32 pages 1 hour read

Rajiv Joseph

Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo

Fiction | Play | Adult | Published in 2009

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Essay Topics

1.

Consider the Tiger in relation to the Iraq War he’s unwittingly become a part of. Does his plight in any way intertwine with the war? Is there a connection between the Tiger’s predatory nature and America’s occupation of Iraq?

2.

Though Bengal Tiger is more specifically focused on its specific characters, it takes place against the backdrop of the Iraq War and the war is central to the piece. What message or view about the war is Joseph trying to make through the play? What is the play’s stance on the war?

3.

Analyze Joseph’s decision to depict the play’s deceased characters as ghosts who roam around Baghdad. What does this illuminate about the war or Joseph’s depiction of religion? Why have the Tiger, Kev, and Uday all been chosen to remain in Baghdad, haunting those left behind?