becomes evident to Sam by the novel’s end, and she apologizes for her use of the label. Ricky shows concern over unfair labels when dissuading Lily from thinking him “stupid” (as he receives tutoring from Jensen). Ricky’s friends freely call Halmoni a “witch,” not thinking Lily might take offense; more upsetting to her is that Ricky doesn’t defend Halmoni, and instead describes her illness and associated fears with vague, insensitive language. Ricky later apologizes for “the stuff we said about your grandma. I mean, your harmony”; he tries to choose his words with more sensitivity: “I want you to feel more comfortable, so I’m using the Korean word […] But I can stop if you want. I don’t know what you want. What do you want?” (232). Prior to this reconciliation, Lily was met with a label from the tigress. Lily bristled at the creature’s implication that she had a “tiger side” while preparing Ricky’s muddy pudding, telling her, “I’m not a monster, Leave me alone” (214).
Symbols in the Tiger Stories
Looking at the stories told by Halmoni, Lily, and the tigress as allegories, they are plentiful in symbolism. The original tiger story’s stairs and rope represent different ways one can achieve a goal (in respect to Lily and Sam’s individual traits, talents, and personalities). The star jars represent the danger of trying to contain the uncontainable—such as strong emotions or important secrets. The original sky god who makes the tiger-mother choose between her human form and her baby represents the negligent rigidity of old traditions, especially those that limit women’s potential for success. The galaxy of jarred stories in Lily’s own tale represents all the love of “generations of women who’d fought for their hearts. Women who could be everything and anything” (275).
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