Rikki-Tikki-Tavi from The Jungle Book Philosophical Viewpoints: Postcolonialism Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Paragraph)

Quote #7

The big man had been wakened by the noise, and had fired both barrels of a shot-gun into Nag just behind the hood. (61)

The power of the British colonizer is represented in the barrel of a gun. Notice how the father keeps control in his garden only through violent methods?

Quote #8

[…] "and Nag came out on the end of a stick—the sweeper picked him up on the end of a stick and threw him upon the rubbish-heap." (68)

If we read the cobras as a symbol of Indian culture, this quote should come across as historically telling.

Quote #9

[Rikki-tikki] bit off the tops of the eggs as fast as he could, taking care to crush the young cobras, and turned over the litter from time to time to see whether he had missed any. (85)

Of course, the killing of babies is only seen as a bad thing when Nag does it. Somehow, Rikki-tikki's murder of way more (potential) babies becomes a heroic act.