NCERT Solutions for Class 11 English Chapter 8 - The Tale Of Melon City

1. Narrate 'The Tale of Melon City' in your own words.

Ans: For the benefit of the students, a model answer has been provided. It is extremely advised that pupils prepare their answers.

Vikram Seth's The Story of Melon City is a couplet-based narrative poem. The poem recounts an event in which the king and inhabitants met in a long-ago city. The topic is well emphasised in the narrative, which is humorous. The poem is broken into three portions, the first of which discusses the ambition of a monarch to build an arch. The second portion discusses his concerns about the arch's poor construction, and the third discusses how his edict eventually falls on him, ending in his hanging and death. The poem depicts the transfer of power from the king to a melon, which became the state's symbolic head. The poet begins by describing how long ago it was.

The king went to view the newly erected arch after it was finished. It had a pretty low arch. His crown shattered when it collided with the arch. The king, feeling dishonored, planned to hang the chief of construction. The hanging had been planned in detail. The Chief of Builders defended himself by transferring blame to the laborers. The king was persuaded by the reasoning and ordered that all of the laborers be hanged.

The workmen took over the task of determining the size of the bricks. As a result, the king had the masons executed. For their side, the masons defended themselves and accused the architect. The king also ordered the architect's execution. When the architect showed the king the blueprint, he informed him that the king had made some adjustments to it. In a roundabout way, the architect blames the monarch. The king was perplexed after hearing the architect's explanation. The king sought the advice of his kingdom's wisest man. As a result, the smartest man was apprehended and brought before the court. He couldn't walk or see since he was so old. He came to the conclusion that the arch was the true criminal. 

As a result, the arch was guided to the scaffolding. Meanwhile, a councilor pointed out that hanging the arch that touched the king's crown would be a very dishonorable deed. The audience that had assembled to watch the criminal be hanged was becoming agitated. The king, sensing their mood, declared that someone must be executed since the nation demanded it. The noose had been hung. It was a little high. Turn by turn, each individual was assessed. Only one man was tall enough to fit inside the nose, and that man was the King. The king was, interestingly, hanged. The third section of the poem is then narrated by the poet. The ministers exhaled a breath of relief when they realized they were able to select someone for hanging; otherwise, the riotous multitude would have risen in protest. It was necessary to appoint a new king following the death of the previous one. The ministers sent out the herald to announce that the next person to walk through the City Gate would choose a king. The City Gate was passed by an idiot. The guards inquired as to who would be the King. The idiot said that the next monarch should be picked from a melon. Because he enjoyed melons, that was his go-to response to any question. The ministers crowned a melon and reverently installed their Melon King on the throne.

According to the poet, the citizens were unconcerned with their symbolic heads. They were drawn to the concept of allowing things to happen. They treated their new ruler with great reverence because he did not meddle with their daily life.

2. What impression would you form of a state where the King was 'just and placid'?

Ans: For the benefit of the students, a model answer has been provided. It is extremely advised that pupils prepare their answers.

Peace, liberty, and justice were enjoyed in a state where the ruler was just and calm. The king was only a title and a symbol. Citizens had complete independence in all aspects of their lives. The public was in charge of the country's genuine governance. The king had to be hanged in the poem "The Tale of a Melon City" because the populace demanded someone to be hanged. The king was powerless to protect himself. Even though the smartest man concluded that the arch was the real criminal, the public demanded that someone is executed. The king was eventually hanged. This demonstrates that in a state where the king was just and peaceful, the inhabitants had a say in the king's fate.

3. How, according to you, can peace and liberty be maintained in a state?

Ans: For the benefit of the students, a model answer has been provided. It is extremely advised that pupils prepare their answers. If there is Laissez-faire, or the principle of the king not interfering in the actions of the population, peace and liberty can be preserved in a state. The king or the government, on the other hand, must preserve law and order, failing which chaos may reign in the state. There should be a happy medium between government intrusion and citizen rights. Only then can one expect a state to retain peace and liberty.

4. Suggest a few instances in the poem which highlight humor and irony.

Ans: For the benefit of the students, a model answer has been provided. It is extremely advised that pupils prepare their answers.

In the poem, the poet employs the devices of comedy and sarcasm. Humour is defined as cognitive experiences that cause a person to chuckle. The unexpected feature of a situation that is considerably different from what one anticipates is referred to as irony. The king's choice to hang the chief of the builders for erecting a low arch when his crown struck against it elicits laughs from the audience. It is a humorous example. It's also amusing to see how the king came to believe that the laborers who built the arch were to blame. The king intended the laborers to be hanged, but they were able to defend themselves. This circumstance is both hilarious and ironic in that it makes the readers chuckle and ironic in that the laborers can shift responsibility to the architect. The architect, ironically, is allowed to delegate the duty to the king himself. The choice of the wisest man to pronounce the verdict on who was the true criminal elicits laughter and is so amusing.

Finally, the elderly man blamed the arch and proclaimed that it must be hanged. One of the pastors pointed out, ironically, that the crowd wanted a guy to be hanged. The king was hanged because the noose fit his neck. The selection of a successor is amusing since an idiot is consulted in the process. The fool chooses a melon to serve as the state's symbolic leader.

NCERT Solutions for Class 11 English Snapshots Chapter 8 The Tale of Melon City

Summary of ‘The Tale of Melon City’

‘The Tale of Melon City’ showcases the play of a folktale. In the theme, the city is called Melon City due to its ruler being a melon. Interestingly, there is a curious tale around it. Once,  there was a fair and gentle king who used to rule over Melon city who had an arch built across the thoroughfare. Sadly, when he passed under the low arch, it had stuck his head and he lost his crown. He considered the act to be a disgrace and ordered the builder’s chief to be hanged. The chief later passed the blame on the workers who later blamed it on the bricks, putting the charge on masons. The masons later shifted the blame on the architect that was further blamed at the king’s door. 

Upon seeking a wise man’s counsel, the king held the arch guilty and ordered it to be hanged. Now since the king's head would only fit the noose, he was hanged. Later it was said that the next man who passed the City Gate would choose the king. Later, a melon passed it and was thus crowned the ‘Melon King’.

Chapter-wise NCERT Solutions for Class 11 English Snapshots

• Chapter 1 - The Summer of the Beautiful White Horse

• Chapter 2 - The Address

• Chapter 3 - Ranga’s Marriage

• Chapter 4 - Albert Einstein at School

• Chapter 5 - Mother’s Day

• Chapter 6 - The Ghat of the Only World

• Chapter 7 - Birth

• Chapter 8 - The Tale of Melon City

Highlights of the Poem

‘The Tale of Melon City’ is a bag full of instances where the readers can see humour and irony. To begin with, the king’s decision to build an arch to ‘edify’ spectators. Another instance can be seen when the king rides under a low angle and loses his crown. Another instance is when every accused shifts their blame on others is also funny. Another instance is the unstable behaviour of the king that is followed by the self-defence of the architect. The architect turns the essence of the poem by laying the blame on the king. The king’s anger and inability also create humour. 

Irony can also be witnessed when it comes to the selection of a wise man where age is considered to be the number to judge one’s wisdom. Lastly, the poem ends with the same humour when the criteria for the next king is revealed.

NCERT Solutions for Class 11 English Snapshots Chapter-8

Important Points

• It is impossible to be secure in a state when the king is righteous and peaceful. In the state portrayed in this poem, it is the same. The king was so irrational that he sentenced himself to death for no apparent cause. He was uneasy about his acts, therefore he kept modifying them. There is no way to make the right decision or handle a problem properly in such a state.

• In the poem, there are a few times where humor and irony are underlined. They are as follows:

1. The king, who changed his mind after hearing each criminal he suspected.

2. The wise man's advice that the arch be hung.

3. Last but not least, the madman's suggestion that they declare a melon their king.

• From this story, the peace, and liberty can be maintained

1. By upholding the regulations and making judgments that are in the best interests of the people. However, no legislation can be passed that helps everyone because what one person thinks is correct may not be accurate for another. As a result, laws should be written in such a way that the vast majority of people benefit from them.

2. By using all available measures to spread a sense of community among the people.