Character Analysis Of Nagaina In Rikki-Tavi By Rudyard Kipling

King cobras are known to eat other snakes including other cobras; however, during mating season the King cobra produces a special hormone that makes him lose his appetite so that he can’t eat his mate. In the story “Rikki-Tikki-Tavi” by Rudyard Kipling, there is a cobra named Nagaina. One day a mongoose is washed out due to a storm, and meets Nagaina and her husband Nag in the garden of a bungalow. Right away Nagaina knows that the mongoose Rikki can’t stay because venomous snakes and mongooses can’t live together because mongooses kill snakes particularly cobras. Two character traits of Nagain are protective and self-absorbed. Nagaina's main attribution to her character is how protective she is. "When the house is emptied of people... he will have to go away, and the garden will be ours again." Our children will need room and quiet." Nagaina doesn't want Rikki there because …show more content…
“But are you sure that there is anything to be gained by killing the people said Nag. Everything.” This shows that Nagaina doesn’t care if innocent people die or get hurt as long as she gets her way. Another piece that stands out and shows her true nature is, “The boy broke it with a stone shriked! Darzee’s wife. Well! It may be some consolation, to you when you’re dead that I shall settle accounts with the boy.” She’s not sorry for Darzee’s wife, she only cares that she gets her revenge for Nag. She has lost so much in such a short amount of time that she blames everyone else and just wants Ricki dead. In conclusion, Nagaina is just angry that she has lost her family in a few days. Nagaina has lost her garden that she was the queen of. So she becomes protective of her eggs. She then becomes self-absorbed on getting her revenge after Nag dies. She blames all the creatures in the garden for helping Rikki. Overall Nagaina has shown and proven how protective and self-absorbed she