Wild, fierce, and trapped, the tiger symbolizes Rob’s internalized feelings. Rob’s anger and grief are confined in his suitcase the same way the tiger is trapped in its cage. Rob doesn’t talk about or acknowledge his emotions: They are nameless and silent, like the tiger. Rob finds the tiger difficult to focus on, being “so enormous and bright that it was hard to look directly at him” (50), the same way Rob shies away from examining his emotions. The tiger’s restless pacing indicates a desire to escape its prison. Similarly, Rob scratches at his rash, a physical sign of his pent-up memories and emotions, but is unable to find relief.

At the beginning of the novel, the tiger is Rob’s special secret, that he comes to think of as “my tiger” (110), even though he trusts Sistine with the knowledge. Rob thinks the tiger will be enough to hold back all his other “not-thoughts” (4). The tiger occupies the same place in Rob’s heart “where his mother had been” (112), which makes the loss even more profound when his father shoots the animal.

Even though Rob can foresee negative consequences, he releases the tiger because of his friendship with Sistine: “I’m going to do it for you,” Rob tells Sistine when he announces he is going to unlock the tiger’s cage (103).