English (Core) · Ch 15 — The Tiger King
Summary
Summary
- Premise: The Maharaja of Pratibandapuram, known as the Tiger King, is born under a prophecy that he will be killed by a tiger. He vows to kill a hundred tigers to defy fate.
- Story: The king kills ninety-nine tigers, then struggles to find the hundredth. When an old tiger is finally driven before him, his bullet actually misses and a hunter secretly finishes it off, though the king believes he has completed his vow. Later, a splinter from a cheap wooden toy tiger bought for his son pierces his hand; the wound festers and kills him — fulfilling the prophecy ironically.
- Themes: Irony of fate versus human arrogance; the absurdity of power and obsession; a satirical critique of autocratic princely rulers and their wasteful hunting; the futility of trying to outsmart destiny.
- Characters: The Tiger King (arrogant, obstinate, yet foolish and self-deceiving); the dewan (timid, scheming minister); the British officer (colonial authority appeased by lavish gifts); the wooden toy tiger (the unexpected agent of death). …