The Tiger King Introduction

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 to be true, despite the king’s
efforts to prove it wrong.

Theme of the Lesson

The Tiger King is based on the theme of cruelty and ignorance towards the kingdom and its people
by the leaders and authorities of the nation. The author here uses political satire to put the real faces
of the politicians and people in power, ahead of us. It is an interesting tale from the land of
Pratibandpuram and explains in detail the vicious rulers of the nation.

There is no way to avoid death, which is a given. Destiny has unlimited power and is unavoidable.

Nobody can alter fate. Men in positions of authority are cruel to animals. They murder defenceless
animals under various justifications. The maharaja kills the tigers since the astrologer predicted that
a tiger will be the cause of his demise. He kills them in order to avoid dying.

The Tiger King Summary

The protagonist of the story is the Maharaja of Pratibandapuram. The story is about how he gets the
name ‘Tiger King’. Before the story starts, the writer tells us that the protagonist of the story is
presently dead. However, the interesting event that will help us understand the story is the
astrological prediction made after his birth.

Summary of The Tiger King is given below:

The Tiger King is the story of king Jung Jung Bahadur of Pratibandapuram, a brave warrior whose
death had been predicted when he was born. The chief astrologer had predicted as the royal child
was born in the hour of the bull, the tiger being its enemy, death would come to the child by a tiger.
The brave prince asked all tigers to beware of him. He came to be known as ‘tiger king’.

The prince became king at the age of twenty and considering killing a cow in self defense to be
lawful, went on a tiger killing spree. He was warned of danger from the hundredth tiger that he
encountered. As all the tigers in his kingdom had been killed by him but still he had to kill more, he
married into a state having a high population of tigers.

When his killings reached ninety nine, he desperately sought the next hunt. Fearing the king’s
harshness, the minister planted an old tiger in the forest for him to kill. The king fired at it but the
tiger escaped the bullet miraculously. The royal hunters feared the king and so did not inform him;
rather they killed the beast themselves.

The king was satisfied that he had evaded death and now celebrated his son’s third birthday. He got a
wooden toy tiger as a gift for the prince. Although it was poorly done, the shopkeeper, fearing
punishment under the rules of emergency charged a high price. As both the king and his son were
playing with the tiger, one of the thin pieces of wood that were erupting out of the wooden tiger like
feathers pierced the king’s right hand.

The wound became infectious, spread through his arm and as he was being operated upon, he died.

So, ironically, the hundredth tiger killed the king and eventually took its revenge.

Conclusion of The Tiger King

The Tiger King Summary highlights the truth that however powerful one is, one cannot control fate.
Death is an inevitable part of human lives, and it cannot be averted no matter what we do. The use
of power and might can not change the course of our lives. We have to accept our lives in whatever
form they are. Also, the story uses a satirical tone while narrating the plot. It shows how vain and
self-centred people with power can be. The king could have ignored the prediction as death was
inevitable in his life, just as it was in others. But he could not resist his temptation to use his power to
challenge death. Instead of falling for that vain resolve, he could have used his energy and time to
look after his state affairs.

The Tiger King Summary – The story mocks the wilfulness and arrogance of those in power. The
writer of the story takes us to the days when king rule. Also, they lived under the thumb rule of the
British. In addition, the ruler was uninterested in serving the people instead they spent their time on
foolish pursuits. They bent law to suit their interest. Besides, the Maharaja of Pratibandapuram tries
to disprove his fate that the chief astrologer predicted that a tiger will kill him. So, he tries to belie
the prediction and hunted down 99 tigers successfully. But the 100 tigers although not made of flesh
and blood take his life. As one of the silvers of woodcut his right hand and because of infection, he
dies.

Character Sketches:

Tiger King: The tiger king was rude, egoistic, self-centered, ignorant, irresponsible, selfish, whimsical
and irrational. He was rude since he did not behave politely with his servants and they feared him.
He was egoistic, self-centered, and selfish since he indulged in killing tigers so much that he
completely ignored the fact that he had a kingdom to rule and work for. He dedicated his life to
killing tigers instead of working for his people. He was very moody since he increased the tax on his
people just because of some frustration and anxiety related to tigers.