The Night Tiger

Using more than one White character as a reference point, describe how the colonial, white supremacist characteristics of European characters interact with both local people and local modes of social organization. 

How does patriarchy shape Ji Lin’s choices or lack thereof? Also, how does she adapt and survive within a social structure that is highly hostile to her because she is a woman? Use evidence from the text.

Analyze the motif of the Five Confucian Virtues. What is the main purpose of this motif within the narrative, and what theme does Choo assert through the use of this motif?

Examine the Chinese weretiger myth as a perfect inversion of European werewolf lore. How does this diametric opposition correlate with the complexity of Malaya during the colonial era of the 1930s?

Analyze the motif of twins within The Night Tiger. Using at least two pairs of “twins,” explain the purpose of the motif within the narrative. 

Choose two main characters and perform a compare/contrast analysis of them. What do each character’s traits, central conflict and/or struggle reveal about the overarching social and power structure which surrounds them? What do these characters’ similarities and differences reveal about the world they live in?

Focus on either Ren, Ji Lin, or William for this essay topic. Why does your chosen character struggle to acknowledge and act upon the spiritual truths that make themselves apparent? Use psychological sociological, and historical lenses in your answer. 

What is Choo’s assertion about the social, economic, and spiritual complexity that defined 1930s colonial Malayan society? Does she take any hardline moral stances, or is her perspective on the intermixing of Malayan, Tamil, Chinese, and European cultures more nuanced? Name and articulate one thematic assertion that Choo makes, and back it up with concrete examples from the text.