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Lady Tigers - Coggle Diagram

- - - - Rusty: Red/copper haired. Red hair on men is typically seen as undesirable and unfortunate. Rusty's character is relatively unlucky in relation to his situation with his dad and his sexuality. His name gives the reader a deeper insight into how unlucky Rusty really is, at times he seems just like a normal 18 year old, but after further analysis the reader starts to pick up on the hits and symbols that Rusty is pretty unfortunate
    - - Dede: Broken hearted, Sorrowful, Divine
      - Her name is significant because it initiates Rusty seeing the players as individuals rather than a collective team. Dede means broken hearted, sorrowful and divine this is significant because Rusty sees all the players as basically the same, but after the accident, he learns her name and begins to see her as more than just a player on the team. The meaning of Dede is broken hearted sorrowful and divine which is significant to the way Rusty sees her, as deeper than just a softball player. When Rusty describes Dede as number 12 in the story, he mentions that she's the first on the bus, hinting to the leadership role she possesses. He also describes her with eye black smeared down her face, but her top knot all but destroyed. Her hair serves as a symbol in this scene. Through the harshness of the rain, her eye black was smeared, she was soaked from the rain, yet her hair was perfect. This is to show the toughness of Dede, the outside world was beating against her and pushing her down, but she still remained "all but destroyed" because of how physically and mentally strong she is.
    - - Carrie: strong, free. Anne: Gracious, merciful. Her name was significant in the story, partly because Rusty didn't care enough about the players to know their names, meaning in his eyes who she was wasn't significant, only the fact that his dad had an affair with any of the player was who mattered, not who it was specifically. Secondly, the meaning of her name , gracious and merciful hints at the fact that it was Rustys dad who was mainly to blame for what happened, because Carrie-Anne was seen as strong and gracious, vulnerable to people in authority positions. We also don't find out her name until later in the story when Rusty finds out that Carrie-Anne was pregnant and had his fathers kid.
    - - Tiger: will power, courage and personal strength. Naming the team the Lady Tigers rather than just the tigers is to draw attention to the fact that they are female. Women are typically stereotyped as weak, fragile and vulnerable where the tiger is seen as strong and courageous, the opposite of a woman. They're not the only team that has its name beginning with lady. It says in the story that the Lady Tigers are playing the Lady Stars. Which means that the entire league puts emphasis on the fact that they are women first, before the ferocity of their mascot
      - Nick White describes the team both the way Rusty sees them, as a collective and then them as individuals. We figure out that number 8's mom is a nurse so she can tell Rusty has a concussion. We also see that number 12(Dede) is more of a leader on the team "number 12 barking orders to everyone else". Number 45 is the muscle of the team, she tackled and pinned Rusty to the floor. Before the accident, we only see the players as Lady Tigers, but deeper into the story, we learn more about them as individuals as Rusty starts to see them that way
    - - Robert: Bright, fame. Rusty's initial love intrest in the story is Robert. The name Robert mens bright and fame which is ironic because Rusty refers to him as a secret. Since Rusty is still 'closeted' he doesn't make his relationship with Robert known because he doesn't want his father to know he's gay. So even though Robert is a name that's meaning is noticeable, Rusty and him are still a secret.
- - - - Rusty's dad was a very masculine character and saw the way Rusty did things as girly, or curious as he called it. Due to the way Rusty was hesitant to tell his father he was gay, the reader comes to the conclusion that Rusty believed his father sees men a certain way. The time Rusty tells his father that he's gay is made so his father, who is already at a low point, see Rusty being gay as just one more mistake in his life. Yet Rusty still tries to met the masculine based expectations of his father by driving the bus for the Lady Tigers because that's the closest he can get to doing something manly or athletic to meet the expectations of his father. The expectations that come from his father were so much stronger because Rusty is an only child. Rusty has no siblings to be compared to, if he were to have a brother, his father might be more relaxed because if he "failed" to make Rusty manly, maybe his brother would be. Unfortunately, Rusty being an only child means his father was trying to force Rusty into this perfect vision he had of a kid which in turn put more pressure on Rusty to try and conform to his fathers ideas.
      - Rusty was perceived a different way by the members of the Lady Tigers. The Lady Tigers saw him as a direct reflection of his father and a constant reminder of what happened. They're reminded of Carrie-Anne, because her kid looks exactly like Rusty, especially his eyes. The Lady Tigers are impartial to Rusty because they don't know each other well. The team sees him as his dad, knowing since they were part of the same family, Rusty had to have known and had some part in his fathers mistakes.
    - - The main theme in the story is related to Rusty and his perception of the world. Specifically, he sees the Lady Tigers just as their numbers and the collective team. As Rusty gets to know the individual girls, his perceptions of the girls changes, and Rusty regrets not learning the names of each individual player. While they wait out the storm, Rusty's perceptions of each girl slowly change. He sees Dede as a leader and a captain and he sees Carrie-Anne more than just a pitcher on the team. Rusty learns how much he, as well as his father impacted the girls on the team. Rusty sees a more vulnerable side of the girl, overtaken by anger towards his family and how they would contemplate harming them because of what they did. While they're stranded is when Rusty's perceptions change and he sees each girl in a different light
      - It's evident throughout the story that Rusty perceived the coach as not only, the new coach of his fathers team, but someone he wanted to be romantically involved with. He describes the coach is such a manner that the reader can see how far Rusty has fallen for the coach. " The foot was not in range of any of Rusty's mirrors, but he could picture it regardless. The smooth sole, the colour of sunrise... The neat toenails, the instep, the delicate wrinkling of skin at the knuckles." Rusty loved the way the coach spoke to him, not harsh like he did the team but in "a quiet hungry way" Like his father, Rusty didn't notice as much of the inappropriate behaviour with Coach Culpepper, because of the way he perceived them. He dismissed actions from the coaches that could be seen as inappropriate because of his loving relationship with both his dad and Culpepper.
  - - - Rusty
        
        Rusty's fathers decision to abuse his authority over one of his players tore Rusty's family apart. The morning after Rusty finds out about his dad's behaviour, his mom informs him that his father has "skedaddled". Since then, Rusty never saw his father and lost that masculine influence on his life. The story doesn't mention much about how Rusty's mom was impacted by her husbands affair and absence in their life, but we know his mom works at the Piggly Wiggly and most likely has to work more hours now that Rusty's dad is no longer a source of income. However, his father fleeing from the impacts of his actions results in Rusty losing a father figure in his life, but also is relieved of the pressure of his father's expectations.
        
        Rusty's dad no longer coaching the Lady Tigers opened Rusty up to the opportunity to meet and talk with Culpepper. Driving long hours sitting by the coach grew Rusty's crush on him. Rusty's dad's actions domino into the next events of the story. The coach making the decision to drive through the storm, Rusty being distracted by the coaches bare foot and inappropriate bus etiquette causing the bus to crash. All of these issues can be drawn back to the actions Rusty's dad made. One could speculate that if Rusty's dad was still the coach, they would've waited out the storm or if they chose to drive, Rusty's wouldn't have been distracted and they would've gotten back safely.
        
        Rusty's own decision to remain the Lady Tigers bus driver after the scandal is also impacted by his fathers actions. What his father did alters the perception the team had on him. The team now saw him as a constant reminder of what had happened, especially since they claim Carrie-Anne's baby has Rusty's eyes. Although it is mainly as a result of his own actions, Rusty's relationship with the team is altered. While his dad was coaching, Rusty was still distant as a result of his perceptions, but after his father confessed, the team didn't see him as just distant, but as an accomplice to the behaviour. Rightly so because it was his own father, happening in his household.
      - Carrie-Anne
        
        The story is centred around Rusty and the Lady Tigers, but the reader still feels a sense of unknowing sympathy for Carrie-Anne. Rusty's dads actions had the most visual impacts on her. The reader can infer that Carrie-Anne fell victim to her authority figure, Rusty's dad. Instead of being the Lady Tigers strong pitcher, known for the nosebleeds she would commonly get on the field, she was known as the girl who got pregnant her coaches baby. Carrie-Anne now has to raise a child without the help of the child's father and completely alter her life around the upbringing of her kid. Carrie-Anne no longer has time to play softball for the Lady Tigers, but instead find and hold down a job to work and support herself and her kid. Rusty's dads actions completely changed Carrie-Annes life as well as her future and how others perceived her.
      - The team
        
        Rusty calls the team a pack, and in most instances, that's exactly what they were. They had an unshakable bond with each other, practically a sisterhood. Knowing their coach was sexually involved with a member of their team. came as a shock. Especially once they discovered that their teammate was pregnant with their coaches baby. The reader can almost feel the emotional pain the girls on the team did. One admitted they would drive by Rusty's house and think about driving their car through their window, others admitted they thought of doing worse. Not only did Rusty's dad's actions affect each players emotional state, but also resulted in the team losing their star pitcher and their undefeated coach. Rusty's dad lead that team to an undefeated state championship and since his actions resulting in him leaving the team, the team hasn't won any games. Rusty's dads actions hurt the players mentally as well as the team's success, leaving them all together, worse off