Moon Tiger Rivalry

In the excerpt from the novel Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively, a brother and sister are searching for fossils while their mother waits nearby. This excerpt illustrates the complex relationships you may have with family. These complex relationships are dramatized through dialogue, perspective, and word choice.
Initially in the excerpt you the perspective of Claudia, who is a young girl trying to enjoy her day searching for fossils. As she climbs and searches, she notices her brother. When she realizes he has found something she becomes overwhelmed with “suspicion and rivalry.” This is something many siblings experience throughout life, whether it is one getting a better Christmas present or making the basketball team instead of the other. The dialogue between the brother, Gordon, and Claudia set a tone for their relationship as competitive. They seem to be willing to do anything to beat the other in rivalry of being the better sibling. While she seems to look up to him, she also seems to have a strong rivalry. Consequently, this need to be better leads to her falling from a cliff. The use of word choice helps the reader imagine the “hammered” pain and painful “thumping” sound as she falls. Their complex relationship has now left

As the children argue over who is at fault the mother must think of all that has happened. While so much is going on around her she is still astonished by the tenacity of her children. From the reader’s point of view she is angered with them, but also exhausted, caring, and understanding. She is angered with their ongoing rivalry that cause her exhausting headaches. While she tries to care for them and consoles them with advice and sympathy, she realizes that it is only the world to blame due to its malevolent ways. While she finds love and exhaustion in the relationship with her children the complexity of the world is something she knows she can’t