THE TIGER KING
AUTHOR –
Ramaswamy Krishnamurthy ( September 9,1899 to December 5,1954) , better known as Kalki was an
Indian writer, journalist, poet critic and Indian independence activist who mostly expressed his literary
endeavours in Tamil. He chose the pen- name Kalki, the tenth and last avatar of God Vishnu thus
metaphorically manifesting his desire to criticize social vices and stimulate reformation through his
writing. His writings include over 120 short stories,10 novellas, 5 novels, 3 historical romances , editorial
and political writings and numerous films and music reviews.
INTRODUCTION -
The story revolves around the theme of power,pride ,the impact of unrestrained political
ambition and inevitable role of destiny in life . An intensely intriguing and thought provoking
political satire it’s replete with irony and sarcasm on the conceit of those in power. It
expostulates the eternal truth that life and power is transient. It concretizes the impact of
misutilization of power , egotistical attitude and autocratic imposition of wilfulness and
arrogance. It also reinstates the supremacy of nature, destiny and divine intervention above all
human endeavour.
SUBJECTIVE THEME –
The wilfulness and arrogance of a king creates disharmony, acrimony and ultimately makes him
a victim of divine retribution.
UNIVERSAL THEME –
The story corroborates the truth that egotistical attitude and exploitation of power breeds
anarchy and antagonism . It reaffirms the realisation that despite the flamboyant indulgence in
exhibition of power, life and power remain transitory. The story also authenticates the
imperative need of existing in harmony with nature and acceptance of destiny as a
quintessential governing factor of life .
GENRE OF WRITING – Satire and comedy.
SATIRE ON THE CONCEIT OF THOSE IN POWER –
The Tiger King is a story about transience of life and power. It’s a poignant satire on the conceit
of those in power and their egotistical imposition of authority. The Tiger King despite his
indomitable strength and courage become a victim of his own destiny . He arrogantly imposes
his wilfulness on his subjects but remains apprehensive of offending the British and loosing his
crown . The power of a king should be judiciously used for the welfare of his kingdom, but the
Tiger King obsessed with his imperiousness and pomposity remains oblivious to his monarchial
responsibilities. Therefore, he is merely remembered and feared for his obdurate decision and
desire to kill the hundredth tiger and validate his invincible might and victory over destiny. The
haughty king disapproved the prophecy made by the astrologer related to his death , wanted to
prove him wrong and validate his supremacy over life and destiny. However, his death from the
wooden tiger revealed how insignificant he is when in confrontation with destiny. It’s an
oblique indication of divine retribution and emphasizes superiority of the forces of nature when
the desired harmony gets invaded. The king’s failure to kill the hundredth tiger despite the
meek presence of the tiger arranged for his convenience appear to be a form of divine
retribution.
His ruthlessness and selfishness also create antagonistic temperament among his ministers and
minions and turn them hostile . The relationship between the king and his minions remain
strained resulting in lack of transparency of information which ultimately lead to the king’s
untimely death. Ironically, to avert death the king actually invites it owing to his own folly. The
lofty titles used to introduce the king at the beginning appear ironic for he finally dies because
of a cheap , crudely structured wooden toy tiger which appear to become the tool of nature’s
revenge . The story thus draws parallel between the Tiger King and contemporary political
leaders who often suffer from egotistical pride and consider themselves invincible. It reaffirms
that life and power is ephemeral and insubstantial in existence and one should not glorify it
above the forces of nature and divinity.
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE KING AND HIS MINIONS –
The impulsive and irrational attitude of the king evokes exasperation and lack of trust and
loyalty among his subjects. They thus, either exhibit sycophancy or remain subservient in
attitude. The title ‘Tiger King ' validate the frustration suffered by the people in the kingdom
as they become indifferent to the king’s other character traits and remember him only for his
ego centric obsession. The king’s minions thus remain servile in fear of his fury and obstinacy.
Whether it was annihilation of tigers , the proclamation issued , or marrying to attain his
egotistical victory no one questioned or objected and remained passive sufferers. His
interaction with the Dewan or minister corroborates how he made his domineering presence
impact their rational thinking. His aggressively irrational behaviour made even the
commoners fear stricken, disoriented and insincere. The behaviour of the hunters (concealing
the king’s failure to kill the hundredth tiger) implicitly reveal how insecurity and
apprehension immobilize their expected sense of remaining conscientious and loyal to the
ruler. The shopkeeper’s behaviour also validates how all his subordinates perpetually
remained in a state of constant fear. This consistent terror and insecurity create dissension
and antipathy and the king eventually becomes a victim of his own caprices.
PARALLEL WITH CONTEMPORARY POLITICAL ORDER-
A distinct parallel can be drawn between the situation presented in the story and the
contemporary political order. Ordinary people often suffer from discontent and insecurity as
those in power remain oblivious to the public welfare and state responsibilities. Often self
centred objectives govern action and law and order get manipulated for the convenience of
those enjoying influence and affluence. Misutilization of power thus breeds anarchy in
society. As a consequence, ordinary people either remain indifferent , subservient or practice
sycophancy for selfish benefits.
However, progress is the need of the time and despite some similarity social circumstance of
the contemporary time do not appear so bleak and obscure. Along with a few unimpressive
political influences, society also comprises positive political influence working towards
making the world a better place to live in . Therefore, such forces working for the welfare of
humanity should also be acknowledged.
SYMBOL-
The wooden toy tiger becoming a cause of the king’s death represent divine vengeance and
unexpected victory over a conceited king, it symbolises the fact that destiny cannot be
overpowered. The apparently invincible king who had courageously battled tigers with his
bare hands dies due to an infection caused by a mere sliver of wood. Hence, Kalki explicitly
mocks the confidence and flamboyance of power exhibited by imperious people by making
an unexpected and seemingly harmless source as the cause of the king’s death.
APPLICATION OF IRONY –
Irony is a literary device where there is a contrast between expectation and reality. The
effectiveness of irony depends on the readers expectations and understanding of the
disparity between what should happen and what actually happens in the plot. It can be
presented in the form of an unforeseen outcome of an event, a character’s unanticipated
behaviour or some verbal incongruity.
SITUATIONAL IRONY –
The Tiger King takes careful aim at the old and meek tiger but misses his target and fails to kill
the hundredth tiger. He had killed 99 tigers amidst wilderness and had been successful but
ironically misses his target when the old tiger stands meekly in front of me.
VERBAL IRONY –
The proclamation issued by the king where the tigers apparently are secured from the
populace and kept reserved for the king to kill.
The surgeons mechanically execute their medical skill and declare the operation as successful
despite the demise of the king. Their indifference towards the real objective of medical
treatment gets criticised vehemently .
COSMIC IRONY –
The king had been successful in killing 99 fierce tigers but ironically fails to kill an old and
meek tiger standing in front of him.
The king had killed 99 tigers and had risked his life but he remained alive, ironically he dies
because of an infection caused by a sliver of wood from a wooden toy tiger which seems to
be harmless.
The best surgeons are brought to cure the king but they mechanically complete the surgery
and are unable to save the king’s life. However, they still consider the surgery to be successful
and do not regret the death of the king.
The above instances justify the play of cosmic irony or irony of fate.
DRAMATIC IRONY-
It’s a literary device used both as a literary and theatrical device in which the reader or
spectators know more than the character. It’s employed to bring the readers into confidence
and evoke an ambiance of tension and suspense. When used in tragedies, it’s also called
tragic irony.
In the lesson The Tiger King the application of dramatic irony is emphatic when the Tiger King
celebrates his victory of killing the hundredth tiger unaware of his dismal failure. The king is
unaware that his bullet had missed it’s target while the hunters and the readers gain the
privilege of knowing the bitter truth. Therefore, the other characters and the readers
anticipate his doom while he celebrates his triumph over his destiny.
SATIRE ON LACK OF PATRIOTISM –
The plot is set in the pre independence time frame when India was vastly divided into
patriotic people who were ready to sacrifice to gain freedom and sycophantic royals who
subserviently applauded the supremacy of the British for selfish greed and to retain their
kingship. The grooming of the Tiger King as a prince and his subsequent conduct of trying to
impress the British official by gifting diamond rings corroborate the above. The king remains
indifferent to the plight of his kingdom and exhausts the treasury of his kingdom for the
satisfaction of his egotistical desire. The upbringing of the prince in imitation of colonial
culture reveals the control the British had gained on India at that time .
ELEMENT OF HUMOUR –
The writer employs irony, sarcasm and humour to expose and criticize the follies and vices of
men in power. The story uses humour to denounce egotistical kings who preposterously and
arrogantly exploit both nature and their subjects for vainglorious reasons.
The writer sarcastically ridicules the image of the king as he remains remembered as Tiger
King only despite the several ostentatious titles bestowed upon him. Thus, his grandeur
associated with his life appears to be a mockery.
The story satirizes misutilization of power and delineates it with a dressing of humour while
stating how the king manipulated explanations given in scriptures as well as state laws to suit
his convenience. The king is not reluctant to exhaust his treasury for the sake of flattering and
impressing the British for his greed. The king’s offer of mouse hunt and mosquito hunt also
creates a humorous appeal. Through a humorous depiction of the king’s decision to marry the
writer has sarcastically commented upon how royal people used marriage as a pretext to set
up alliance either to expand territory or for peace treaty. The incoherent blabbering by the
Dewan also appears ridiculous. In the story the king decides to get married to fulfil his
egoistic decision to kill hundred tigers. The description of the hundredth tiger with it’s
submissive and diffident demeanour is a contrast to the real image of a tiger and thus creates
a ludicrous effect. The Dewan arranging a tiger from the people’s park ,the tigers obstinate
refusal to avail the freedom of the forest and it’s presence in front of the king in humble
supplication excites laughter. The juxtaposition of the surgeons declaration of a successful
surgery with the announcement of the king’s death apparently appears humorous.
However, humour has been deliberately utilised to heighten the impact of irony and satire
and to evoke introspection in the mind of the readers.
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