CBSE Class 12 English Vistas The Tiger King Kalki Assignment

CBSE Class 12 English Vistas The Tiger King Kalki Assignment. Students are advised to refer to the attached assignments and practice them regularly. This will help them to identify their weak areas and will help them to score better in examination. Parents should download and give the assignments to their children for practice.

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.

 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 –

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