Symbolism In Tooth And Claw

Tooth and Claw, by T.C Boyle, is a short story about the main character, Junior, a man who only depends on others to get by, and struggles in life because of it. In life, we all find ourselves searching for alternative reasons as to why things don’t always workout the way we hoped they would; however, more often than not, the real reason lies within ourselves, no one or nothing else. It is up to that person to make something happen, and junior fails to do this, always relying on others. As if the title wasn’t enough, the short story is packed with symbolism, one of which being that, like the wild cat he had won, Junior is nothing without someone to take care of him, and he fails to be the change he wishes to see in the world. This is displayed in multiple Scenarios throughout the short story.

From the start it is clear that Junior is confused when his boss calls him and tells him not to come in for the day, but instead “take a couple days off and enjoy yourself”(Boyle 62).Without the direction of his boss and his job, Junior doesn’t know what it is he should do with himself for the day and he seems lost and turns to the comfort of drinking it away at his favorite bar, Daggett’s. Junior acts as if he needs direction of someone else, as pet would, to function. While drinking at the bar, in a haze, Junior wins a wild several that I man were trying to get rid of. This draws the attention of a waitress at the bar he has had his eyes on, Daria. When they get the cat home, they confine it to juniors bedroom, and he claims it hadn’t made a noise yet, but “…It’s existence communicated to me, it was there, I could feel it” (Boyle 72), showing that he connected with the animal and perhaps relates to it.

Junior appears to worry greatly ab...

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...egins to think of how far away and lost the cat must be, and without being certain that it had escaped, throws himself into the enclosed bedroom and shuts the door behind him, he explains “And then-and I don’t know why-I pulled the door shut behind me” (Boyle 83), in the instance, severely risking his life; however, like the several, feeling helpless and lost, he seems to be acting on impulse and not bothered by it.

The title of the short story, Tooth and Claw, demonstrates the basic needs of survival in the wild, as most animals in the wild have both. While also tying into the symbolic several and metaphorically relating to Juniors life as well because he does not have the necessities to live on his own. The story has a hidden message, which portrays junior’s life lacking “Tooth, and Claw”, or necessities for survival, proving that it was eventually his downfall.