Tikki Tavi Character Analysis

Rikki Tikki Tavi put himself in a very dangerous position to save several other lives, making him a true hero. Without the small, but powerful, mongoose the two cobras would have seriously injured or killed the family, and members of the garden. The cobra snakes were threatening Rikki and his family, and he did not want any of his family members getting hurt by these powerful reptiles, so he had to take them down. Rikki put himself in danger to provide safety for his family, making him a brave hero. Although Rikki-Tikki-Tavi killed the snakes, he did this to save and protect people and animals, and this is not being a vigilante but a hero because he was not doing this to be evil.

Rikki Tikki Tavi demonstrates many acts of bravery to show that he is the one true hero in the story. For example, the narrator states that “...Karait had lunged too far, and Rikki-Tikki-Tavi had sprung, jumped on the snake’s back, dropped his head far between his forelegs, bitten as high up as the back as he could get hold, and he rolled away. The bite paralyzed Karait,” (Kipling 133-134). This was an important act because this is when Rikki not only killed the dangerously fast and small snake, Karait, but also saved Teddy’s life. Teddy would have been killed or seriously injured by the snake, but Rikki was brave and went in for the kill, which ended with

Some believe that Rikki-Tikki-Tavi was seeking revenge on the snake, making him a vigilante. He did kill the snakes in revenge for what they had done to who he loved, but he did this to protect himself and others. Rikki would have never gone after them to be evil, but because it was “every mongoose’s business in life to fight and eat snakes,” (Kipling 125). So not only is it a natural instinct, but Rikki only attacked the snakes who proved to be harmful. By doing this he saved the lives of three humans and countless animals in the