The lady and the tiger

The Lady and the tiger is a short story written by Frank Stockton. It takes place the olden days and is about a king and his justice system. The system is somewhat barbaric and relies on faith.

Long story short, in the king’s arena, there is two doors. One leads to certain death where you will be eaten by a starving lion and the other to a beautiful young lady, who you’ll marry right after choosing the door.

People who have wronged the king get pushed into this unfair justice system. However, if you take into consideration that this story takes place in the years of gladiators and fighting arenas, it is rather a good system. Let me elaborate, the prisoner is given a choice, either live or die. Even though he isn’t the one choosing it, it is still there. And the chances of them picking the good door is fifty-fifty with the bad door. So with all this in mind, I think it is still a good justice system for the date of this story.

The story itself was not difficult to read but it wasn’t easy either. The language was developed and embellished. The author knew how to create an ambiance and how to really get the reader’s attention. Which made it flow nicely.

The biggest part of the story is when the king finds out about his daughter’s lover. He sends the boy to the arena to make sure that his daughter will no longer see him. Since he will either be eaten or married. Of course, the daughter finds out which is in which door. She then raises her right hand to signal her lover. The story ends with him going through the door on the right. It ends there. Not knowing if he is alive or dead. If she chose to let her lover die or send him to a life without her.

I liked the ending because it makes you think. Like what would I have done? It stretched the suspense throughout the last page and it was perfect. I think she choose the lion because she was the barbaric king’s daughter. She loved him too much to let him be with someone else…