Courage

Courage does not merely lie fighting heroic battles. It lies in overcoming
difficulties in challenging oneself in braving the odds of life. Twelve year old Sher
Singh is such a boy whose indomitable spirit finds expression when he is younger
brother falls ill and has to be taken to the hospital which is fifty miles away from the
village of Laldwani. All the men in the village, including his father, were out in a
photographic expedition and his mother had to stay back in the village to look after the
field and cattle. So Sher Singh had no other option but walk through the dense jungles
which had cobras, tigers, a herd of elephants and many other ferocious animals and had
to cross two life threatening rivers. Sher Singh does all that is needed by overcoming
his fears , by reenergizing himself at each moment of his journey to save his brother's
life, by bearing extreme pain in carrying his ill brother on his back. He is not a hunter
who is hunting for passion and profession like his 'Bahadur' father, but he delves into
danger to save the life of his brother. His dedication to what he is doing and the love
for his brother are all above his fears, fatigue and pains. Sher Singh is a true example
and benchmark of courage.

Baldeo shows great courage and determination in his fight with the man-eating
tiger. As soon as Baldeo realises that the tiger is heading towards him, he prepares to
attack with his axe in hand. Though the chances are slim for Baldeo, he decides firmly
not to give up. He fights bravely, giving the tiger a deadly blow on its shoulder,
wounding it badly. He dies as a brave man, fighting till its last breath. He's axe gives
him courage and it is only when he loses it, does he fall to the prey.
Setting

Norah Burke's 'Journey by night' is set in a small village named Laldwani and the
nearby town Kalaghat is fifty miles away from the village. Between the village and the
town there is a dense forest, occupied by animals like elephants, tigers, snakes etc. And
two rivers. The story was set when India was under colonial rule and most of the
villages in india did not have any medical facilities. When people were ill, some remedies
were the only way out. If home remedies did not suffice, it meant dead as hospitals
were very far off. Norah Burke's story portrays India as it was many years back but
more than that the portrayal of the backwardness of India.

The tiger in the tunnel is set in a remote area surrounded by a jungle. The
station, a small shack, which served as a mere way side signal stop was three miles away
from the watchman's family lived. He jungle has been described as a dense one with
hills overhanging the main line of the railway. The cutting led to a tunnel which was
famous for its tales of a man-eater tiger, who used to frequent the spot.

Thus both the stories had the same setting, that is, a jungle or a forest.
Male protagonist

In the story 'The Journey by Night'Sher Singh is a twelve year old boy, brown
and cheerful, a child of the jungle He is probably a protagonist because its a task of
utter courage and determination. He faces various animals in his journey. He reaches
the hospital at time and saves his brother's life. The doctor in the hospital was so
amazed on the courage of Sher Singh who travelled fifty miles away by crossing the
dense jungle that he called him Sher Singh Bahadur or the brave one.

Tembu, a dutiful son is truly again the lead in the story. Though he doesn't fight
with the man-eater he us the one who has got a big blow. He proves us the main theme
of the story that poor people cannot sit and cry over a thing for very long as their life
needs to move on. He performs his father's last rites and takes up the same job to
feed his family.