When You Trap a Tiger

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay. 

Scaffolded/Short-Answer Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the below bulleted outlines. Cite details from the novel over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. When Lily, Sam, and Mom move in with Halmoni, they form a multigenerational household.

• In which scene or through which conflict are their generational differences particularly clear? (topic sentence)
• What different ideas and values do each of the three generations of characters represent in that scene or conflict? Support your ideas with quotations and evidence from the novel.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, describe the way(s) in which one generation learns something from another in the conflict.

2. Conflict between Lily and Sam exists on several levels; the distance between them might be typical sibling struggle, but confusion and hurt from past situations play a role as well.

• By comparison, how would you describe the conflict between Mom and Halmoni? (topic sentence)
• Provide examples of the conflict between Mom and Halmoni. For example, how does Halmoni try to exert control over Mom? How does Mom respond? Support your ideas with details from the text.