The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling’s famous tale of Mowgli, The Jungle Book, captivates readers with its Indian flavor. This is the first book that describes the fabulous world of the jungle. It is a magical animal tale in which man plays a major role. In his first story of the tale, “The Mowgli Brothers,” the author tells of an old legend–how the animals raised man. This legend comes from ancient times and the existence of man in the wild is not a surprise even nowadays. After reading Kipling’s tale, you begin to believe in the existence of the laws of the jungle, which is forbidden to violate, as their failure to comply threatens the existence of all life.
In his story “How Fear Appears” before the drought, all feuds, quarrels, and all grievances must be forgotten. It is strictly forbidden to hunt near water, and those who violate this prohibition deserve to be punished. In times of drought, the jungle is like one family that helps each other, even the animals understand the importance of a truce of predators and mammals. Rudyard Kipling uses this example to show how people should live in times of world catastrophe.
We see the human disrespect for the laws of life in the story “The King’s Rod. In one civilization, where conquered wealth was accumulated and beautiful gems were honored, bad times came. No amount of money and riches saved the developing civilization from ruin, but instead led to the collapse of an entire nation. Mowgli, brought up according to the laws of the jungle, does not perceive any riches, jewels have no meaning for him except as a simple word. Seeing the image of Mowgli, we understand how far from the ideal humanity is, he does not need any rank or privileged position, he does not dream of fabulous riches. Rather, Kipling was trying to show us how far we are from a common brotherhood, a universal harmony, where the meaning of life is good.
In Kipling’s next story, “The Tiger Tiger,” I had a bifurcated opinion. Mowgli’s return to the people did not turn out to be the return of the prodigal son home, but on the contrary, society did not accept him. Mowgli, brought up by the just laws of the jungle, did not fit into a society full of deceit and betrayal, where the notion of justice and equality is absent. When faced with aggression and injustice, Mowgli responded to the laws of the jungle, he took revenge and lived by the right of the strongest. In the story “The Jungle Attack,” Mowgli attacks and destroys a human settlement based on the jungle law of the right of the strongest. In general, we see a lack of jungle law where Mowgli commits a crime, but in his understanding he acts correctly. In this episode, Kipling sharpened his focus on the problems of society and shows us all the injustices and lapses in the laws. We see that most laws are made for a certain circle of people who do not act for the good of all people. It is these shortcomings that lead to divisions and wars.
Kipling portrayed deeply and accurately the dark side of society in the monkeys. Monkeys lead bad lives, live one moment at a time, do not seek to develop community, and do not want to work for the good of the whole jungle. Although the monkeys do nothing wrong, they are of no use, they think only of themselves, satisfy their instincts, and want to do nothing else. Thus, the author ridicules people who do not work and live only for one day, yes they are not bad, but they are useless. These people do not deserve respect and it is unlikely that they will ever create anything.
Mowgli acquires his peak strength and mightiness in his battle with the red dogs. The battle with the red dogs shows man’s victory over nature, Mowgli defeats them for the well-being of the jungle. The red dogs have kept the whole jungle in fear, they have achieved dominance, but the man raised by the wolves repays his brothers and engages in battle with the threat hanging over the jungle. Kipling paints this moment so that Mowgli, thanks to his human qualities, intelligence and agility, unites the pack and defeats the red dogs.
Kipling’s last story in the Mowgli book is “Spring Run. Mowgli is now seventeen years old, and he has become even bigger and stronger, his way of life has only helped him gain strength. Now the animals are not only afraid of Mowgli’s intelligence, but also of his strength, which was evident. He becomes cramped in the jungle, and even the fact that he feels in charge does not soothe him. He can do nothing about the feeling that pulls him toward the people, and unable to fight anymore he returns home. Again we see the law – man always goes to man – and which Mowgli can no longer defeat. How Mowgli settled down and took root among people, whether he was able to overcome his old upbringing, the author is silent about it.
