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VISTAS HY

The document discusses two stories: 'The Tiger King' by Kalki, which satirizes the actions of a king who kills tigers to defy a prophecy, ultimately leading to his demise by a wooden tiger, and 'The Third Level' by Jack Finney, where the protagonist seeks escape from modern life's anxieties through a nostalgic vision of the past. Both narratives explore themes of fate, reality versus illusion, and the consequences of one's actions. The characters confront their fears and desires in contrasting ways, highlighting the absurdities of their respective worlds.

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12 views13 pages

VISTAS HY

The document discusses two stories: 'The Tiger King' by Kalki, which satirizes the actions of a king who kills tigers to defy a prophecy, ultimately leading to his demise by a wooden tiger, and 'The Third Level' by Jack Finney, where the protagonist seeks escape from modern life's anxieties through a nostalgic vision of the past. Both narratives explore themes of fate, reality versus illusion, and the consequences of one's actions. The characters confront their fears and desires in contrasting ways, highlighting the absurdities of their respective worlds.

Uploaded by

tamalikabhadra07
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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VISTAS

THE TIGER KING


- Kalki
The story is a satire on the rich and powerful kings of the olden times. In order to prove the
prophecies of the fortune teller wrong, the king of Pratibandapuram mindlessly kills ninety nine tigers
but the hundredth one, the cause of the king’s death escapes his bullet. Ultimately, the king is killed
by an inanimate tiger made of wood. Hence, the prophecy turns out to be true, despite the king’s
efforts to prove it wrong.

● He is given a list of titles to emphasize on his greatness.


● Prediction - as the tiger king was born in the hour of the bull which was an enemy of the tiger,
hence, the tiger king would die due to a tiger.
● As soon as the Crown Prince Jung Jang Bahadur heard the name of a tiger he made a deep
growling sound and spoke terrifying words. He said that all the tigers should beware.
● The writer creates humour when he says that maybe the tigers practiced birth control
activities and did not produce offsprings or maybe they committed suicide. He also adds that
it could be that they ran away from Pratibandapuram because they did not want to be killed
by an Indian and on the other hand they want it to be killed by a Britisher.
● The tiger had been made by an unskilled carpenter and it had tiny shavings of wood pricking
out of it. One of the shavings pierced the maharaja’s right hand.
● In a period of four days, the infection turned into a wound full of pus and spread all over the
king’s right arm.
● Here the surgeons’ words are contradictory because if the king died, it meant that the
operation was unsuccessful whereas they said that it was successful. Actually, they were
supporting the words of the astrologer.

THE THIRD LEVEL


- Jack Finney
The third level represents a break from the “full of insecurity, fear, war, worry and all the rest of it”
modern world. The 1890s depict a tranquil lifestyle that is not feasible in the present. The main
character wants to take his wife Louisa to Galesburg, Illinois, from this point on. While his
psychiatrist friend refers to it as a “waking-dream wish fulfillment,” for him, it is a part of reality.

● Sam explained that Charley was experiencing a −waking dream wish fulfillment or in other
words, hallucination.
● Upon explaining further, it became clear that it is the burden of all the modern problems that
is pushing him to experience the apparent perception of something not present. He tends to
escape reality.
● Charley begins to believe in the possibility that he has been experiencing all this to escape
the harsh realities of the modern world. His friends agreed to it as well. Even his stamp
collecting is a sort of asylum he resorts to in order to feel protected. On the other hand, he
starts thinking otherwise. His grandfather started his stamp collection but in those days, they
had not seen the consequences of war and there was peace, harmony and security. His
grandfather must not have been insecure.
● He describes himself as an ordinary man of 31 dressed in a tan gabardine suit and a straw
hat with a fancy band.
QUESTIONS

Everyone at the station was dressed in nineteenth century dresses.


THE ENEMY

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