CBSE Class 12 English Vistas The Tiger King Kalki Assignment

Introduction: Kalki takes his readers to the days of autocratic and eccentric kings. These kings lived under the thumb rule of the British, hence they fear them. In order to make the story mysterious Kalki has added supernatural element in the story. The haughty king disapproved the prophecy made by the astrologer about his death, but his death from the wooden tiger (100th tiger) approved it.

The story ‘The Tiger King’ is satire on the conceit of those in power. Most of the time the rulers are not interested in serving the people or work for the welfare of the public; instead they spend their time foolish pursuits. Even the coteries who surround these power centres are interested in taking advantage of the proximity for their own welfare. This is a story about transience-of life, of power and reverberates the maxim: “Too many slips between a cup and a lip.”

The Title: “The Tiger King” is a very appropriate title for the story for several reasons. First of all, the king is crazy about tiger hunting so much that he marries a princess whose father’s kingdom has a sizeable tiger population. He kills one hundred tigers just to fulfil his vow. Secondly, the king with all his frenzy, anger and ruthlessness is as ferocious as a tiger. Thirdly, he dies of a silver prick received from a wooden toy tiger. Finally, the prediction that a tiger would cause the king’s death also comes true. Since the story revolves round the king and the hundred tigers that he kills, it could not be better titled than “The Tiger King”.

Irony: ‘The Tiger King’ is replete with irony that reveals the follies of autocratic and wilful rulers who flout all laws and bend them to suit their selfish interests. The dramatic irony in the story is sharp when the Tiger King alone is unaware that his bullet had not killed the hundredth tiger. The other characters and the readers anticipate his doom as he celebrates his triumph over his destiny. We realize how misplaced the King’s pride at killing the first tiger was. The astrologers had prophesied, “You may kill ninety nine tigers like this, but your death will be brought on by the hundredth tiger.” The King wanted to prove the astrologer wrong and to save his life. Ironically, to avert death he actually invites it. The lofty titles used to introduce the Tiger King, suggesting an invincible ferocity are indeed ironic for he is finally killed by a cheap, crudely made wooden toy tiger which became the tool of Nature’s revenge. He had killed a hundred tigers in vain and must be punished for it. Irony is indeed sharp when the surgeons announce the operation successful and declare the king dead. Instances of Satire: Satire employs irony, sarcasm, ridicule, etc. in exposing and criticizing follies and vices in men. The story uses humour to criticize self-seeking Kings who wilfully exploit both nature and their subjects for selfish interests.

a) When the Maharaja of Pratibandhpuram was told that he would be killed by a tiger, he could never imagine the twist in fate where a toy tiger could be fatal. Because of his conceit, he was unprepared for such surprises flung by life at him. 

b) The grandeur associated with a king’s life proves a mockery. The news of the king’s ailment invited not one, but three surgeons. They got so tied up in technicalities that they declared the operation successful even though the king died.

c) The story also satirizes the corrupting influence of power. Just because the Tiger King had power, he felt he could browbeat his subjects and even defeat fate. He neglected his responsibility as a ruler. He neglected the welfare of his subjects, his family, increased and reduced taxes at will and sacked his officers. They feared him or else he would have learnt the truth.

d) When we see the king gloating over his bravery after killing the hundredth old, weak tiger, we notice that Kalki is satirizing the notions of cowardice and bravery. There is no heroism in fighting an unequal battle. The King’s cowardice was obvious when he justifies that one may kill even a cow in self-defence.

e) Kalki is also criticizing the King’s men and subjects who pander to his whims out of fear or like the shopkeeper manipulate and fool him.

Light humour in the Tiger King:-
a) The instance of the Stuka bomber,
b) The king’s offer of mouse hunt etc.
c) The incoherent blabbering by the Dewan and the Chief Astrologer,
d) The Dewan procuring an old tiger from people’s park and its stubborn refusal to get off the car and the
description of its waiting in humble supplication to be shot,
e) The shopkeeper quoting three hundred rupees for a cheap two annas and a quarter toy tiger.

THEME:

1. The story is a satire on the conceit of those in power.

2. It makes an earnest plea for the protection of tigers.

Main Points :

1. The Maharaja Sir Jilani Jung Jung Bahadur of Pratibandapuram is known as The Tiger King.

2. A Miracle

(a) Infant- 10 days old spoke

(b) Asked intelligent question- the source and manner of his death.

(c) Cautioned all tigers.

3. The royal child grew stronger, taller.

4. Grew up in English environment

-taught by an English Tutor

-drank milk of an English cow

-look after by an English Nanny

-watched English films.

5. At the age of 20 he was crowned as king.

6. Began hunting tigers in Pratibandpuram.

7. Astrologer warned him to be careful with the 100th tiger.

8. He became the Sole Hunter and none other were allowed to hunt tiger.

9. He faced threat of losing his kingdom. One British officer was denied the permission to hunt tigers in Pratibandapuram or even get a photograph with the carcass of a tiger.

10. He saved his kingdom by gifting 50 expensive diamond rings, costing 3 lac rupees to the British officer's wife.

11. Maharaja killed 70 tigers in 10 years.

12. As there were no more tigers left in Pratibandpuram Maharaja married a girl from that royal state which had more tigers.

13. Hunted in his father-in-law's kingdom and killed 99 tigers.

14. He was feverishly anxious to kill the 100th but couldn't find.

15. News regarding presence of tiger near a village.

16. Irrational behaviour of king towards villagers

(a) First he gave 3-years tax exemption to find a tiger

(b) Later in anger he doubled land tax as no tiger was found

17. The hundredth tiger

THE TIGER KING

❑ Maharaja’s Childhood and Prophecy
– Jung Bahadur born, astrologers predict death due to a tiger
– Royal upbringing, everything had an English stamp-nanny, food, milk, tutor and entertainment
❑ Maharaja’s vow to kill tigers
– vowed to kill 100 tigers
– faced risks in tiger hunting
– heavy fine if anybody except the king hunted tigers
– risked his throne by not allowing British officer to hunt tigers.
❑ Obstacles in fulfilling his Vow
– Tiger population depleted
– Married a princess whose state had large tiger population
– killed ninety nine tigers, hundredth tiger refused to show up
– Feels frustrated at his inability to kill the 100th tiger.
– Officers lose jobs, revenue of a village increased as punishment for not finding a tiger.
❑ The Resourceful Diwan
– Arranged old tiger from Madras
– King shoots the tiger, misses the shot, tiger faints, taken for dead.
– Afraid to reveal this fact to the king
– 100th tiger actually killed by a hunter.
❑ Ironical Ending
– Having killed 100 tigers king becomes complacent and careless
– Buys wooden tiger on son’s birthday
– Wooden sliver pierces King’s right hand
– Infection spreads, operated by best surgeons, doesn’t survive.
Irony – King killed ninety nine tigers but death comes due to a toy tiger.

Long Answer Questions:

Question. The story is a satire on the conceit of those in power. How does the author employ the literary device of dramatic irony in the story?
Answer: Irony involves a situation in which the audience shares the knowledge with the author if which the character is innocent- author has made dexterous use of it- having killed the first tiger- King elated- but astrologer warns him of the hundredth tiger- so takes up a mission of killing 100 tigers- believes he has killed the hundredth one- but readers know that it only fainted- basking in the glory that he has disproved the predictions- wooden tiger- kills him by a sliver-author has shown how the king uses his power and does not take a ‘no’ for an answer- wants to disprove the prediction at the cost of hundred tigers- eccentric in his behaviour.

Question. What is the narrator’s indirect comment on subjecting innocent animals to the willingness of human beings?
Answer: The author wants to tell his readers- man is living in a world that God has created- every creature has a right to live- those who intrude into the lives of other living beings- committing an unpardonable sin- Maharaja kills tigers mercilessly- author also advocates against hunting through this lesson- this may lead to the extinction of a species- the next generation might be deprived of even seeing the species- King finally killed because it seems to be a punitive action for what he did.

Question. How would you describe the behaviour of the Maharaja’s minions towards him? Do you find them truly sincere towards him or are they driven by fear when they obey him? Do we find a similarity in today’s political order?
Answer: Since the Maharaja’s existence revolved around killing hundred tigers- his minions were driven by feardetermined to fulfil his mission threatened to confiscate the wealth of anyone who would fling even a stone on a tiger-when tiger population in his country reduced- married a girl from a state with more tiger population- exempted people from taxes when a tiger was reported in a village- doubled the taxes when it was not found- dewan knew that the hundredth tiger had to be found- bought a tiger from the People’s Park in Madras- even when the target was missed- people killed it for fear of losing their jobs- so the minions are not sincere but only feared the King- did not offer genuine advice- sycophants prevent the authorities from seeing the truth- even today autocratic rulers and monopolies have such a system.

 In the following videos we have explained you about the story of The Tiger King. In this nice video you will be able to understand the full story of Tiger King in just few minutes. Watch the video below –

GIST OF THE LESSON

• The Maharaja Sir Jilani Jung Jung Bhadur was called 'Tiger King'.
• When he was just 10 days old he asked intelligent questions to the astrologers and was told that he would be killed by a tiger. He uttered 'Let tigers beware!'
• No other miracle took place, the child grew like any other Royal child drinking white cow's milk, taught by an English tutor, looked after by an English nanny and watched English films.
• When he was 20, he was crowned as king. It was then the prediction of his death by the tiger reached the Maharaja's ear and he in turn to safe guard himself killed a tiger and being thrilled he told the astrologer who replied that he can kill 99 tigers but should be careful with the 100th.
• From then on he started killing tiger and none was allowed to hunt tigers. A high-ranking British officer visited the state that was fond of hunting tiger and his wish was declined.
• The officer requested for getting a photograph with a tiger killed by Maharaja and this request was rejected.
• So to please the officer's wife he sent 50 diamond rings expecting that she would take 1 or 2 instead she kept all the rings costing 3 lakh rupees and sent 'thanks' to the Maharaja. But his state was secured.
• In 10 years he killed 70 tiger and didn't find any in Pratibandapuram so he decided to marry a girl from royal state which had more tigers to complete his target.
• Whenever he visited his in-laws he killed 5-6 tigers. So he killed 99 tigers and was feverishly anxious to kill the 100th but couldn't find.
• News about the presence of a tiger near a village proved disappointing.
• Now the Dewan was warned of his danger so he visited 'People's Park in Madras' and brought an old tiger and placed it in the forest and informed the Maharaja.
• The Maharaja took great care and shot the tiger and left the place with great triumph.
• The bullet did not hit the tiger but out of fear the tiger had collapsed. Now the staff killed the tiger and brought it in grand procession.
• It was the 3rd birthday of the Maharaja's son and he wanted to buy a present from the toyshop.
He bought a wooden tiger which was poorly carved.
• While the Maharaja was playing with the prince a tiny sliver of the wooden tiger pierced his right hand which later on caused his death. Thus the hundredth tiger takes his final revenge upon the "Tiger King".

Question and Answer

Question. What was the miracle that took place in the royal palace?
Answer: When the Maharaja was a 10 day old infant spoke and asked intelligent questions about his death.
After knowing that he would be killed by a tiger he uttered saying "Let tigers beware."

Question. How was the Tiger King brought up?
Answer: As a child the Tiger King was brought up by an English nanny and tutored in English by an Englishman. He was given the milk of an English cow. Like many other Indian crown princes he watched only English movies.

Question. What did the State astrologer say he would do 'if the hundredth tiger were also killed'?
Answer: The State astrologer was so sure of his prediction that he announced that he would cut off his ceremonial tuft, crop his hair short and become an insurance agent in case the king was able to kill the 100th tiger, too. He was sure that the Maharaja's death would be caused by the 100th tiger.

Question. What did the high-ranking British officer wish to do? Was his wish fulfilled?
Answer: The high-ranking British officer wanted to kill a tiger. When he was denied the permission for hunting, he sent a word to the king that he would be happy if he was allowed to get photographed with the dead body of a tiger killed by the king. However, his wish remained unfulfilled.

Question. How did the Maharaja manage to save his throne?
Answer: The Maharaja had annoyed the visiting senior British officer over the issue of tiger-hunting and 'stood in danger of losing his kingdom itself'. So, the Maharaja and the Dewan decided to placate and pacify the officer through bribe by sending gifts of expensive diamond rings to the 'duraisani', the wife of the British officer. Thus he managed to save his throne.

Question. How did the 'duraisani' behave on receiving the gifts?
Answer: Some fifty samples of expensive diamond rings were sent to the duraisani and it was expected that she would select on or two and return the rest. But the lady proved to be greedy as she retained all of them and merely sent a letter of thanks.

Question. Why did the Maharaja's tiger killing mission come to a sudden still?
Answer: Within ten years Maharaja's tiger hunting had resulted in the killing of seventy tigers. However his tiger killing mission came to a sudden standstill because the tiger population became extinct in the forest of Pratibandapuram.

Question. Why did the Maharaja suddenly decide to marry? Whom did he wish to marry?
Answer: The Maharaja suddenly decided to marry because firstly, he was of marriageable age and secondly, he wanted to kill thirty more tigers in his father-in-law􂀙s state in order to complete the tally of hundred tigers .For this reason he wished to marry a girl in the royal family of a state with a large tiger population.

Question. Why did Maharaja order the dewan to double the tax?
Answer: The Maharaja called the dewan and ordered him to immediately double the tax of the villagers who had informed him of a tiger in the forest because despite his best efforts he was unable to locate the beast. This infuriated the Maharaja.

Question. What did the Maharaja buy as a birthday gift for his son?
Answer: The Maharaja wished to give his son a very special gift on his birthday and he bought a wooden toy tiger as a perfect birthday gift for his son.

Question. How did the king's arm become seriously infected?
Answer: The king's arm had got infected from a prick caused by one of the slivers on the wooden tiger. In one day, the infection got flared in the Maharaja􂀙s right hand and in four days it developed into a suppurating sore which spread all over the arm. Though he was operated yet he died.

Long answer type question

Question. How did the Tiger King meet his end? What is ironical about his death?
Answer: The wooden toy tiger the king had got as a birthday present for his son had been carved by an unskilled carpenter. It had a rough surface with tiny slivers of wood standing up like quills all over it. One of those slivers pierced the Maharaja's right hand and although the king pulled it, his arm got infected. In four days, it developed into a suppurating sore and spread all over the arm. The king died while being operated upon.
The king's death is ironical but not surprising for the reader who is, in fact, looking forward to it.
Having 'killed' the 100th tiger, the king is jubilant for he has fulfilled his vow and disproved the prediction of the royal astrologer. He is now at ease for he thinks he cannot die of a tiger's attack. No wonder, he orders the 'dead' tiger to be taken in a procession through the town and gets a tomb erected over it. All this while he does not know that the 100th victim was not killed by him but by other hunters.
That is indeed quite ironical. Death is lurking around him and the king is unaware of it. Again, it is ironical that a king who has killed 100 tigers and is bold and fearless dies of a mere 'sliver' on the body of a wooden tiger. Thus, ironically death does come to him from a tiger.

More Important Questions For CBSE Class 12 English The Tiger King Kalki Assignment........ 

Extract based questions:

1. The Maharaja and the dewan held deliberations over this issue. As a result, a telegram was dispatched forthwith to a famous British company of jewellers in Calcutta. 'Send samples of expensive diamond rings of different designs.‘

Question. To whom were the rings gifted?
Answer: The wife of the British officer

Question. Which word in the extract is a synonym of 'costly‘?
Answer: Expensive

Question. How many rings were received from the company?
Answer: About fifty

Question. What was the cost of these rings?
Answer: Three lakhs rupees

2. "First you may draw up statistics of tiger populations in the different native states. Next you may investigate if there is a girl I can marry in the royal family of a state with a large tiger population.‘‘

Question. How many tigers had the Tiger King killed before his marriage?
Answer: Seventy

Question. Which word in the extract is a synonym of 'find out‘?
Answer: investigate

Question. Who is the speaker of these words?
Answer: Tiger king

Question. Whom are the above lines addressed to?
Answer: The dewan

Short Answer Type Questions:

Question. What logic did the king give for killing a tiger in defence?
Answer: When the king grew up he encountered situations where he has reminded the prediction made bythe chief astrologer about his death. He strategised to kill the tigers in the forest of Pratibandapuram state.
He remembered an old logic to kill any animal even a cow in self-defence. So, based on that old saying he started his tiger hunt.

Question. How was the initial part of the king‘s tiger hunting?
Answer: After new laws were imposed by the state on banning the tiger hunt in Pratibandapuram, the king himself went for hunting tigers in the forest. He faced several challenges in his hunting adventure.
Sometimes the bullet missed the target and the tiger would leap upon the king but the king fought the beast with his bare hands, every time the Maharaja would win. During the initial journey, the Maharaja was solemnly determined to kill each and every tiger by himself.

Question. What was shocking about the ten-day-old king?
Answer: Being an infant, the ten-day-old king questioned something very sensible to the astrologers, who foretold the death of the king as soon as he was born. The king in his little squeaky voice described that death was normal but he was interested in knowing the reason and cause for his death. The King‘s concern towards his death mesmerized the astrologers.

Question. How did the king brandish his gun?
Answer: The king on his hunting adventure killed almost every tiger in his state and for that the population of the tiger got devastated. He summoned the dewan to put forward a strategy for hunting the last thirty tigers.
In utmost excitement, the king waved his gun around and pointed it towards the dewan.

Question. What thought did the king have about the hundredth tiger?
Answer: The prophecy had revealed that the tiger king had to be very careful with the hundredth tiger as it might be the reason for the king‘s demise. He addressed the tiger as a savage beast and he worried about the consequences as compared to the previous tiger hunting session.

Question. What did the astrologers predict? And how did the baby king react to it?
Answer: The transfixed astrologers, who witnessed the arousing concern from the king to know the reason behind his death, predicted that a tiger might be the reason for King‘s death as he was born in the hours of Bull.
The Tiger and the bulls were enemies and death should come from a Tiger.
The prince, Jung Jung Bahadur got electrified by the name of his enemy. Despite being in fear, without any hesitation, he gave a deep growl and was ready to go in a war against the Tigers.

Question. What were the desires of the British officer?
Answer: The British the officer who visited Pratibandapuram wanted to hunt the tigers of that state as he was fond of tiger hunting. After knowing that tigers could be hunted only by the king, the British officer sent words that Maharaja could do the actual killing but only a photograph is important to him where he will be holding a gun and standing over the tiger‘s carcass. This was the changing desires of the British officer from hunting a tiger to having a photograph with a dead tiger.

Question. How did the idea of marriage created fun and confusion?
Answer: On king‘s order, the dewan was summoned to the king‘s court for discussing strategies on hunting the last thirty tigers. Suddenly, the brandishing and pointing of the gun towards the dewan scared him and he got confused on the king‘s proposal for marriage. The dewan babbled a lot as he thought the proposal for the king‘s marriage was meant for him. Next, king‘s and his dewan‘s conversation took another direction which induced fun and laughter as the dewan thought the king wanted to marry a tigress as a queen.

Question. Why did the tigers start celebrating?
Answer: After the king and the astrologer had a long argument prior to the prophecy, new laws were introduced on banning the tiger hunt in the forest of Pratibandapuram state. So, the author described that it was the celebrating time for the tigers as no one except the king would hunt them due to the fear of property confiscation by the state.

Question. Why did the tiger king decide to marry? What filtering did he want for that?
Answer: The marriage the proposal was highlighted by the Tiger king so he could accomplish his goal of killing a hundred tigers and falsify the chief astrologer‘s prophecy.He called out for his dewan to draw a strategy for the fulfillment of his target. He told the dewan to look after for native states with high tiger population and then to investigate any princess that the king himself could marry. 

Question. What brought the tiger killing to a halt?
Answer: The prediction of the chief astrologer about the death of the king by a tiger, made the king become a tiger hunter of Pratibandapuram. He continued hunting the tigers till the population came to extinction in his state. Almost after killing seventy tigers, there were no more tigers found in Pratibandapuram, it was believed that either the tigers were following birth control measures or they had migrated away from the state of Pratibandapuram in fear of being hunted by the king.In this way, tiger killing came to a halt temporarily.