Last time I read The Jungle Book was years ago, to my son, when he was a preschooler. I didn’t remember much before I started this read. It might be that I only read him selective stories, because my memory of the stories was sketchy. Mowgli – aye, all of them, even the ones included in the other Jungle book. Rikki-Tikki-Tavi – yes, of course. But I don’t remember ever reading The White Seal or a couple other stories, so my impression of them is fresh. The entire book is simplistic on the surface: children stories mostly set in India, where animals assume human characteristics. Anthropomorphism is not a new literary device. It was first employed by Aesop, but Kipling wields it with skills unsurpassed by any writer who came after him. His stories are philosophical and many-layered – a layer for any age or point of view. Many stories, despite their artless beauty, are focused on a conflict between a person and a society. Mowgli searches for his true identity but doesn’t find it. He belongs to two tribes – the jungle and the humans – but is fully accepted by neither. The white seal Kotick in his eponymous, Russian-flavored tale searches for a better, safer home for his people, but even when he finds it, he has to fight his conservative-thinking kin, to force them to change. Like Mowgli, Kotick doesn’t belong among his peers. He is a loner and a leader. The children see him as a noble hero, but I must ask: is Koitick a hero or a dictator? Is there a difference? Was it a coincidence that the story is infused with Russian influence? In my opinion, this story is the most profound in the collection. Incidentally, it’s the only one set outside of India. The elephant story is a story of exploitation. English exploit Indians. People exploit elephants. Nobody feels even a tad sorry, and everyone feels entitled. Although the esthetics and the metaphors are fantastic, the morals are…questionable. The last story, Her Majesty's Servants, is the most ‘imperialistic’ of all and surprisingly stark for a children story. It lists all the ways an animal could fight for the British army – with pride! It spoiled the taste of the entire book for me. I don’t think this story belongs in this collection. Or maybe it does, which makes me even sadder. The only undisputed hero in the book was Rikki, the mongoose. His goal is to keep his adapted family safe, and he risks his life to achieve that goal. His story is light-hearted, very optimistic, and his bravery is as simple as his goal. His mental process caused me to smile. It is the hardest thing in the world to frighten a mongoose, because he is eaten up from nose to tail with curiosity. The political views of the author are on display in this book, perhaps unintentionally, and while I disagree with them, I have to admit that all the stories were written by a master of the craft. I happened to read this book right after some mediocre indie novel, and the comparison – oh, boy! Like a pebble and a diamond. I luxuriated in the clean, sparkling water of Kipling’s language. It flowed and washed away the sticky residue left by bad writing. Most historical writers I’ve ever read tend to rhapsodize, but not Kipling. He was trained and worked as a journalist, and it shows. Not an extraneous word in the entire book. What’s even more interesting: Kipling’s expressive, almost ‘visual’ narration was accomplished with very few adjectives. The book could serve as a writing teacher’s example of what could be achieved with verbs and nouns. Sarcasm is another instrument in Kipling’s arsenal. The writer is sensitivity to human follies. He doesn’t condemn openly but he mocks mercifully. In the Mowgli’s stories, the comparison of monkeys and humans is uncanny and spot on. No sooner had he walked to the city wall than the monkeys pulled him back, telling him that he didn’t know how happy he was, and pinching him to make him grateful.… ‘We are great. We are free. We are wonderful. We are the most wonderful people in all the Jungle! We all say so, and so it must be true,’ they shouted. [underlining – mine] Recognizing anyone, my friends? Maybe Kipling was not as ‘imperialist’ as his critics say. Or maybe his honesty overrode his political convictions. It happens with great writers. A mandatory read for everyone.
The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling is a collection of short stories. There are three short stories about Mowgli, and there are then four other stories that are unrelated to him. They are each based on a different character and a different story. You have Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, Toomai, and Kotick. tThe first three short stories of The Jungle Book revolve around Mowgli. Mowgli is a man-cub, abandoned by his parents and found by Bagheera. Bagheera took Mowgli back to the jungle to be raised by a wolf family. He became part of them, learning the Law of the Jungle and living the life of the Jungle. It tells of his conflict with Shere Khan, a tiger who wanted to hunt and kill Mowgli. Shere Khan and Mowgli fight in Mowgli’s final story of The Jungle Book. tThe other story that I really liked is Rikki-Tikki-Tavi. Rikki-Tikki-Tavi was a mongoose that was saved from drowning by a human family. The family then raised Rikki-Tikki and he lived with them. Rikki-Tikki discovered that there were two snakes that plotted to kill the family and take over their garden. Rikki-Tikki refused to let that happen, so he discovered the snakes’ plot and defeated them, protecting the human family. tToomai of the Elephants is another story in The Jungle Book. It is about a young boy, named Toomai, who wanted to be an elephant driver but was told that he wasn’t allowed to do so, unless he saw the elephant’s dance. This was meant to say that he would never be an elephant driver, but saw the elephants dance, and so he became a driver just like he always dreamed. tThe White Seal is another short story in which Kotick must find a new home for his tribe to protect them from hunters. In the beginning no one believed Kotick and they didn’t move, but he eventually forced them to move to a new home, protected from the hunters. tThe theme of this book can be several things. I believe that the theme of all of these stories is the importance of family. In Mowgli’s stories, he had a decision to make. He had to decide whether he wanted to remain in the jungle, with his wolf family, along with Baloo and Bagheera, or go to live in the village with mankind. This was a difficult decision for Mowgli. He grew up and lived with these animals and they were his family, but on the other hand he had the opportunity to live with his own kind. They urged him to move to the village, but he didn’t want to. In the end though, he decided to live in the village, but he didn’t lose his family in the jungle. tWe also see this theme in Rikki-Tikki-Tavi. Rikki-Tikki must protect his family from the snakes. Rikki-Tikki was willing to do anything to ensure his families protection from the snakes, even if it meant that he would die. This shows his commitment to his family, and how important family is.t It comes up again in The White Seal. Kotick discovers the danger that his family is in and does whatever he can to get them to safety. These three stories all revolve around the importance of family. Each of the characters had to make a decision, and that decision would not only impact his life, but also the life of his family. And for all of these characters, ones who care so much for their families, it is a very difficult decision.tI highly recommend this book. I mostly enjoyed the stories of Mowgli, and Rikki-Tikki-Tavi. This is mainly because I was familiar with them. The Disney movie, The Jungle Book, which is about Mowgli, is the main reason that I chose this book. I wanted to see where it came from. It was to my surprise that it was actually a collection of short stories. I found Mowgli’s story very interesting in that he had two families to choose from. That is a very difficult decision because how can you decide whom you love more. In Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, we see the loyalty the Rikki-Tikki has for his family. He is willing to die for them. Both of these stories have very strong family morals and not many stories have them. tThe Jungle Book is a classic book that every person should read. It teaches family values. Besides that, it is a fun story that I believe anyone can enjoy. The level of creativity in these stories is very high. Not many people could think of these combinations of characters and animals. It just shows that anyone, no matter what his or her background, can get along if given the chance.
What do You think about The Jungle Book (1992)?
Rudyard Kipling’s _The Jungle Book_ is an enjoyable read. A collection of short stories, all of which revolve around the lives and troubles of different animals and the people who interact with them, it has a surprising amount of depth coupled with rather pleasant prose. The most famous of these stories are probably those that revolve around Mowgli, the jungle boy raised by wolves in India whose adventures with Baloo the bear and Bagheera the panther against the machinations of Shere Khan the tiger are fairly well-known (even resulting in a typically watered-down Disney movie from many years ago).All of the stories are notable for their fairly even handed treatment of the interactions between animals and men. The tragedy and pathos of the tribulations and abuse animals often have to suffer at the hands of man are not glossed over, but neither is it implied that all interactions between mankind and the animal kingdom are destructive or unwarranted. The animals are presented as having languages and customs of their own and Kipling generally does a pretty neat trick of managing to straddle the line between having his animal characters behave too much like humans and having them fall into unrelatability by being purely ‘animals’. The most significant contravention of this occurs, I think, in the story “Her Majesty’s Servants” in which, in my opinion, a group of animals serving various roles in a British regiment shade a bit more towards taking on the roles of their all-too human handlers. That quibble aside I enjoyed these morality fables and adventure stories, with those centring on Mowgli and his lessons in the Laws of the Jungle topping the list. Good clean fun with enough meat to the bone to give you something to think about.
—Terry
I loved 'The Jungle Book'. It was new to me because I had never watched the famous movie version of the story and didn't know it existed. The main characters were Mowgli (a boy raised in the jungle by wolves), his new parents (mother and father wolf), Shere Khan (the antagonist tiger who preyed on the weakest creatures), Baloo the bear (similar to a sheriff), Tabaqui (the jackal), Akela (the leader of the wolves), and Bagheera (the jaguar that helped Mowgli learn new things in the jungle). In the beginning, Mowgli was only accepted by mother and father wolf. At the council (a meeting of the wolves where they present their cubs to the community), no one wanted to speak up to keep Mowgli in the pack because he was a man cub. Baloo the bear and Bagheera the jaguar stood up for him when Shere Khan the tiger tried to stop him from becoming a part of the pack. Shere Khan wanted Mowgli for himself because he had almost captured him when Mowgli first came to the jungle with his father. Eventually, Mowgli was accepted by the offer of a bull from Bagheera. I liked reading about how Mowgli grew up and learned the ways of the jungle from Baloo, Bagheera, and his wolf parents. Later on, Akela the leader grows old and is unable to defend his position as leader. Mowgli defends him, but Shere Khan speaks up and encourages the rest of the pack to exile Mowgli into the village with the normal humans. Eventually, Mowgli gets revenge on Shere Khan in the village and returns to the jungle.
—Kirsten
The first time I read "The Jungle Book" I was appalled by how far it was from the Disneyfied version I had expected it to be. I couldn't seem to wrap my mind around it and separate the long-held associations between the book and the movie - so I just gave up. Simple as that.Upon reading it now several years later, I can finally appreciate the book for what it really is: a beautiful fragment of childhood-fantasies and adventures, intertwined with a very vivid cultural glimpse of Kipling's beloved India; a place where elephants sneak off in the middle of the night to dance in moonlit ballrooms or where boys are raised and taught by bears and wolves. There's a feeling of undefined magic in the mere thought of these occurrences, which will surely captivate any child.This time I found a more sincere depth in the famous tale of the jungle boy Mowgli as he was struggling to find his identity caught between civilization and nature. There was a sense of despair in his longing towards a home and a permanent place in the world.However it was the story of Rikki-Tikki-Tavi that truly won my heart. It had a beautiful morale in it, urging the reader to trust themselves and their instincts and have faith in the importance of friendship.
—Rikke
