About Rikki Tikki Tavi

Rikki Tikki Tavi is a short story in "The Jungle Book" by Rudyard Kipling that relates the adventures of a brave young mongoose, Rikki Tikki Tavi, as he battles against two evil cobras, Nag and Nagaina.

Story Setting

The story is set on the Indian subcontinent at the peak of England's colonial empire. Kipling was born in India and was living there at the time of publication (1894).

Function

Rikki Tikki Tavi functions as a fable on the virtues of loyalty, diligence and courage as a means to advancement in Victorian English society.

Identification

The story is written in the Epic tradition, which typically includes choral odes sung to the hero before and after the great battle.

Theory

Rikki Tikki Tavi saves the white English family from the threat posed by the snakes, symbolizing the danger to English colonial rule posed by the native Indian population.

Fun Fact

Rikki Tikki Tavi was made into a 1975 animated film by the American cartoonist Chuck Jones, featuring Orson Welles both as narrator and Nag.

References

• Internet Movie Database
• Project Gutenberg

Resources

• Rudyard Kipling
• Chuck Jones