Rudyard Kipling

1865 - 1936

British Imperialism When ‘‘Rikki-Tikki-Tavi’’ was first published

as part of the second volume of Kipling’s Jungle Book in 1895, Great Britain commanded the most powerful empire the world had ever seen. The Indian subcontinent was one important part of the empire, which thousands of ‘‘Anglo-Indians,’’ like Kipling himself, called home. The form of imperialism during Kipling’s time was characterized by forceful imposition of British government and British culture upon the natives of a region.

Rudyard Kipling was born in Bombay, India in 1865.

India was ruled by England at that time. It was a British colony.

He was educated in England andmarried an American ; he lived forawhile in Virginia.

•Kipling returned to India in 1882.

•He worked for a newspaper.•Kipling wrote poetry, novels, and short stories.

•Kipling was the recipient of many honorary degrees and other awards.

•Kipling was chiefly known as a writer of short stories.

•Kipling wrote Jungle Book in 1894.

•It became a children’s classic around the world.

•Walt Disney’s cartoon version of the story was produced in the 1960s.

• Readers loved Kipling’s tales about the adventures of Englishmen in distant parts of the world.

• He was a very popular writer in his time.

•Kipling won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1907.

•Kipling died on January 18, 1936.

Language Arts 7 Vocabulary Words from

“Rikki-tikki-tavi”by Rudyard Kipling

mongoose

scuttle

• verb

• to move with short, rapid steps

The mongoose scuttles across

the yard when fighting the cobra.

cower

• verb

• to crouch down, as in fear or shame

The puppy cowers in the corner

when he is scolded.

flinch

• verb

• to draw back, as from something painful, dangerous, or unpleasant; to wince

Getting a flu shot made the

patient flinch.

gait

• noun

• a particular manner of moving on foot

The athlete’s limping gait

indicated that his pulled muscle

was bothering him again.

lunge

• verb

• to make a sudden forward movement; to charge

The cobra lunges at the

mongoose, trying to bite it.

fancy

• verb

• to picture mentally; imagine

• to want or to like

(we rarely use this form of the word today)

I cannot fancy ever winning the lottery.

I fancy a Diet Coke after school.

valiant

• adjective

• brave; courageous

The fireman made a valiant rescue of a woman from the burning house.

brood

• noun

• all of the young of an animal that are born or cared for at the same time

The brood of ducklings waddled across the street to swim in the pond.

fledgling• noun

• a young bird that has recently grown its flight feathers

The fledgling fell from

the tree on his first

attempt to fly.

cunningly

• adverb

• in a clever way that is meant to trick or deceive

The girl cunningly pretended to not know how to play pool, and then she proceeded to win all the old man’s money.

consolation

• noun

• a comfort

Going to Splashtown for the day was no consolation for missing our trip to Disney World.

revive• verb

• to return to life or consciousness

We threw water on his face to revive him after he fainted.

mongoose-cobra fight