Lauren Davis

Mr. Thompson
English 130210
November 14, 2016
Silly Frivolous People
There are many character traits that in our society are looked down upon. In the short
story Mrs. Packletides Tiger, by Saki, the characters exhibit many of these characteristics such as
jealousy, greed, pretentiousness, among many others. The characteristics of the characters in the
story are not exactly the kind that one would aspire to have. They are in fact some of the worst
human kind has to offer. In this story, Saki tries to show how upper-class people of the VictorianEdwardian era are some of the worst people human kind had to offer by showing the character
traits of Mrs. Packletide, Miss. Mebbin, and Mrs. Bimberton.
Saki wrote the character Mrs. Packletide with many of the worst characteristics humanity
has, such as, jealousy, laziness, and pretentiousness. Mrs. Packletide is extremely jealous of her
rival Mrs. Bimberton after Mrs. Bimberton had been Carried [] in an aeroplane the result of
which everyone was talking about Mrs. Bimberton and Mrs. Packletide could not stand not being
the center of attention (Saki 1). She was so jealous that she was willing to do anything to out
shine Mrs. Bimberton including shooting a tiger. Another of Mrs. Packletides undesirable
characteristics is that she is lazy. To outdo her rival she tells every one that she is going to go
hunt a tiger, but she does not actually want to do any of the work that is involved with going and
hunting an animal. To ensure that she did not have to do any of the dirty work Mrs. Packletide
offered a thousand rupees [for] the opportunity of shooting a tiger without over-much risk or
exertion (1). The villagers set up everything for the hunt. They stationed children [who] were

posted night and day on the outskirts of the local jungle to keep the tiger from wandering away,
and sacrificed some cheaper kinds of goats [which they] left about with elaborate carelessness
in order to ensure the tiger was satisfied and would not run away to new feeding grounds (1).
The villagers also built a platform in a comfortable and conveniently placed tree and they
tethered [a goat] at the correct distance for use as bait to attract the tiger to the proper location
(1). Mrs. Packletide does not have to do anything other than pull the trigger to shoot the tiger,
which she fails at. However, because of her laziness she did not take the time to practice
shooting, which helps contribute to her down fall at the end of the story, this causes her to miss
the tiger entirely and shoot a goat instead. Mrs. Packletide is also a very pretentious person. Mrs.
Packletide tells everyone that she shot the tiger even though she did not, the tiger had actually
succumbed to heart-failure due to the sound of the gun shot (2). Mrs. Packletide is not the only
character that Saki has written that tells a lie of this magnitude. In Sakis Dependence
Dissidence: Exploring "The East Wing" by Gibson, Brian, Gibson tells of how Sakis character
Mrs. Gramplain invents a daughter to keep herself company then winds up falling for her own
lie, and tells others about her made up daughter. Gibson explains Mrs. Gramplains motives
behind inventing a daughter as a way to help herself get over her deep dissatisfaction with her
boring, sterile life (Gibson). However, these are not the only characters Saki wrote that have
flaws.
Saki also wrote the character Miss Mebbin with several of the worst characteristics
humanity has to offer such as, greed and disloyalty. Miss Mebbin is a very greedy person. Saki
tells the reader that Miss Mebbin had adopted a protective elder-sister attitude towards money
in general whether the money was hers or not, she was always thinking of ways to try and save
a penny. While in a Moscow hotel she had apparently saved, Mrs. Packletide, many a rouble

from dissipating itself [into] tips, and now with this hunt, she is trying to hoard money again
(2). Miss Mebbin suggests to Mrs. Packletide that if she shot the tiger before it ate the goat,
which was the bait, then they neednt pay for it because the (The bait [costs] extra) (2).
Another one of her character traits is that she is disloyal to her employer. A few days after Mrs.
Packletide attended a ball she and Miss Mebbin were talking, and Miss Mebbin comments about
how amused everyone would be if they knew what [had] really happened to the tiger (3). Mrs.
Packletide is horrified at the thought of anyone, especially her rival Mrs. Bimberton, finding out
about her secret, especially since, she has been bragging about killing the tiger to her friends.
Miss Mebbin then tells Mrs. Packletide about a week-end cottage near Darking that [she]
should rather like to buy, except for the small fact that she does not happen to have the money
to buy it (3). Needless to say Mrs. Packletide bought Miss Mebbin the cottage so that she would
not tell Mrs. Packletides secret to Mrs. Bimberton.
The character Mrs. Bimberton was also written with several of the worst characteristics
humanity has to offer, such as, jealousy and pretentiousness. Mrs. Bimberton is a jealous person.
When Mrs. Packletide shot her tiger and all the papers were running the story she refused to
look at an illustrated paper for weeks (2). Also when Mrs. Bimberton thank you note for the
gift Mrs. Packletide had sent her for her birthday was a model of repressed emotions (2). Mrs.
Bimberton also declined an invitation to a party that was supposed to be in her honor, simply
because it was hosted by Mrs. Packletide. Mrs. Bimberton said that there are limits beyond
which repressed emotions become dangerous (1). These examples all show that she could not
stand to be up staged by anyone. Mrs. Bimberton is also very pretentious. Mrs. Packletides
whole motivation for hunting a tiger was because Miss Bimberton had flown in an airplane, and
now she needed to take back the lime light (1). However as it turns out Mrs. Bimberton may

have only ridden on the plane in the first place to gain fame and recognition for being daring
enough to try it. According to Bijosh, a blogger who did a review on the short story, Mrs.
Bimberton may not have even been brave enough to go on the plane by herself (Bijosh). Bijosh
suggests that Sakis use of the word carried when referring to Mrs. Bimbertons ride on the
plane might mean that she had to be talked into riding on the plane (Bijosh).
In this short story Saki tries to show how many upper-class people had some of the worst
morals human kind had to offer by showing the character traits of the three main characters. Saki
does this by showing the bad qualities of the characters in his story in hopes that you will see
them in a certain light and come to think of the characters as silly frivolous people.

Works Cited
Bijosh, V. B. "Mrs. Packletide's Tiger by Saki." Web log post. ANGLO LAD. N.p., 17 Aug.
2015. Web. 9 Nov. 2016.
BIRDEN, LORENE M. "Layers of Naming And Responsibility In Saki's Short Stories." Brno
Studies In English 38.1 (2012): 55-76. Academic Search Complete. Web. 15 Nov. 2016.
Gibson, Brian. "Saki's Dependent Dissidence: Exploring "The East Wing." English Language
Notes 42.3 (2005): 39-52. Academic Search Complete. Web. 14 Nov. 2016.
Saki. "Short Stories: Mrs. Packletide's Tiger by Saki." Short Stories: Mrs. Packletide's Tiger by
Saki. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2016.

Outline
I.

Introduction
A.

Hook Describe bad characteristics.

B.

Thesis - In this story, Saki tries to show how upper-class people of the Victorian-

Edwardian era are some of the worst people human kind had to offer by showing the
character traits of Mrs. Packletide, Miss. Mebbin, and Mrs. Bimberton.
II.

III.

IV.

V.

Body one Mrs. Packletide

A.

Describe her jealousy.

B.

Describe her laziness.

C.

Describe her pretentiousness.

D.

Compare to secondary source.

Body two Miss Mebbin

A.

Describe her greed.

B.

Describe her disloyalty.

Body Three Mrs. Bimberton

A.

Describe her jealousy.

B.

Describe her pretentiousness.

C.

Relate to secondary source.

Conclusion

A.

Restate thesis In this short story Saki tries to show how many upper-class

people had some of the worst morals human kind had to offer by showing the character
traits of the three main characters.
B.

Summarize paper

C.

Relate