Draw a character sketch of the king as described in ‘The Tale of Melon City’.

The king in Vikram Seth’s ‘The Tale of Melon City’ is a unique personality. He is not guided by logic and reason. Whimsical nature can drive him from one extremity to the other. We are introduced that he is ‘just’ and ‘placid’. The use of such adjectives is ironical. Actually, he is neither of the two. He can’t do justice. He has his limitations. He lacks sound judgement. Nor does he have a firm mind. He vacillates. He can be easily influenced and convinced. He is spineless and fickle-minded. He orders an arch to be constructed as a monument of his glory and victory. However, a disgraceful incident of his crown being banged off by the low arch is too much for him to bear. He orders everyone to be Hanged whom he thinks to be responsible for the faulty arch.

The king leaves no impression on his subjects. He is totally meaningless for them. His being alive or dead makes little difference to them. The ministers heave a sigh of relief when he is hanged by his own decree. The king is weak and bends under the pressure of the people. He falls in his own trap and suffers for entertaining such an exaggerated notion of justice. The people don’t care if they are ruled by a man king or a melon king. They don’t have any choice. One is a perfect substitute for the other.

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V. Imp.