My expectations for The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling were grossly misplaced. I admit, when I first bought this book years ago (back when Borders was still around), I was expecting the Disney trope. Animals dancing around a heartfelt story of a boy raised in the jungle. Like many others, The Jungle Book from my childhood involves the warm, protective Baloo and the rambunctious Mowgli; the ominous prowling of Shere Kahn and the wise mentorship of Bagheera. However, Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book was a darker, more violent version of the fluffy account Disney portrayed. So, when I initially attempted to read years ago, I was sorely disappointed in the lack of familiarity. Back on the shelf it went for another day. And that other day was last spring in the Great Smoky Mountains. Once I relinquished my expectations, I opened myself up to the uniqueness captured in this collection of short stories. It was fitting for a backpacking trip, encouraging me to discover the untold stories of the forest creatures.
The Book
A look at the story
The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling is a collection of short stories that follow the lives of various anthropomorphized animals. The better-known of these stories is that of Mowgli, the boy raised by wolves to follow the Laws of the Jungle. The first three stories, “Mowgli’s Brothers,” “Kaa’s Hunting,” and “Tiger! Tiger!” explore Mowgli’s infancy; his upbringing by a pack of wolves and the guidance of Baloo the bear, Bagheera the panther, and Kaa the cobra; his development into early manhood. It is during this early manhood that his humanness becomes apparent. As Mowgli grows up and matures, he is confronted with his position between two worlds– the jungle and the human world. His ambivalence toward human society and his struggle to fit in the jungle create the central theme of belonging versus alienation. This theme, which investigates the nexus of human civilization and the jungle, is present in the other stories. Some of the lesser-known stories include “The White Seal,” which follows Kotick and his pack of seals as they search for a new home, free from human hunters. Plus, “Rikki-Tikki-Tavi,” the brave and virtuous mongoose who defends a family of humans from menacing cobras.
A look at the author
Rudyard Kipling was born in Bombay, India, in 1865, during British rule. At five years old, he and his sister were sent to live in a boarding house for children of expatriate British nationals in England. According to his autobiography, his time in England felt like a stark contrast to his initial years in India. He described his years in England as the most miserable of his life. The protagonist in The Jungle Book, Mowgli, reflects Rudyard Kipling’s own childhood, mirroring the early displacement into another place. As the child of British nationals, he never truly belonged to Indian society; yet, being sent away from what was familiar exacerbated this feeling of alienation. Similar to Mowgli, Kipling lived at the cusp between worlds, never fully belonging to either.
Thoughts & Reflections
WARNING: some spoilers may be present
My connection to the story
“Now what is this?” said Mowgli, bewildered, as the stones flew thicker.
“They are not unlike the Pack, these brothers of thine,” said Akela, sitting down composedly. “It is in my head that, if bullets mean anything, they would cast thee out.”
“Wolf! Wolf’s cub! Go away!” shouted the priest, waving a sprig of the sacred tulsi plant.
“Again? Last time it was because I was a man. This time it is because I am a wolf. Let us go, Akela.”
– “Tiger! Tiger!”
The motif of belonging was difficult to miss in each story. Understanding Kipling’s upbringing explains the source of this shared experience among the characters. Yet this feeling of being on the periphery and the craving to belong is a place of empathy for many of us. During my formative years, I can recall watching social circles move about me, not knowing how to fit into them. For all that I understood of societal customs and human behavior, I may as well have been raised by a pack of wolves. I found myself reminiscing on my childhood while reading the stories of Mowgli, the wolf boy. I thought about that little girl who never felt like she belonged. Too weird for some, not exciting enough for others.
During Mowgli’s short-lived transition to human civilization, I was struck by the pack mentality displayed by both the humans and the jungle. Mowgli was too human to belong amongst the wolves, but was too feral for the village folk. Each pack cast Mowgli out for his differences, leaving him to straddle both worlds, belonging to neither. Despite humans’ assertion of dominance over the rest of the animal kingdom, we have yet to surpass our primitive ways. There is still that tendency to reject what is strange, what does not fit in.
My views on the story
Patalamon rattled a pair of seal’s shoulder bones in front of a herd of holluschickie and they
stopped dead, puffing and blowing. Then he stepped near and the seals began to move, and
Kerick headed them inland, and they never tried to get back to their companions. Hundreds and
hundreds of thousands of seals watched them being driven, but they went on playing just the
same. Kotick was the only one who asked questions, and none of his companions could tell him
anything, except that the men always drove seals in that way for six weeks or two months of
every year.– “The White Seal”
The story that most impacted me was “The White Seal.” It followed the story of Kotick, the seal with the unusual white fur. The story begins by introducing us to a young seal living gaily amongst his pack, absorbing the world like a sponge. Life’s gilded charm began to falter when he learned of the seasonal massacres by the hunters. Unable to accept the way things have always been, Kotick sets off to find a land undisturbed by humans. A place where seals could live freely. This story portrayed the savagery of humans and their violent, ruthless nature. The hunters could not see the seals as anything but a resource; the killing sprees just another task for them to perform. I couldn’t help but feel resentment toward humankind and our inclination for destruction.
It took me some time to get into the stories because of Kipling’s whimsical, lyrical style. Despite this, I was progressively enchanted by each story, even the ones excluding the infamous Mowgli. The relationship between the jungle and humans was explored in a unique, enticing style. Humans existed in the background of the animals, all of whom played the protagonist or hero of the story. The animals regarded the humans with fear, yielding to the forbiddance of killing humans in the laws of the jungle. Despite the disconnect portrayed between the villagers and the jungle creatures, their commonalities were evident. A mother’s instinct to protect her young was as visible in Raksha, Mother Wolf, as it was in Messua, Mowgli’s human mother. Rudyard’s ability to give the animals a voice through his stories reminded me of our commonalities with our animal counterparts.
Closing thoughts
I would recommend Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book to anyone interested in a classic that grants the animals center stage. It was the perfect companion for backpacking, allowing for the discovery of stories to be told by creatures of the Smoky Mountains. I am sure many of you are familiar with the movie, The Jungle Book, but what about the book? If you have already read the stories, I would love to hear your thoughts. Share them with me in the comments below!
Join me in 2 weeks for another Backpacker’s Book Club commentary. Until then,
Happy Trails!
