Question

What is the author’s indirect comment on subjecting innocent animals to the willfulness of human beings?

Answer 1

The author uses satire in his story to talk about the indiscriminate killing of tigers. The entire species of tigers had become extinct at the state of Pratibandapuram and that of his wife’s native state by the time the king himself dies. What is pointed in a subtle manner is that these killings are a result of mere whims and fancies. They do not have any logical explanation at the face of the inevitable status of death. Moreover, the silence on the death of tigers itself draws a strong co-relation between the life of the king and that of the ninety-nine tigers killed by him.

Besides, no second thought was ever given while killing the tigers. There is also an implicit suggestion of killings for preserving the vain glory of human in the British officer’s request for a photograph with a dead tiger. It is as if these animals’ existence is at stake for more than one reason and for no fault of their own. The absurdity highlighted in the killings, by the author, also makes the readers wonder if these animals deserve more security than human beings.