“Rikki-tikki-tavi” Argumentative Essay Theme is like a moral of a story that happens throughout the plot in a story. In the short story, “Rikki-tikki-tavi” by Rudyard Kipling, the theme is good versus evil. Rikki is a mongoose who demonstrates good while Nagaina, the cobra, is evil. Another possible theme could be courage versus fear: Chuchundra, the muskrat, is the character who demonstrates fear and Rikki demonstrates courage. I know the theme of Rudyard Kipling's story, “Rikki-tikki-tavi” is good versus evil. Rikki is good because he is very protective, courageous, and loyal. The narrative shows he is protective because Rikki saved the family’s lives. Proof of this is when the dad says, ”It’s the mongoose again, Alice; the little chap has saved our lives now.” This shows me Rikki is protective. In the text Rikki says,”The boy is safe and it was I-I-I that caught Nag by the hood last night in the bathroom.” Rikki says this to Nagaina so that she knows that he was the one to kill Nag. In this way, he protects the entire family because he brings Nagaina’s egg into the room where she was holding the family hostage and turns her attention toward himself. The story …show more content…
shows Rikki is courageous by stating, ”Rikki’s eyes grew red again, and he danced up to Karait.” This demonstrates he is courageous because he was getting ready to fight a vicious snake. Rikki is also very loyal because in the text Alice, the mom in the family, declared, ”He saved our lives and Teddy’s life.” This shows he is loyal because he goes up against a snake for his family who once saved him. Rikki is like a fearless wrestler, always ready to take anyone down. All of this adds up to prove Rikki represents good. Nagaina, the main cobra, is evil because throughout the story she is selfish, threatening, and determined. In the short story she was selfish by wanting to murder the boy herself. The text states, ”Nagaina was coiled up on the matting beside Teddy’s chair, within easy striking distance of Teddy’s bare leg, and she was swaying to and fro singing a song of triumph.” She is threatening because in this setting she was actually threatening to strike Teddy’s leg. “If you move I strike, and if I don’t move I strike.” Nagaina is determined to do evil because she tried really hard to kill Rikki. The text states that, ”She crept up behind him as he was talking, to make an end of him.” Nagaina is like a violent tornado, out to destroy and murder. All of this evidence shows she is corrupt and evil. The alternate thesis might be courage versus fear.
Rikki shows courage throughout the plot. One specific part where he demonstrates courage, that stuck out, was, ”It was dark in the hole; and Rikki never knew when it might open out and give Nagaina room to turn and strike at him.” This displays his courage because he went down in the hole with Nagaina, and he could not see a thing. Chuchundra, on the other hand, shows fear because in the text it says, ”He whimpers and chirps all the night, trying to make up his mind to run into the middle of the room, but never gets out there.” He is fearful because he will never run out into the middle of the room. Chuchundra is like a child that hides behind his mother’s leg, always so shy. These examples shows a possible alternating theme might be courage versus
fear. Based on all of the evidence, it is clear the primary theme is good versus evil. This theme is not only related to animals, but also to humans. I can connect this theme to my life because every day I observe someone getting picked on. This theme also reminds me of the German Nazis because Hitler was like a cobra out to kill and destroy, and the partisans and armies were like Rikki trying to save and protect. If you aren’t courageous and protective and loyal like Rikki, what good is it going to do for you in the long run? This story is like an ongoing battle between Rikki and Nagaina. This is why I am a hundred percent positive the theme is good versus evil. By: Grace Hunley
In To Kill a Mockingbird, the theme plays an important role during the course of the novel. Theme is a central idea in a work of literature that contains more than one word. It is usually based on an author’s opinion on a subject. The theme of innocence should be protected is found in conflicts, characters, and symbols. In To Kill a Mockingbird, a conflict that connects to the theme that innocence should be protected is the death of Tom Robinson.
One example of the theme occurs when the author first introduces the story. “But the summer I was 9 years old, the town I had always loved morphed into a beautifully heartbreaking and complicated place.” (pg. 1). The author is saying that the year she turned nine, she found out something about her town that broke her heart and changed the way she saw it. This quote is important because it supports the theme. It shows that now she is older she has learned something about her town that made her wiser than when she was younger. She is now more informed because the new information changed her and caused her to begin to mature.
Theme is the subject of talk, a topic, or morals that the author is trying to get readers to comprehend. When reading an excerpt, the theme is not directly stated in the text, so you must dig deeper into the context to understand the matter trying to be portrayed. In both Angela's Ashes and The Street, we can distinguish a like theme of struggling through life’s complications. After reading the two different stories, we could select the theme from using character, events, and the setting.
An example of courage, as the judgment that something else is more important than fear, is through the character of Kak in B for Buster by Iain Lawrence. In this novel, Kak is characterized as a young, determined boy, desiring to turn himself from a comic book reading boy into a World War II hero. Planning to escape his drunken, abusive father, Kak enlists himself in the Canadian Air Force although he is underage and only sixteen years old. During his first mission, he is becomes frightened of the risk of not coming home alive, but doesn?t show his emotions because of his austere, intrepid crewmen. During this mission, Kak did not have an absence of fear, but he felt that becoming a hero like the ones in his comic book, and accomplishing his dream of fly, was more important than his fear of dying.
Theme is the moral of the story. There can be 1 for an entire book or many in one book. Bravery helps people stand strong for what is right even when times are tough. is my thematic statement. Our scene is when Bod is on the big rock and the Jacks are telling him why they need to kill him and who they are. Bravery is the theme here because he shows that he will stand up ever when he is afraid. And when he is face to face with the people that want to kill him, he doesn’t run away. One of the Quotes that I believe shows bravery is , “‘you’ve not faded’ said liza ‘anyone could find you.’ ‘Good,’ said Bod. ‘I want them to find me’”. I believe this shows bravery because he is standing up to the jacks even though he might die. Another quote that
Rikki-Tikki-Tavi is most definitely a hero for protecting Darzee, the tailorbird, from Nag and Nagina. Rikki-Tikki-Tavi who is exploring the garden for the first time, meets Darzee. Darzee tells Rikki-Tikki-Tavi that a baby fell out of her nest the other day and Nag ate it. Nag confronts Rikki-Tikki-Tavi for the first time, and Rikki-Tikki-Tavi has no clue what to do, never fighting a snake before. Nag and Nagina try to get to Darzee, but Rikki-Tikki-Tavi makes sure they don’t by his quick and subtle movements. Rikki-Tikki-Tavi ends up killing Nag and Nagina goes away. In that scenario Rikki-Tikki-Tavi risks his life, because he did not know how to fight a snake, and ended up saving Darzee.
Rikki Tikki is a brave and curious character in this story. Rikki-Tikki- Tavi is brave in this story because he sticks up for his family and he doesn’t care how big or how small they are. Evidence that supports my character traits is, “Rikki-Tikki knew that he was a young mongoose and it made him all the more pleased to think that he had managed to escape a blow from behind.” (page 9). Rikki-Tikki’s bravery towards his family gave him the confidence to fight the snakes. His bravery showed his foster family how much he really cared about them. Rikki- Tikki examined the entire house and puts himself in daunting positions (paragraph 15). This evidence shows that Rikki-Tikki is an interested character because he doesn't show that getting hurt will stop him
Courage is when you know you’re beaten. The character Atticus, for instance, who was a seasoned lawyer acted courageous defending Tom Robinson. Tom Robinson was a black man who was accused of raping a white girl. Atticus was appointed to defend him. Jem was happy because he thought his father had won the case but Reverend Sykes loathed telling Jem “Now don’t you be so confident, Mr. Jem, I ain’t ever seen any jury decide in favor of a colored man over a white man…”(Lee 208). Atticus was sure he wasn’t going to win the case, nevertheless he gave it a try. That didn’t stop Atticus from trying to defend his client Tom Robinson. Another part in the novel when Atticus was courageous was when he shot at the man street dog. Heck Tate the Maycomb Sheriff was not as courageous as Atticus so he handed Atticus the air rifles and with one shot Atticus took down the street dog. Miss Maudie says “I saw that, One Shot Finch” (Lee 97). Atticus was referred to as one-shot finch because of his shooting skills. The other incidence in the novel when Atticus portrays courage was when he was not scared when Bob Ewell threatened him. Bob Ewell was the man who accused Atticus’ defendant Tom Robinson of raping his daughter Mayella. Atticus thought Bob Ewell threatened him as some sort of revenge, but unfortunately Atticus was wrong because when Bob Ewell said ...
The theme in a story is the message or big idea that the author is trying to reveal in his or her narrative. If there was no underlining theme in Sherman Alexie’s short story, “This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona” then readers would have no interest in reading the fictional story. Understanding the message that Alexie is trying to display to his readers can vary in many ways and depends on the reader 's understanding of the story. Strong themes that are presented in the fictional tale are man versus self conflict, family, and tribal identity. Victor is a tribal member that has had a rough life and has to deal with his father passing away. Not only does he have to come to terms with his father 's death, but he also has to face his
...rves the way for the plot, the theme is the central idea around which a literary piece revolves. Without the theme the plot would be meaningless and there would be nothing for the readers to derive from the literary piece. Without the plot, the theme would be meaningless as there would be nowhere to consign the message the writer intends to give the reader. It can be said that the plot and theme are the two most important literary elements of a literary piece and are inter-dependant.
Theme is the underlying power beneath a story; the “force” that makes the whole experience worthwhile. Theme is “an idea or message that the writer wishes to convey” (Holt 874). A theme can be either stated or implied. A stated theme is a theme “that the other expresses directly in his work (protic.net); an implied theme is a theme “that is not directly stated in the work” (protic.net). As mentioned before, both of these stories have an implied theme, which now is revealed to mean that the author of the story insinuated it. Themes exist in all stories (verbal or written) and can be long, short, true or false. “Earth people will beat out any other intelligent life-form in any and all competitions” is a theme, but “good always beats evil” is one too. “Once upon a time . . .” stories have themes too, except they are more one-dimensional. For example,...
Rikki-tikki, though he was frightened, did not cower. He bravely faced his fears to protect the family. In the story Rikki thinks that Rikki-tikki was at first frightened. It
Theme is a moral or lesson the characters and the reader learn throughout a story. Rudyard Kipling, the author of “Rikki-tikki-tavi”, conveyed the theme strength versus weakness very clearly throughout this story. The protagonist, better known as Rikki- tikki, represents the strength. While the antagonist, Nagaina, portrays weakness. The actions in this short story are as eventful and adventurous as any war. Being that Rudyard’s story is very elaborate, another motif perhaps could be, “If you help others you will receive help in return.” In this theme, Rikki helps others a great deal and receives assistance from others. While Nagaina assists no one and receives no help throughout the story, and this leads to her demise. That’s why strength versus weakness is the theme of this story.
Theme plays a very important part in this short story. Theme is the idea of a literary work abstracted from its details of language, character and action. The great example of theme that is evident throughout the entire short story is the duty to perform certain acts. We can see here that the Irishman Donovan is very big on obeying his duty to carry out orders that have been authorized to him.
For an abundance of authors, the driving force that aids them in creation of a novel is the theme or number of themes implemented throughout the novel. Often times the author doesn’t consciously identify the theme they’re trying to present. Usually a theme is a concept, principle or belief that is significant to an author. Not only does the theme create the backbone of the story, but it also guides the author by controlling the events that happen in a story, what emotions are dispersed, what are the actions of characters, and what emotions are presented within each environment to engage the readers in many