Isabelle Bagon

HNRS 378
2/23/24

1. If Fanon were to reinterpret “Rikki-Tikki-Tavi”, he would use the story to explore the
dynamics of power, resistance, and the psychological consequences of colonial relationships.
The cobras would be the heroes, as they could symbolize the colonized people reclaiming
agency and resiting the mongoose. On their first meeting, the description of Nag as a “big black
cobra” and Nagaina as a “wicked wife”1 suggests the colonized is a potential threat in the eyes
of the colonizer Rikki-tikki. Throughout the story, the snakes in the garden are “othered” from the
rest of the creatures. Rikki-tikki is initially afraid of Nag’s display of power, with the “great god
Brahm put his mark upon all our people when the first cobra spread his hood’2.The fear may
mirror the lack of understanding that colonizers had regarding the culture of the colonized.
Fanon’s idea of violence being used as a tool to resist and challenge oppressive forces can be
seen when the snakes infiltrate the house to kill the humans as a means of reclaiming agency.
“When there were no people in the bungalow, did we have any mongoose in the garden? So
long as the bungalow is empty, we are king and queen of the garden”3. Nag's use of violence is
about settling accounts of what the humans and mongoose have taken from them, playing a
crucial role in breaking the psychological chains of colonialism. After her husband was killed,
Nagaina’s determination to execute resistance and take out the one who killed him. “`Son of the
big man that killed Nag, stay still. I am not ready yet”4. Even when she does try to kill the
humans, Rikki-tikki uses her eggs as a bargaining tool, adding a layer of symbolism to the
problem. The eggs may symbolize the potential for a new generation and by controlling it, Rikki-
Tikki exercises his control over the future as a narrative of domination. Her frantic fight with the
mongoose mirrors the desperate attempts of the colonized to escape the clutches of colonial
oppression. Her movements are a "whip-lash flicked across a horse's neck"5 suggesting the
speed and urgency of her attempt to evade capture. The determination Rikki has to catch
Nagaina is expressed through the phrase “all the trouble would begin again”6, representing the
relentless nature of colonization. Nagaina retreating into a “dark slope of the hot, moist earth” rat
hole, reflects the uncertainty and the hidden struggles faced by the colonized population as they
battle against the unknown forces of the colonizers. Rikki then follows the cobra back into her
hole with "...his little white teeth were clenched on her tail, and he went down with her”7. The act
of clenching Nagaina’s tail symbolizes the metaphorical hold of the colonizer over the colonized.
Fanon explored the use of violence for dominance, with Rikki’s action reflecting this aspect.
Rikki’s emergence from the hole, covered in dirt but victorious, symbolizes the resilience of the
colonizer and the ability to overcome the challenges posed by the colonized. The Coppersmith's
announcement of Nagaina's death and the subsequent celebration by the birds and frogs in the
garden symbolize the acknowledgment and acceptance of the colonizer's triumph.

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2. The domestic space is represented by the British family’s bungalow in colonial India. The
domestic sphere is associated with women with a female bird being Darzee’s wife. She plays a
nurturing role, tends to the family, and looks out for the community. She helps Rikki defeat one
of the cobras but is never actually given a name in the story, just being referred to as a wife.
“But Darzee's wife was wiser. She flew off her nest as Nagaina came along, and flapped her
wings about Nagaina's head”8. The bird reinforces traditional gender norms within the animal
community. The characters of Nag and Nagaina are often depicted as dangerous and exotic
creatures. They represent the threat to the domestic space of the British family. “When the
house is emptied of people he will have to go away, then the garden will be our own again”9.
The colonial narrative painted indigenous cultures as menacing, as the cobras symbolize the
danger from the unknown East. The Bungalow becomes the place where the threats are
confronted, and dealt with the mongoose, symbolizing the colonial defender. One can interpret
the portrayal of Rikki’s protective role as a representation of of the imperialist impulse to control
and defend. The mongoose’s mission to eliminate the cobras can be seen as a mirror of
imperial control and dominance that is seen as dangerous or subversive. “Rikki-tikki felt his eyes
growing red and hot… and looked all round him, and chattered with rage”10. The British family in
the story represents the colonial presence in India. The family’s role is significant as they are the
ones to adopt the mongoose and benefit from his protective actions. “and that's a wild creature!
I suppose he's so tame because we've been kind to him”11. The adoption of the mongoose can
represent the adoption of imperial ideology, where the colonizing power assumes a paternalistic
role in the territories it colonizes.

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