n the short story, “Rikki-tikki-tavi” written by Rudyard Kipling, the character Rikki-tikki can be described as a valiant mongoose. In this story, Rikki arises conflicts with two deadly cobras named Nag and Nagaina and has to resolve them in order to keep his human family safe. In the beginning of the story, the narrator states, “This is a story of the great war that Rikki-tikki fought single-handed…”(22). This illustrates Rikki as brave in the way that a “war” is usually fought with armies of men, whereas Rikki is fighting one himself single-handedly. The author continues to illustrates that Rikki is courageous when he states “Marks or no marks, do you think it is right for you to eat fledglings out of a nest?” toward the cobra, Nag(24-25).
