CBSE Class 12 English HOTs The Tiger King Set 01

Question. Who is the Tiger King? Why does he get that name? Or How did the Tiger King acquire his name?
Answer: The Maharaja of Pratibandapuram was often referred to as the Tiger King. He got this name because when he was born, a prophecy was made that a tiger would be reason for his death. Hence, he was called the Tiger King.

Question. What did the royal infant grow up to be?
Answer: The royal infant grew up to be crown Prince Jung Bahadur. He grew taller and stronger day by day. Like other princes in India, he grew up in a totally English atmosphere. He drank the milk of an English cow, was brought up by an English nanny, tutored in English by an Englishman and saw nothing but English films. He grew up and became just like an Englishman in his ways.

Question. What will the Maharaja do to find the required number of tigers to kill? Or What was the reason for the Tiger King’s sudden decision to marry? Or What was the hidden agenda behind the Tiger King’s marriage with the princess in the neighbouring state?
Answer: The hidden agenda behind the Tiger King’s marriage with the princess in the neighbouring state was to achieve his goal of killing a hundred tigers. Marrying a princess from a state with a large tiger population was one way to ensure that he had access to enough tigers to reach his goal. He had run out of tigers in his kingdom, and he needed to hunt thirty more tigers so as to prove the astrologer wrong.

Question. How will the Maharaja prepare himself for the hundredth tiger which was supposed to decide his fate?
Answer: The Maharaja’s anxiety reached a feverish pitch when there remained just one tiger to achieve the tally of a hundred. However, this last tiger was hard to be found as by this time the tigers went extinct even in his father-in-law’s kingdom. Soon, there were reports of a tiger near a hillside village in his own state. The king set out on the hunt at once. He also exempted the villagers from paying taxes for three years as a reward.

Question. What will now happen to the astrologer? Do you think the prophecy was indisputably disproved?
Answer: The king died and so no harm will come to the astrologer as there is nobody to question him. However, his prophecy was not disproved as the Maharaja was not able to actually kill a hundred tigers.

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: Dramatic irony is a literary device whereby the words and actions of the characters of a work of literature have an opposite meaning for the reader than they do for the characters. The author effectively uses the tool of dramatic irony in the story. For instance, after killing the first tiger, the Tiger King displays it ostentatiously in front of the astrologer. But the astrologer warns him to be ‘very careful with the hundredth tiger’. Having shot at the hundredth tiger, the king believed that it is dead. But the tiger had only fainted from the shock of the bullet flying past it. The irony comes into play when the king buys a wooden toy tiger for his son and gets injured from the slivers of wood. He dies due to an infection from the wooden sliver as he has been doomed to death.

Question. What is the author’s indirect comment on subjecting innocent animals to the wilfulness of human beings?
Answer: The author indirectly comments on subjecting innocent animals to the willfulness of human beings by portraying the Maharaja’s obsession with tiger hunting. The Tiger King goes on a hunting spree and interferes with the course of nature by indulging in the heinous slaughter of tigers. Through this portrayal, the author criticises the arrogance and cruelty of humans who exploit and harm animals for their amusement or perceived superiority.

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: The behaviour of the Maharaja’s minions towards him can be seen as driven by a combination of sincere loyalty and fear. While some may genuinely admire and support the Maharaja, others may obey him for fear of retribution or loss of status. One example of such a behaviour can be seen in the dewan. Although the dewan is Maharaja’s adviser, he knows that going against him can have disastrous consequences. So, he arranges the Tiger King’s marriage to a princess whose kingdom has a large tiger population. Later, he plants a tiger for the Maharaja to shoot just to save himself. This dynamic reflects a common theme in political systems where individuals may feel compelled to align with those in power, either out of genuine loyalty or self-preservation.

Question. Can you relate instances of game-hunting among the rich and the powerful in the present times that illustrate the callousness of human beings towards wildlife?
Answer: Instances of game-hunting among the rich and powerful illustrate human callousness towards wildlife. For example, trophy hunting expeditions, where wealthy individuals pay large sums of money to hunt and kill endangered animals for sport, highlight humanity’s disregard for these creatures’ lives. Additionally, destroying natural habitats for development or commercial interests further demonstrates humanity’s disregard for the well-being of wildlife and ecosystems.

Question. We need a new system for the age of ecology - a system which is embedded in the care of all people and also in the care of the Earth and all life upon it. Discuss.
Answer: Being the finest creation of God, man, on the basis of his intelligence, has dominated all other forms of life on Earth. In a bid to satisfy his innumerable needs, man has altered the symbiotic relationship between him and nature. Man’s needs have changed into greed now. It is said, “The Earth has enough for man’s need but not enough to satisfy his greed”. This has led to a dismal scenario in which we have to face problems like global warming, melting of polar ice-caps, receding glaciers, soil erosion, pollution, depleting forest cover and extinction of several species of flora and fauna. It is important that at this critical juncture, we need a revolution to save our planet and its ecological heritage. Thus, there is need for a new system for the age of ecology. This system should prioritise the well-being of all people and the Earth itself, recognising the interconnectedness of human societies and the natural world. It should promote sustainability, conservation and responsible stewardship of resources to ensure the health and vitality of ecosystems for future generations.

Exam Pattern Questions

Extract Based Questions

Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.
1. “All those who are born will one day have to die. We don’t need your predictions to know that. There would be some sense in it if you could tell us the manner of that death”,

Question. Complete the following suitably.
The speaker of the above lines is ............
Answer: the Tiger King

Question. To whom the above lines are addressed to?
Answer: The given lines have been addressed to the astrologers who have come to meet the prince.

Question. Which of the following can be attributed to the listeners of the given lines?
(a) Admiration
(b) Wonder
(c) Pride
(d) Respect
Answer: (b) Wonder

Question. How old was the speaker when he spoke the above lines?
Answer: The speaker was ten days old when he spoke the above lines.

2. From that day onwards it was celebration time for all the tigers inhabiting Pratibandapuram. The State banned tiger hunting by anyone except the Maharaja. A proclamation was issued to the effect that if anyone dared to fling so much as a stone at a tiger, all his wealth and property would be confiscated. The Maharaja vowed he would attend to all other matters only after killing the hundred tigers. Initially the king seemed well set to realise his ambition,

Question. Select the correct option.
‘... he would attend to all other matters only after killing hundred tigers.’ This reflects Tiger King’s
(a) courage
(b) determination
(c) selfishness
(d) kindness
Answer: (b) determination

Question. Complete the sentence appropriately.
‘From that day onwards it was celebration time for all the tigers’. The given statement is ironical in a sense ............
Answer: because the king initiated a ban on the hunting of tigers in order to safeguard them but it eventually ends in putting them in danger by hunting them himself.

Question. ‘... if anyone dared to fling so much as a stone at a tiger, all his wealth and property would be confiscated’. What trait of the king is reflected in the above line?
Answer: It is reflected from the above line that the king is ruthless and strict with regards to rules and regulations. However, he diminishes the same strictness when it comes to himself.

Question. State whether the following statement is True or False.
The King’s ambition is to save people from the tigers.
Answer: False

3. From that day onwards it was celebration time for all the tigers inhabiting Pratibandapuram. The state banned tiger hunting by anyone except the Maharaja. A proclamation was issued to the effect that if anyone dared to fling so much as a stone at a tiger, all his wealth and property would be confiscated. The Maharaja vowed he would attend to all other matters only after killing the hundred tigers. Initially the king seemed well set to realise his ambition. Not that he faced no dangers. There were times when the bullet missed its mark, the tiger leapt upon him and he fought the beast with his bare hands. Each time it was the Maharaja who won.

Question. Complete the following suitably.
The tone of the author when he says, ‘it was celebration time for all tigers’ is ............
Answer: sarcastic

Question. Why did the Maharaja want to kill tigers specifically?
Answer: The Maharaja wanted to kill tigers specifically because of the prediction that he would be killed by the hundredth tiger.

Question. On the basis of this passage, pick the option that enumerates the characteristics of the king.
1. gullible
2. arrogant
3. willful
4. aggressive
5. apathetic
6. scrupulous
(a) 1, 2 and 6
(b) 3, 4 and 6
(c) 3, 5 and 6
(d) 2, 3 and 5
Answer: (d) 2, 3 and 5

Question. What does the proclamation show us about the authority possessed by the Maharaja?
Answer: The proclamation show us that the Maharaja possessed immense power and the authority over the masses. No one disobeyed him for the fear of his anger.

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

Question. Complete the sentence appropriately, with reference to the extract.
The ‘deliberations’ were essential because ............
Answer: if immediate action was not taken to resolve the situation, the Maharaja could lose his kingdom.

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

Question. To whom the rings were gifted?
(a) Raja’s wife
(b) Wife of the British officer
(c) Killer of the 100th tiger
(d) Dewan
Answer: (b) Wife of the British officer

Question. On which issue Maharaja and the Dewan were tensed?
Answer: The Maharaja and Dewan were tensed because they prevented the British officer from fulfilling his desire of hunting a tiger in their kingdom. Hence, they were in fear of losing the kingdom.

5. The dewan went home convinced that if the Maharaja didn’t find the tiger soon, the results could be catastrophic. He felt life returning to him only when he saw the tiger which had been brought from the People’s Park in Madras and kept hidden in his house.

Question. Complete the sentence appropriately.
The phrase ‘life returning to him’ here means ............
Answer: resurrect things that are inactive

Question. Why was the tiger hidden in his house?
Answer: The tiger was hidden in the Dewan’s house so that he could fulfill King’s desire to kill the hundredth tiger.

Question. Which characteristic can you associate with the Maharaja on the basis of the given extract?
(a) Moody
(b) Manipulative
(c) Amiable
(d) Authoritative
Answer: (d) Authoritative

Question. Why was the dewan worried?
Answer: The dewan was worried because he might lose his job if the king’s demand aren’t met.

6. At midnight when the town slept in peace, the dewan and his aged wife dragged the tiger into the car and shoved it into the seat. The Dewan himself drove the car straight to the forest where the Maharaja was hunting. When they reached the forest, the tiger launched its satyagraha and refused to get out of the car. The Dewan was thoroughly exhausted in his efforts to haul the beast out of the car and push it down to the ground. On the following day, the same old tiger wandered into the Maharaja’s presence and stood as if in humble supplication, “Master, what do you command of me?” It was with boundless joy that the Maharaja took careful aim at the beast. The tiger fell in a crumpled heap.

Question. How did the Dewan manage to take the tiger to the forest?
(a) The Dewan conceded to the tiger’s satyagraha
(b) The Dewan pushed the tiger into the car and drove to the forest
(c) The Dewan hauled the tiger into the tent
(d) The Dewan persuaded the tiger into a humble supplication of the Maharaja
Answer: (b) The Dewan pushed the tiger into the car and drove to the forest

Question. Choose the correct option.
The attitude of the Dewan in the above extract can be described as ....... (negligent and reluctant/meek and servile)
Answer: meek and servile

Question. Select one statement or expression from the extract that reflects the humorous writing style of the author.
Answer: “Master, Maharaja’s presence and stood as if in humble supplication, ‘Master, what do you command of me’?” (This exaggeration of the tiger bowing down humorously reflects irony and satire.)

Question. State one reason for the ‘boundless joy of the Maharaja’.
Answer: The Maharaja was overjoyed because he believed he had successfully killed his hundredth tiger and fulfilled his vow.

The Tiger King