In both the story of Rikki Rikki Tavi and of Mowgli, there is an impression of a “lesser” or “weaker” opponent in the conflicts within the story. For instance, the story of Mowgli begins as baby Mowgli is saved from Shere Khan who hopes to eat the abandoned child in the camp ground of the men. Here, the idea of a weak and vulnerable opponent (Mowgli) is introduced to the “mighty” Shere Khan (who at the same time is known for his lameness). As the story goes, Mowgli grows up amongst the wolf pack, learning all that Baloo and Bagheera can offer to him. However, Mowgli’s fortune within the wolf pack will not last, as Shere Khan continues to prey on Mowgli, influencing the other wolves to turn their backs against Mowgli.
As we already may know, The Law of the Jungle states that no animal is to eat Man, as “Man is the weakest and most defenseless of all living things, and it is unsportsmanlike to touch him”. However, Shere Khan does not follow the law, as he sees Mowgli as an easy conquest because of man’s weakness. And yet, despite this physical weakness found within Mowgli it is Shere Khan who is weaker of the two, as he lacks the mental and intellectual capacity of Mowgli. Thus, without physically partaking in a battle with Shere Khan, Mowgli traps the lame tiger in a canyon, only to be run over by a herd of buffalo stampeding.
On the other hand, RIkki Tikki Tavi is not a “weak” character, but he is clearly outnumbered by Nag and Nagaina, and thus it can be presumed that the two snakes are physically stronger than single Rikki Tikki Tavi. Upon the first meeting of the two snakes, RIkki Tikki Tavi is talking with Darzee whose baby egg has just been killed by the snakes. As Rikki Tikki Tavi learns about the presence of two giant cobras in the garden, the two snakes attempt to make their first attack on the mongoose. Nag emerges in front of Rikki Tikki Tavi, while Nagaina attempts to sneak up on the young mongoose. Rikki Tikki Tavi jumps into the air before Nagaina can deliver a deadly attack; he escapes harm and realizes that he is no match for two snakes.
The snakes remain threatened by the presence of RIkki Tikki Tavi, and thus continue to find ways to attack the mongoose. Nagaina and Nag’s attempt to kill Rikki Tikki and the white family is foiled again, as Rikki Tikki Tavi carefully plans his attack on Nag, “Now if I kill him here, Nagaina will know; and if I fight him on the open floor the odds are in his favor” (51). Just like Mowgli, Rikki Tikki Tavi resorts to a cunning plan on top of his swift actions in order to successfully kill both Nag and Nagaina. He seizes the moment in which Nag is weakest, as he is sleeping in the hose and attacks the cobra planning precisely that an attack on the head is the most efficient. The death of Nagaina is soon to follow, as RIkki Tikki formulates another plan, this time to kill the vengeful Nagaina.
In both stories, the characters of Mowgli and Rikki Tikki Tavi seemed to have some sort of physical disadvantage, when it came to fighting the Shere Khan and the cobras. Had Mowgli physically fought Shere Khan alone, the likelihood of a victory by the man, would be highly doubtful (Hence Baloo and Bagheera’s attempts to teach Mowgli everything there was about the jungle). Thus Mowgli relied on his intelligence and was successful in his defeat of the lame tiger. As for Rikki Tikki Tavi, while the killing of the snakes was a part of his natural environment, Rikki Tikki seemed doubtful in himself, which made him more cautionary as he attempted to kill the snakes. He carefully thought about each move and attack, and was able to take the two snakes out one by one.
In the end, however, the victories of Mowgli and Rikki Tikki Tavi could not have occurred had their opponents not fully believed that they were at advantage. Shere Khan pretty much focused on Mowgli’s physical weakness, thinking that death to the man would be relatively easy, but he never considered that Mowgli would be capable of planning Shere Khan’s death. Likewise, the two cobras assumed that because there were two of them, the likelihood of a victory would be greater.
Needless to say, next time you pick a fight with someone, don’t base it solely on appearances, because some times you get more than what you bargained for (your own death).
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I appreciate the alternating impressions of weakness and strength that you call our attention to in Kipling’s stories. The contrast b/w Mowgli and Shere Khan demonstrates such an impression nicely. However, I was struck by what you didn’t mention (but chose instead to merely gloss over): Shere Khan’s lameness. While this does make him weak in a physical sense, I wonder if it couldn’t be read more as a marker of moral lameness. He chooses to disregard the Law of the Jungle; he effectively hunts Mowgli as prey, which is also what might help us to revise our understanding of Mowgli as something not-entire-Man—and this calls into question the register of weakness with which we should Mowgli’s character against Shere Khan’s. I like the parallel you begin to set up b/w Mowgli and Rikki-Tikki-Tavi; however, I’m concerned that you slip into more plot summary than is necessary to illustrate your point. In effect, the summary you provide could alert us to the fact that the story of Rikki-Tikki-Tavi can be boiled down to the conflict b/w the strong and the weak. Consequently, both Mowgli and Rikki-Tikki aptly reveal a partnership b/w instinct and intelligence to vanquish their respective opponents—leading me to think of the cliché: don’t judge a book by its cover!
ReplyDeleteA logistical note: watch how you order your ideas. You introduced first “Rikki-Tikki-Tavi” and next “Mowgli’s Brothers” (although you didn’t identify this Mowgli story specifically), but then you went on to discuss Mowgli before Rikki-Tikki. Just be sure to parallel the order of mention w/ the stories’ actual discussions. This will help strengthen the comparative move you make in the penultimate paragraph.