Rikki’s Admirable Qualities
Rikki-Tikki-Tavi is a short story written by Rudyard Kipling. The story is about a mongoose named Rikki-Tikki-Tavi who is adopted by a British family who are living in a house in India. He was adopted not only to be a pet for the family, but to also protect the family from the dangerous snakes that live in India’s jungles. Rikki speaks to the other animals that live in the family garden and is warned of two very dangerous cobras, Nag and Nagaina. These cobras are angry at the family for moving into an area which they used to dominate. Rikki ends up killing both of these cobras and saving the family’s lives on multiple occasions. (Kipling) Rikki has many admirable qualities that were present during the story, these included his loyalty towards the family and his courage.
Rudyard Kipling was an English writer, who wrote short stories poetry and novels. Most of his stories were based in the country of India, due to the fact that he was born in Bombay India. Some of his most memorable works were “The Jungle book”, “Rikki-Tikki-Tavi”, “Just So Stories”, “Kim”, and his poem “Mandalay”. Kipling was a very well known author in England in the late 19th and 20th centuries. It was once said by literary critic Douglas Kerr that “"He [Kipling] is still an author who can inspire passionate disagreement and his place in literary and cultural history is far from settled. But as the age of the European empires recedes, he is recognised as an incomparable, if controversial, interpreter of how empire was experienced. That, and an increasing recognition of his extraordinary narrative gifts, make him a force to be reckoned with." (Kerr)
Rikki-Tikki-Tavi was a very courageous mongoose. Courage is the ability to do something that frightens one, or strength in the face of pain or grief. There were multiple occasions where he risked his life while fighting either of the two cobras. Rikki knew he had to kill Nag to protect the family from being bitten, or attacked by him. Although Rikki was scared of death, or being bit by the cobra, he knew he had to use his courage to get the job done and keep his family safe. Courage is an admirable quality because of its ability to overpower fear and push someone into doing something that must be done, no matter the cost of consequences. “He is rewarded for his courage by being deemed a hero and given a permanent place in the home of the humans” (Milne) That shows how when Rikki was courageous and did what had to be done, he was rewarded and it paid off for him. ”Courage, one of the characteristics exhibited by the hero, Rikki-tikki-tavi, is one such virtue. Rikki, knowing that he has to kill Nag in order to protect the human family, is fearful of the cobra's size and strength, but his fear is trumped by his own courage, and he succeeds in killing the snake.” (Milne) This quote shows how Rikki uses the quality of courage to over his fear and he knows what he must do and gets it done efficiently. “The virtue of courage is further emphasized by the story's portrayal of shameful cowardliness; Chuchundra, the fearful muskrat who never had spirit enough to run out into the middle of the room is unable to overcome his fear and, therefore, elicits disdain from Rikki and the other garden creatures. “ (Milne) That quote shows how when Chuchundra, the muskrat, was afraid and could not overcome his fear he was no longer trusted or relied on by the other animals in the garden. That is saying that if someone is not courageous and does not overcome their fear, they will not be respected or accepted. Another quality that Rikki possessed was loyalty. Loyalty is defined as a strong feeling of support or allegiance. Rikki was very loyal to his family at all times, and always put them ahead of himself, risking his life for them on many incidents. When Nagaina has the child of the family cornered, threatening to bite him, Rikki stole one of her eggs and lured her away from the child and after himself. Rikki put his own life in jeopardy to save the lives of the family. There was also another time where Nag was trying to sneak into the house to attack a member of the family, and Rikki attacked Nag, possibly saving the lives of the family once again.(Kipling) “Kipling was deeply influenced by the codes of honor and duty evangelized at the military prep school he attended in his late childhood” (Milne) Many of Kipling’s stories possessed the quality of loyalty. “. Loyalty especially figures as a theme in "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi." Rikki is loyal to the human family that takes him in, and his loyalty drives him to protect them from the cobras, even to the point of risking death. Rikki also risks death out of a sense of duty regarding his heritage as a mongoose: when he attacks Nag he "was battered to and fro.… he made sure he would be banged to death, and, for the honour of his family, he preferred to be found with his teeth locked."” (Milne)
“Rikki-Tikki-Tavi” was a short story written by the author Rudyard Kipling. The story was a very good example of many good and admirable qualities. These qualities were courage and loyalty. It also makes good examples with these qualities of how they are very useful in the real life. The way Kipling implemented these into his story made it very effective and got the point across very well.