Rikki-Tikki Theme & Characterization

Character & Theme

Multiple Choice

Review Question: What is theme?

• It's a one-word topic like love.

• It's the message or takeaway and is usually a sentence or phrase.

• It's the way that characters meet the first time.

• It describes the entire plot of the story.

Rikki-Tikki-Tavi Review

Setting: Segowlee cantonment in colonial India

Important Characters:

●Rikki-tikki tavi, a mongoose

●Teddy, a young boy

●Darzee

●Nag

●Nagaina

Multiple Choice

Which character is the protagonist?

• Teddy

• Darzee

• Nag

• Rikki-Tikki-Tavi

Multiple Select

Which character or characters are the antagonists?

• Darzee

• Nag

• Nagaina

• Rikki-Tikki-Tavi

Rikki-Tikki-Tavi Review
Summary

●Beginning: Teddy finds Rikki-tikki tavi who is washed out of
the burrow he lives in, and Rikki-tikki begins to live with the
family. Rikki-tikki meets Darzee and his wife, who tell him
about the evil cobra, Nag. Rikki-tikki meets Nag and is
attacked by Nagaina, Nag’s wife.

●Middle: That night, Rikki-tikki realizes Nag and Nagaina
have snuck into the house, plotting to kill Teddy and his
family. Rikki-tikki hears this plan and after Nagaina leaves,
he gets into a fight with Nag, who is killed by Teddy’s father.

●End: Rikki-tikki plans to kill Nagaina, using Darzee and his
wife to distract her while he begins to destroy her hidden
nest of eggs. They fight, end up going down a hole together,
and eventually Rikki-tikki emerges, saying he killed Nagaina.

Rikki-Tikki-Tavi Themes

1.

What do you think the main conflict was? Based on the
conflict, what do you think is a lesson/message/idea you can
take from the story?

2.

What is a key characteristic of Rikki-Tikki? How does his
character provide a lesson/message or idea?

3.

Why do you think it’s important to protect the ones you love?

Multiple Choice

What do you think the main conflict was?

• The war in India

• Teddy wanted Rikki-Tikki-Tavi to stay, but his parents said no.

• Nag and Nagaina were planning to kill Teddy, and Rikki-Tikki-Tavi didn't want that to happen.

• The parents were clueless as to the danger, so they let Teddy sleep unguarded.

Multiple Choice

Based on the
conflict, what do you think is a lesson/message/idea you can
take from the story?

• Being brave means being willing to fight for others even when it's scary.

• Being afraid is okay

• You shouldn't have to fight for others, especially if they aren't like you.

• Facing snakes is a full time job and should be taken seriously.

Multiple Select

What is a key characteristic of Rikki-Tikki? How does his
character provide a lesson/message or idea?
Select all that apply; this doesn't mean that all are right!

• Brave; we learn that we should stand up to people who are planning to hurt our family.

• Cunning; Rikki-Tikki came up with a good plan, so we learn we should be thoughtful when fighting a battle.

• Loyal; we see that Rikki-Tikki chooses to protect the family that took him in even though they weren't origianlly his family.

• Angry; we see that Nag's anger rubs off on Rikki-Tikki. We should let others influence us like that too.

Open Ended

Why do you think it's important to protect the people you love?

Rikki-Tikki-Tavi Themes

1.

What do you think the main conflict was? Based on the
conflict, what do you think is a lesson/message/idea you can
take from the story?

2.

What is a key characteristic of Rikki-Tikki? How does his
character provide a lesson/message or idea?

3.

Why do you think it’s important to protect the ones you love?

4.

In your opinion, which character in the story was the bravest?
What about their actions made them brave?

Characterization

A character is an individual in a literary work of fiction, drama, or
narrative poetry.

Characters’ thoughts, feelings, actions, and reactions drive the plot, or
the events that take place in the story. The resolution is the final
outcome of the story’s conflict. This is why the point of conflict is so
important to identify when tracking the plot.

Writers use several techniques to develop characters and reveal aspects
of their personality including dialogue, or conversation, description,
and plot events. A character’s traits, or personality, consists of the
qualities that make that character different from others, such as
whether the character is honest or devious.

We track the changes and events in a character's life this way:
Someone Wanted But So
Example: Rikki Tikki (Someone) loved his family and wanted to stay with
them (Wanted), but Nag and Nagaina planned to kill the family (But).
So, Rikki-Tikki protected them (So).

Reorder

Reorder the following events to match: Someone Wanted But So to match the proper order of the story.

• Rikki-Tikki wanted to stay with the human family and protect them.

• But the snakes, Nag and Nagaina, threatened, and even planned, to kill the little boy.

• So the dad killed Nag.

• So Rikki-Tikki came up with a plan to kill Nagaina and the snake eggs.

1

2

3

4

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4

Characterization

The main character—the one the story revolves around and who usually
has a problem to solve—is called the protagonist. The character who
opposes the protagonist is called the antagonist. Minor characters
provide support for the protagonist or antagonist, helping to reveal
aspects of their personalities.

Characterization

The main character—the one the story revolves around and who usually has a
problem to solve—is called the protagonist. The character who opposes the
protagonist is called the antagonist. Minor characters provide support for the
protagonist or antagonist, helping to reveal aspects of their personalities.

In order to determine how particular elements of a story or drama interact,
note the following:

●the characters in the story, including the protagonist and antagonist

●the settings and how they shape the characters or plot

●plot events and how they affect the characters

●key events or series of episodes in the plot, especially events that cause
characters to react, respond, or change in some way

●characters’ responses as the plot reaches a climax and moves toward a
resolution of the problem facing the protagonist

●the resolution of the conflict in the plot and the ways that affects each
character

Characterization

To analyze how particular elements of a story or drama interact, consider the
following questions:

●How do the characters’ responses change or develop from the beginning to
the end of the story?

●How does the setting shape the characters and plot in the story?

●How do the events in the plot affect the characters?

●How do they develop as a result of the conflict, climax, and resolution?

●Do the characters’ problems reach a resolution? How?

●How does the resolution affect the characters?

Multiple Choice

Read Paragraph 37 and answer the question: How does the mother’s love for her son affect her actions in paragraph 37?

37 He went away for a dust bath under the castor-oil bushes, while Teddy's father beat the dead Karait. "What is the use of that?" thought Rikki-tikki. "I have settled it all;" and then Teddy's mother picked him up from the dust and hugged him, crying that he had saved Teddy from death, and Teddy's father said that he was a providence, and Teddy looked on with big scared eyes. Rikki-tikki was rather amused at all the fuss, which, of course, he did not understand. Teddy's mother might just as well have petted Teddy for playing in the dust. Rikki was thoroughly enjoying himself.

• She removes Rikki-Tikki from Teddy.

• She hugs him even though he's dirty.

• She rejects Rikki-Tikki's actions and praises her son instead.

• She fights with her husband.

Multiple Choice

Which paragraph shows that Teddy looks to Rikki-Tikki for protection?

37 He went away for a dust bath under the castor-oil bushes, while Teddy's father beat the dead Karait. "What is the use of that?" thought Rikki-tikki. "I have settled it all;" and then Teddy's mother picked him up from the dust and hugged him, crying that he had saved Teddy from death, and Teddy's father said that he was a providence, and Teddy looked on with big scared eyes. Rikki-tikki was rather amused at all the fuss, which, of course, he did not understand. Teddy's mother might just as well have petted Teddy for playing in the dust. Rikki was thoroughly enjoying himself.

38 That night at dinner, walking to and fro among the wine-glasses on the table, he might have stuffed himself three times over with nice things. But he remembered Nag and Nagaina, and though it was very pleasant to be patted and petted by Teddy's mother, and to sit on Teddy's shoulder, his eyes would get red from time to time, and he would go off into his long war cry of "Rikk-tikk-tikki-tikki-tchk!"

39 Teddy carried him off to bed, and insisted on Rikki-tikki sleeping under his chin. Rikki-tikki was too well bred to bite or scratch, but as soon as Teddy was asleep he went off for his nightly walk round the house, and in the dark he ran up against Chuchundra, the musk-rat, creeping around by the wall. Chuchundra is a broken-hearted little beast. He whimpers and cheeps all the night, trying to make up his mind to run into the middle of the room. But he never gets there.

40 "Don't kill me," said Chuchundra, almost weeping. "Rikki-tikki, don't kill me!"

• Paragraph 37

• Paragraph 38

• Paragraph 39

• Paragraph 40