We have Provided the NCERT/CBSE Solutions chapter-wise for Class 12 English Vista Chapter 2 The Tiger King with Answers by expert subject teacher for latest syllabus and examination. Students also can take a free NCERT Solutions of The Tiger King. Each question has right answer Solved by Expert Teacher.
NCERT Solutions Class 12 English Flamingo Vista
Page no: 17
READING WITH INSIGHT
Q1. 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: On surface level, ‘The Tiger King’ seems to be a simple story about a royal prince, his growth and exploits as a king. The prophecies at his birth about the manner of his death make the story interesting by introducing the element of surprise and suspense.
On a deeper level, the story is a satire on the conceit of those in power. It is usually seen that those in power have too much pride in themselves and what they do. Two such specimens in the story are the Tiger King and the British officer. The author employs dramatic irony and humour to show their faults and weaknesses. The words of these characters carry an extra meaning. They do not know what is going to happen. The Tiger King resolves to hunt a hundred tigers to disprove the prediction of the astrologer. In his stubbornness, he falls prey to a wooden tiger. The high-ranking British officer is equally vain. He is more interested in photograph with carcass than hunting itself. The Tiger King offers to organise any other hunt except tiger-hunt. It may be a boar-hunt, mouse- hunt or a mosquito-hunt. He has to lose three lakh of rupees for his refusal. The ego of the British officer is satisfied when his wife is pleased to get diamond rings sent by the Maharaja.
Q2. What is the author’s indirect comment on subjecting innocent animals to the willfulness of human beings?
Answer: Through this satirical story, the author has rightly portrayed how human beings have subjected innocent animals to untold torture and death, merely to fulfil their own whims and fancies. The Maharaja’s indiscriminate killing of tigers led to their extinction in some states, but the Maharaja was oblivious to the grave consequences, his action was leading to. In order to prove the astrologer wrong, the Maharaja went on a killing spree, proving his dominance over the hapless animals.
Q3. 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: Maharaja’s subordinates were servile against him mainly because of his anger and obstinacy that could result either in losing their employment for no apparent fault of theirs or facing unjustified retribution. Nobody dared to take the risk of explaining to the king the repercussions of the killings or giving him some suggestions or guidance on the way. No one attempted to challenge any of his actions – whether it was to annihilate tigers or to marry for the purpose of taking more opportunities for tiger-hunting. No one challenged his lack of duty against his people or state. They actually did not wish to intervene, and were happy to obey, lest the repercussions should be met. They merely had to adhere to his whims and fancies and for that very reason, they existed pure. The basic logic was that they did not deserve to be in the work if they could not do an acceptable job. Even his dewan was told to resign from his post when he attempted to point out the impracticality of doubling people’s collected taxes. So much so that the shopkeeper could not communicate the original price of an object, the hunters could not tell him that the hundredth tiger was alive, and even his dewan had to arrange stealthily for a tiger to be brought from Chennai.
Q4. 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: There have been some instances of game hunting in the present times. Even the affluent have been involved in instances that illustrate the callousness of human beings towards wildlife.
Salman Khan – Black Buck poaching case.
Nawab Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi – Antelope case.
Q5. 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: In our diverse and increasingly interdependent world, it is crucial that we, the people of earth, declare our responsibility to the greater community of life. The survival of our earth depends upon the consciousness that we should move beyond nationalism to more global concerns, for instance, to a sense of bio-regionalism. The well-being of people and the biosphere depends upon preserving clean air, pure waters, fertile soils, and a rich variety of plants, animals and ecosystems. The global environment with its finite resources is a primary concern of all humanity. The community of our planet stands at a defining moment. With science and technology have come great benefits and also great harm.
The dominant patterns of production and consumption are altering the climate, degrading the environment, depleting resources, and causing massive extinction of species. A dramatic rise in population has increased the pressures on ecological systems and has overburdened social systems. The challenges humanity faces can only be met if people everywhere acquire an awareness of global inter- dependence, identify themselves with the larger world, and decide to live with a sense of universal responsibility.
Extra Questons of The Tiger King
Q1. How does the tiger behave towards the dewan, the Maharaja and the hunters? What does his behaviour show?
Answer: The tiger behaves like a pet animal with the dewan. The dewan and his aged wife drag the tiger to the car and shove it into the seat. In the forest, the tiger launches its satyagraha and refuses to get out of the car. The Dewan tries hard to haul it out of the car and push it down to the ground.
It stands before the Maharaja as if in humble supplication. It falls down in a crumpled heap as the Maharaja fires the gun. It faints from the shock of the bullet whizzing past. It looks back at the hunters rolling its eyes in bafflement. This shows that it is a very old and weak tiger.
Q2. Did the prophecy of the astrologer come true at the end of the story?
Answer: Yes, the prophecy did prove true as his death came out of the hundredth tiger, i.e., the wooden tiger. He thought that he had killed the hundredth tiger, but actually, he missed its mark and was killed by one of the ministers. The destiny played its role as the hundredth tiger was the wooden tiger
Q3. In Pratibandapuram it was “easier to find tiger’s milk than a live tiger”. Why was this so?
Answer: After the Maharaja had heard of the astrologer’s prediction, he set out to hunt a hundred tigers. He vowed he would attend to all other matters only after killing a hundred tigers. Within ten years, he was able to kill seventy tigers, but with this the tiger population became extinct in the forests of Pratibandapuram. To kill thirty more tigers, he asked his minister to find a girl from a royal family in a state with a large tiger population.
Q4. The Tiger King’s story is a story of satire and irony. Substantiate with examples.
Answer: The writer has dealt the serious facts in a very humorous and lighter mood. In the very beginning one can see the astrologer’s prediction that the baby would be the warrior of warriors and the champion of champions after becoming adult but he would die some day. At this the ten day old baby asked the astrologers the manner of death. The chief astrologer told that he would die from a tiger. If that did not happen, he would tear his books and get his tuft cut. Side by side one can note that the prince is brought up in an English environment under the care of an English nurse.
After having taken the rein of his state, the king starts killing the tigers. In between a high ranking British officer expresses his desire to get himself with a dead tiger so as to brag of his bravery. To save his throne, he has to send rare samples of precious fifty diamond rings to the Englishman’s wife. The greedy woman keeps the whole lot. He marries a royal daughter whose father has forests with large tiger population. One can note deep humour and satire in these facts. Then the dewan arranges for a tiger lest he should lost his job. The king is much happy to kill the hundredth tiger but he does not know the truth of its survival. As luck would have it, he purchases a wooden tiger to gift his son.
But this wooden tiger becomes the cause of this mighty Tiger King. Thus we can agree that all these details are humorously presented with an under current of satire and irony in the story ‘The Tiger King.’
Q5. What will now happen to the astrologer? Do you think the prophecy was indisputably disproved?
Answer: The astrologer dies before the king of Pratibandapuram gets an opportunity to kill one hundred tigers. Disproving his prophecy seems to be the sole reason for the king’s existence. Except for killing hundred tigers, everything else takes a back-seat for the king.
The prophecy cannot to be indisputably disproved as the king was ultimately killed by a tiger, though neither by a real one nor by the hundredth one. Looking at the weak, old and almost lifeless tiger that was the hundredth one, no one would have thought that it would escape the king’s bullet by fainting at the shock of the bullet whizzing past. It was the “tiny little wooden tiger” from the toy shop that caused the death of Tiger King.
Q6. What aspects of the Maharaja’s nature and conduct does the wait for the hundredth tiger reveal?
Answer: The wait for the hundredth tiger reveals the royal rage, obstinacy and firm determination of the Maharaja. He refused to leave the forest until the tiger was found. Many officers lost their jobs because of his anger. Even the dewan was asked to resign his post. This shows that the Maharaja was insensitive towards his employees.
Q7. How did the hundredth tiger reach the forest?
Answer: The King’s Dewan had a tiger hidden in his house, which had been brought from the
People’s Park in Madras. At midnight, when the entire town was sleeping, the Dewan and his aged wife dragged the tiger into their car and took him to the forest.
Q8. How was the hundredth tiger found?
Answer: The dewan got a tiger from the People’s Park in Madras and kept it hidden in his house. At midnight when the town slept in peace, the dewan and his aged wife dragged the tiger to the car and shoved it into the seat. The dewan himself drove the car straight to the forest where the Maharaja was hunting.
Q9. Why was the King worried after having killed ninety-nine tigers? How did his worries come to an end?
Answer: The long had killed ninety-nine tigers. No tiger remained even in his father-in-law’s kingdom. He was deeply worried as he became very anxious and restless to kill the hundredth tiger. Then alone he could believe the astrologer’s sooth saying. Soon a good news came to him from a village in his kingdom. The sheep had started disappearing there. He sent his people to look for the tiger and soon went to stay in the forest to find and kill the tiger in vain.
Then his Dewan brought a tiger from the Madras circus and left the old tiger in the forest secretly. The Tiger king hit the tiger with the bullet of his gun. He became overjoyed on hearing that he had killed the hundredth tiger. He told his soldiers to bring the tiger to his palace. He thought he had disproved the predictions of the astrologers. The soldiers found the tiger alive. The Tiger king had missed the target. To keep everything a close secret, the soldiers killed the tiger and brought to pratibandapuram. The king became carefree now. In this way, his worries came to an end.
Q10. Why was the Maharaja so anxious to kill the hundredth tiger?
Answer: The Maharaja had killed ninety-nine tigers. If he could kill just one more tiger, he would have no fear left. Then he could give up tiger hunting altogether. He thought of the tiger during the day and dreamt of it at night. Moreover, he had to be extremely careful with that last tiger. The late chifef astrologer had already warned him.
Q11. How did the Maharaja make his intentions clear to the dewan ? What, do you think, is his first priority in marriage ?
Answer: The Maharaja said that he was not thinking of marrying either a tiger or a gun. He wanted to marry a girl from the ranks of human beings. He asked the dewan to collect statistics of tiger population in the different native states. Then he should find out if there was a girl he could marry in the royal family of the state with a large tiger population. Evidently, his first priority is the tiger,
Q12. How did the dewan behave when the Maharaja summoned him and brandished his gun?
Answer: The dewan shuddered at the sight of the gun. He cried out, “Your Majesty! I am not a tiger!” The Maharaja enquired which idiot would call him a tiger. The dewan then declared that he was not a gun. The Maharaja became a bit polite. Addressing him as ‘Dewan Saheb’ he assured him that he was neither tiger nor gun. He was summoned there for a different purpose.
Q13. Comment on the ‘rings episode’ in the story ‘The Tiger King’.
Answer: The Maharaja of Pratibandapuram ordered a famous British company of jewellers in Calcutta to send samples of expensive diamond rings of different designs. Some fifty rings arrived. The Maharaja sent the whole lot to the British officer’s good lady. He expected her to choose one or two rings and send the rest back. But she simply sent a letter of thanks.
The episode reveals human weaknesses such as vanity, pride, greed, cunningness, flattery and appeasement.
Q14. Would it be proper to call the Maharaja ‘penny-wise, pound foolish’? Give reasons for your answer.
Answer: The Maharaja insists on restricting tiger-killing in his state to himself. He is unwilling to compromise in this regard. He would not let any other person be even photographed with a dead tiger in his state. He has to send a gift of fifty diamond rings to the British officer’s good lady to placate the injured feelings of the man and to retain his kingdom. It illustrates that he was penny-wise, pound foolish.
Q15. Why, do you think, was the Maharaja in danger of losing his throne ?
Answer: The Maharaja had annoyed a high-ranking British officer by refusing him permission to hunt tigers in Pratibandapuram. The Maharaja did not relent even when the request was toned down that the durai himself did not have to kill the tiger. The Maharaja could do the actual killing. The durai wanted only a photograph of himself holding the gun and standing over the tiger’s carcass. The Maharaja stood in danger of losing his throne because he prevented a British officer from fulfilling his desire.
Q16. Sum up in your own words the interview between the Maharaja and the State astrologer.
Answer: On the orders of the Maharaja, the State astrologer said that his majesty might kill ninety- nine tigers in exactly the same manner. But he must be careful with the hundredth tiger. The Maharaja observed that the hundredth tiger might also be killed. What will happen then? The astrologer said that then he would tear up all his books on astrology and set fire to them. Moreover, he would cut off his tuft, crop his hair short and become an insurance agent.
Q17. How did Maharaja deal with a high-ranking British Officer who wanted to shoot a tiger?
Answer: The Maharaja was firm in his resolve of not to give him permission. He encouraged him to hunt a boar, mouse or even a mosquito; because of this, there was a risk of losing his kingdom. So he agreed to gift a diamond ring but ended up giving some fifty diamond rings worth three lakh of rupees to retain his kingdom.
Q18. How did the ten-day-old baby (the future Tiger King) react to the prediction about his future made by the astrologer?
Answer: On hearing the prediction, the ten-day-old prince spoke in his squeaky voice that ‘everyone who is born has to die one day’. He was told that he would be killed by a tiger. To this, he responded, ‘Let Tigers Beware’.
Q19. What sort of hunts did the Maharaja offer to organise for the high-ranking British officer? What trait of the officer does it reveal?
Answer: For the high-ranking British officer, the Maharaja was prepared to organise any other hunt a boar hunt, a mouse hunt, a mosquito hunt. But a tiger hunt was impossible.The officer was a big show-off. He actually did not wish to hunt or kill the tiger himself, he just wanted to be photographed with a gun in his hand, standing over a dead tiger.
Q20. What was the astrologer’s reaction, when the Maharaja told him that he had killed his first tiger?
Answer: On being told that the Maharaja had killed his first tiger, the astrologer announced that he could kill ninety-nine tigers, but he must be very careful with the hundredth one.
Q21. Why did the Maharaja ban tiger hunting in the state?
Answer: Maharaja banned the tiger hunting in the state. Because he wanted to prove the predictions of state astrologer wrong that he would be killed by the hundredth tiger. That is why he put a ban on the hunting of tigers on all the tiger-rich forest of Pratibandapuram.
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