The Child By Tiger

            There are many ways darkness is used in The Child by Tiger. Thomas Wolfe associates night with darkness throughout the story. "And all would come again - the shout of the young voices, the hard thud of the kicked ball, and Dick moving, moving steadily, Dick moving, moving silently, a storm-white world and silence, and something moving, moving in the night." (128) . This quote shows that black men during the night are camouflaged by their skin color, just like a tiger camouflaged in a fire. Another element used by Wolfe is the dark and unknown secrets of humans. "It was a savage clangorous alarm to the whole town, a brazen tongue to warn mankind against the menace of some peril, secret, dark, unknown, greater than fire or flood could ever be." (37) . The poem used at the end of the story uses this element when it questions Dick's character and background as being unknown. Darkness is used to describe the people and their moods. "In a moment the whole mob was storming in to the dark store." (68) . The store that the mob use and is described in the story is also where it will bring Dick to an end. "They came up swiftly, fairly baying at our heels as we sped across the sow-white square." (62) . Darkness is describing the atmosphere and setting as being dark and dull not only of the square. Evil is also an element used in The Child by Tiger . "A symbol of man's evil innocence." .
             Night, mysteries and secrets, the soul, shadows and evil are elements used in The Child by Tiger. The only time that darkness is evident is at night, that's why night is a common element used to portray darkness. You get the notion of darkness if something is mysterious, unknown or hidden. The human soul is also dark because its hidden and something that isn't evident to people. When Dick enters shadows are used to portray a change from light to dark. Shadows are dark and sinister. Evil is a dark element that is used to describe a human trait.