The Tiger King is meant to be a satirical comment on the foibles and weakness of the bureaucracy that rules the nation. What Kalki is trying to do is to expose the hollowness and false pride of those in power. To make this happen, the author employs the literary devices of dramatic, situational and verbal irony. The first example of situational irony takes place when the Tiger King takes careful aim at the old tiger and pulls the trigger. The situation is ironical because the firing of the gun did not result in the tiger's death. The irony is that the bullet missed its mark and that the tiger had fallen down out of shock on hearing the loud report of the gun. Looking at the situation, the tiger king comments, " I have killed the hundredth tiger. My vow has been fulfilled." The tiger falls down and the Tiger King thinks he has finally shot dead his hundredth tiger! That is dramatic irony as well all verbal irony. It is dramatic irony because the Tiger King doesn't know that his bullet had missed the target, though the reader gets to know about this towards the end of the page. The incident proves that the Tiger King might not, after all, be a perfect marksman! He has his weakness and is not invulnerable. The hunters notice this and then quietly dispose of the tiger without informing the king lest they should lose their jobs.
Some more examples of dramatic irony include the Tiger King's warning to the tigers, "Let tigers beware!" What he doesn't know is that it is he, himself who should beware of tigers, the hundredth tiger in fact, because he doesn't know that the hundredth tiger, wooden though it might be would end in his death. Another example of dramatic irony can be found in the statement that, 'From that day onwards it was celebration time for all the tigers inhabiting Pratibandapuram.' This is after 'The State banned tiger hunting by anyone except the Maharaja.' It is dramatic irony because the tigers don't realise that from henceforth their lives were in danger because of the Maharaja himself. They celebrate not knowing that they are going to be killed one by one!
Some more examples of dramatic irony include the Tiger King's warning to the tigers, "Let tigers beware!" What he doesn't know is that it is he, himself who should beware of tigers, the hundredth tiger in fact, because he doesn't know that the hundredth tiger, wooden though it might be would end in his death. Another example of dramatic irony can be found in the statement that, 'From that day onwards it was celebration time for all the tigers inhabiting Pratibandapuram.' This is after 'The State banned tiger hunting by anyone except the Maharaja.' It is dramatic irony because the tigers don't realise that from henceforth their lives were in danger because of the Maharaja himself. They celebrate not knowing that they are going to be killed one by one!
One example of situational as well as verbal irony lies in the surgeons' announcement about the success of the operation! The manner of the Tiger King's death is ironical enough. A splinter from a poorly made wooden tiger pricks his hand and it develops into a suppurating sore. Three famous surgeons from Madras are called and they decide to operate on him. When they come out of the operating theatre, they announce, "The operation was successful. The Maharaja is dead." The manner in which the hundredth tiger took its revenge is ironical enough! The statement made by the surgeons, what they say after the operation is an example of verbal irony indicating that the operation was meant to end the Maharaja's life! Was the state involved in some conspiracy to kill the Tiger King? The manner in which the Tiger King ends up dead at the end of the lesson can also be seen as situational irony. The surgery that was meant to heal him ends up killing him. The surgery was ironically meant to heal the state of Pratibandapuram by ridding it of a King who was obsessed with tiger hunting, a King who was somewhat immature.
The above-mentioned examples of irony constitute an indirect comment on the consequence of killing innocent animals just for the sake of fulfilling one's desires. Not even powerful people have the right to kill wild animals. The Tiger King is aware of this fact and so he uses "self-defence," as an excuse to kill his first few tigers. Subjecting innocent animals to pain and suffering can have serious consequences as is reflected in the manner of the Maharaja's death. He was felled to death not by a mighty tiger, but by a wooden splinter! This is an anticlimax to the whole story and the hidden message is that one should beware of harming wildlife lest one might incur divine punishment!
Important extract-based questions
From that day onwards it was celebration time for all the tigers inhabiting Pratibandapuram.
The state banned tiger hunting by anyone except the Maharaja.
1. Why was tiger hunting banned in Pratibandpuram?
2 Why was it celebration time for the tigers of Pratibandapuram?
3. What is the contradiction in the sentence, 'The state banned tiger hunting by anyone except the Maharaja".
4. Why was the celebration ironical?
Important extract-based questions
From that day onwards it was celebration time for all the tigers inhabiting Pratibandapuram.
The state banned tiger hunting by anyone except the Maharaja.
1. Why was tiger hunting banned in Pratibandpuram?
2 Why was it celebration time for the tigers of Pratibandapuram?
3. What is the contradiction in the sentence, 'The state banned tiger hunting by anyone except the Maharaja".
4. Why was the celebration ironical?
Proper explanation. However, the irony in the last line needs to be explained at length as it is the climax of the satirical story. Also if you could tell us more about all the literary devices used to create the ironical impact.
ReplyDeleteGood Analysis. I like the irony of the surgery getting rid of the Tiger, I had not thought of that !
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Annie!
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