Question

What mainly does the following passage communicate to readers about mongooses (paragraphs 24-25)?

“Who is Nag?” said he. “I am Nag. The great God Brahm put his mark upon all our people, when the first cobra spread his hood to keep the sun off Brahm as he slept. Look, and be afraid!”

He spread out his hood more than ever, and Rikki-tikki saw the spectacle-mark on the back of it that looks exactly like the eye part of a hook-and-eye fastening. He was afraid for the minute, but it is impossible for a mongoose to stay frightened for any length of time, and though Rikki-tikki had never met a live cobra before, his mother had fed him on dead ones, and he knew that all a grown mongoose’s business in life was to fight and eat snakes. Nag knew that too and, at the bottom of his cold heart, he was afraid.

Answer 1

Step-by-step explanation:

The passage communicates that mongooses, like the protagonist Rikki-tikki, have a natural instinct and purpose to fight and eat snakes. When Nag, the cobra, tries to intimidate Rikki-tikki by claiming that he is the great God Brahm, Rikki-tikki is initially afraid but quickly overcomes his fear. This is because he knows that his role in life as a mongoose is to confront and defeat snakes. The passage also reveals that Nag, despite his attempts to appear fearless, is actually afraid deep down, recognizing the mongoose's natural ability to be a formidable opponent for snakes.