Tiger, Tiger, Burning Bright

[vovat]

When I try to explain the Hungry Tiger to people who haven't read the Oz books, the conversation often goes something like this:

Me: He wants to eat fat babies, but his conscience won't let him.
Other Person: What kind of books ARE these?

I guess it IS kind of a messed-up character trait, isn't it? Especially since he has a particular preference for FAT babies in particular. I guess he should never go anywhere near Maury's show. {g} While he pretends that having a conscience is a burden, some of his friends suspect he's just maintaining an image. The Tiger is officially introduced in Ozma, but there's a minor appearance by a tiger in Wizard that many readers (myself among them) think is the same cat. He's a friend and companion of the Cowardly Lion, assisting him in bodyguard and chariot-pulling duties for Ozma, but he tends not to appear in the spotlight as much as his famous friend. His two most significant (dare I say "meatiest"?) roles are in the short story "The Cowardly Lion and the Hungry Tiger" and (of course) his own book, both of which involve his almost giving in to the temptation to eat people, but not going through with it. In terms of appearance, he's described as "a great Tiger with purple stripes around his lithe body, powerful limbs, and eyes that showed through the half closed lids like coals of fire."

While largely living in the shadow of his cowardly compatriot, the Tiger is still a pretty popular character, enough so that David Maxine's small publishing company is named after him. There are apparently also a few restaurants called "The Hungry Tiger," but it's not entirely clear whether they have any relation to our famished feline friend from Oz.

Comments

[bethje.livejournal.com]

Riding on a tiger? {snort} It's way more plausible, when He-Man rides on Battlecat, whatever he is.

Those books really do go over hte edge, you know? Miles beyond. I can't get into that.

[vilajunkie.livejournal.com]

Well, it IS turn-of-the-century fantasy fiction. I'm sure there's stuff you like that I wouldn't read/watch. :)

[vovat.livejournal.com]

Yeah, no one rides tigers in any of the Saw movies. {g}

Really, if a tiger is friendly, I'm not sure why you couldn't ride it.

[ozma914.livejournal.com]

I suppose it would be little different from riding a cow, or a mule -- as long as it was a friendly tiger. If it happened in the Saw movies, the rider would end up in the tiger's belly!

In any case, this is a children's universe in which a sawhorse comes to life and a chariot is drawn by flying swans ... taken in context, there's nothing over the top about the Hungry Tiger.

[bethje.livejournal.com]

No. I choose only to like the best things ever.

btw, I hope I didn't freak you out, when Nathan was IMing with you the other night.

[vilajunkie.livejournal.com]

Oh, no I didn't freak out. I thought it was hilarious!

[burningofroissy.livejournal.com]

But...but...fat babies are so delicious! You know what they say, you can't eat just one.

[ozma914.livejournal.com]

If they're fat enough you don't have a choice -- very filling.

[ozma914.livejournal.com]

I've always thought him a fascinating character -- assuming he really *does* want to eat fat babies, and isn't just posturing for the sake of image. Talk about a conflicted character!

[vovat.livejournal.com]

I know one critic described the Tiger as a good example of the battle between id and superego.

[ozma914.livejournal.com]

I've heard of at least two psychological studies done on either Baum or his universe; it's interesting to speculate on.

[kevenn.livejournal.com]

I love him. But the purple stripes - it's such a bad combination with the orange. I kinda ignore that detail (seems like 'Neil did too) when I depict him.

[vilajunkie.livejournal.com]

I'm wondering if Baum had something else in mind when describing him with purple stripes. I dunno, doesn't glossy fur change color depending on the lighting?

[vovat.livejournal.com]

In "The Story of Jaglon," Baum mentions the title character (also a tiger) as having purple stripes and tawny fur. Is there any light in which tiger stripes look purple, which might have given Baum this idea?

[rockinlibrarian.livejournal.com]

That is a pretty awesome character.

[speciesof1.livejournal.com]

The Hungry Tiger's hilarious.

Those painted Hildebrandt Oz covers were sweet. They were the ones in use when I was first exposed to the series, so they have a special place in my heart. It's surprisingly hard to find images of them online, though.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

Michael Herring, the guy who drew the Del Rey covers, has an article in the latest Baum Bugle. I've thought about making a post (or maybe more than one) comparing his covers to the original Neill ones, but I haven't looked to see whether all of the relevant pictures are online.

Where did your picture of the Tiger come from, by the way?

[speciesof1.livejournal.com]

Huh. I wonder why I thought they were by the artists the Hildebrandt brothers. All this time, I was attributing them to the wrong person! Thanks for the correction.

The Hungry Tiger picture is from the website of David Lee Ingersoll. The guy's done some Baum Bugle illustrations in the past, I believe. Apparently, the image is from a planned revival of the Oz Squad comic. http://sentient39.comicgenesis.com/ozwhowho.html

[vovat.livejournal.com]

Greg Hildebrandt did illustrate an edition of the first Oz book (http://www.amazon.com/Wonderful-Wizard-Oz-Frank-Baum/dp/0762416289), but I don't think he did anything with any of the others.

And now that you mention it, I've seen that page of illustrations before. And hey, they have Orks!

[(Anonymous)]

Riding on a tiger/lion?

Is Narnia off topic?


{betsy bobbin not logged in}

[vovat.livejournal.com]

Well, unlike Aslan, the Hungry Tiger isn't a Christ figure. {g}