Character Sketch - In the Kingdom of Fools | English Class 9 PDF Download

The Guru

• The Guru is portrayed as a wise and farsighted individual, who embodies intelligence, self-control, and a deep understanding of human nature. Unlike his disciple, he is not swayed by the superficial allure of the Kingdom of Fools, where everything is sold for a single duddu. His wisdom allows him to quickly grasp that the absurdity of the kingdom’s rules and behavior is a sign of deeper chaos. Realizing that foolishness is unpredictable and dangerous, he immediately decides to leave the kingdom, showing his ability to think ahead and make practical decisions.

• Despite the disciple’s defiance, the Guru does not abandon him completely. When his disciple finds himself in grave danger, the Guru returns, demonstrating his loyalty and moral responsibility. Instead of confronting the king with reason or argument, the Guru cleverly manipulates the king's vanity by flattering him, proving that sometimes wit and diplomacy are more effective than direct confrontation. Through his intelligence and strategic thinking, the Guru not only saves his disciple but also overturns the foolish system of the kingdom, leaving the reader with an appreciation of his quick thinking, wisdom, and composure under pressure.
• His character serves as a beacon of wisdom, showing that with presence of mind and strategic action, even the most absurd situations can be navigated successfully.

The Disciple

• The disciple represents a contrast to the Guru in nearly every way. He is a simple-minded, naive, and greedy individual whose lack of foresight and discipline almost leads to his demise. His love for food and the temptation of the incredibly cheap prices in the Kingdom of Fools makes him ignore his Guru’s warnings. This decision showcases his impulsiveness and short-sighted nature. His indulgence in food is comically described as he grows fat from consuming endless amounts of rice, bananas, wheat, and ghee, adding a humorous element to his character.

• However, when the disciple is faced with the dire consequence of his greed, he regains his senses and remembers his faith in his Guru. In his moment of crisis, instead of panicking, he follows the plan devised by the Guru, showing that deep down, he knows the value of his master’s wisdom. His character arc reflects the idea that even foolishness can be redeemed through trust and obedience to wisdom.
• While his greed and foolishness might irritate the reader at first, his childlike faith in his Guru and his amusing growth due to overindulgence adds a light-hearted element to his character, making him more endearing than blameworthy.

The King

• The king of the Kingdom of Fools is a caricature of a ruler with no sense of logic, justice, or responsibility. His obsession with doing things differently, no matter how absurd, drives him to make foolish decrees such as switching day and night. This reflects not just his desire to be unique, but his fundamental lack of understanding about governance and the natural order of things. His decision-making process is purely whimsical, without any regard for the consequences, such as the arbitrary execution orders he passes.

• The king’s understanding of justice is equally ridiculous. He interprets the accidental death of a thief as murder, turning justice on its head by blaming innocent people for outcomes they did not cause. His misplaced sense of justice shows that he is not only a fool, but a dangerous one, as his lack of judgment affects the lives of his subjects.
• In his final interaction with the Guru, the king’s gullibility becomes evident. He is easily deceived by the Guru’s flattery, unable to see through the obvious manipulation. His lack of discernment leads him to his downfall, as he ends up being executed in place of the disciple. The king’s character serves as a reminder that power in the hands of fools is a recipe for disaster, and his demise is both expected and fitting.

The Minister

• The minister is the king’s loyal companion in foolishness. While he holds a position of power and is consulted on important matters, his advice is as irrational as the king’s. He lacks any wisdom or common sense, and his role in the story is to reinforce the absurdity of the kingdom’s leadership. Rather than guiding the king towards better judgment, the minister actively participates in the kingdom’s nonsensical rules, such as finding a fat man to execute because the original man sentenced to death does not fit the stake.

• His suggestion to seek out a person based solely on their body size, instead of considering the morality of the situation, demonstrates his own lack of understanding of justice or ethics. He is as much responsible for the kingdom’s downfall as the king, and his eventual death does not evoke any sympathy from the reader. His character illustrates the dangers of blind loyalty and the consequences of surrounding oneself with equally foolish advisors.

• The minister’s fate, like the king’s, is a direct result of his own actions, making his demise both expected and deserved.

The Thief’s Brother

The thief’s brother is another character driven by flawed logic. Instead of mourning his brother’s death as a result of his own crime, he demands justice from the king, blaming the owner of the house for his brother’s misfortune. This highlights the theme of absurdity in the story, where even the victim's family lacks common sense and engages in nonsensical blame games.

The Merchant

The merchant is a victim of the kingdom’s irrational justice system. Although his house’s wall collapses on a thief, the merchant is held responsible for the thief’s death, despite having no direct involvement. Throughout the story, he tries to shift the blame to others, from the bricklayer to the dancing girl, and eventually to the goldsmith. The merchant’s actions reflect how individuals can be caught in the web of foolishness when governed by irrational leaders.

The Bricklayer

The bricklayer is an innocent man who built the wall many years ago. He is unjustly accused of being responsible for the thief’s death due to the wall collapsing. His attempt to defend himself by blaming the distraction caused by the dancing girl demonstrates how absurd the judicial process in the kingdom is. The bricklayer’s predicament highlights the absurdity of the kingdom’s approach to justice.

The Dancing Girl

The dancing girl, who is now an old woman, is another character who becomes part of the blame game in the kingdom’s nonsensical justice system. She is blamed for distracting the bricklayer while he was building the wall, but she shifts the blame onto the goldsmith, who delayed her jewelry, causing her to walk back and forth. Her role in the story emphasizes how, in the kingdom of fools, justice is arbitrary and illogical.

The Goldsmith

The goldsmith is a cunning character who tries to justify his actions by blaming the rich merchant’s urgent orders for his delays in completing the dancing girl’s jewelry. He represents the chain of absurdity in the kingdom, where everyone shifts blame onto someone else, and no one takes responsibility for their actions.

These characters collectively demonstrate how absurd and dangerous life can be under foolish leadership, where justice is arbitrary, and logic is replaced by irrationality.