The Jungle Books (original 1894; edition 2005)

I guess it was the Disney 'Jungle Book' that made me expect a more coherent novel sort of story. I should probably have read this when I was little, but I never got round to it, so the £2 classics version (at nearly twenty!) had to do. I think of the two books, I liked the Just So stories better. There are some charming stories in both.

I know I have friends who would probably yell at me for reading it without really thinking about the issues of racism, imperalism, etc. I just tried to relax and enjoy it, though -- and I think if you want to, you can do that with Kipling. It's less prejudice in the sense of hate and discrimination and instead a sort of childlike assumption that white English people must be superior and they must bring enlightenment and civilisation to the natives.

My favourite story was probably the mongoose who protects the family. Having been nicknamed 'Mongoose' at one point, I feel a sort of kinship with Rikki-Tikki-Tavi.

The stories about Mowgli are probably the more famous, though, since there's more of them and because of Disney. They're nice, too. The version we get from Disney is so sanitised and idealised and so on, though -- these stories are actually a little more honest about the violence and danger, and problems like drought. ( )

This book I did not get to get ahold of, however I did get to watch the VHS film of it. There is the Disney version and the live-action version that I watched called "Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book." I loved seeing the relationships build between Mogli and the creatures in the jungle. I loved that even though they would be considered wild animals, they stood by his side and kept strong bonds with him.

I read Rikki Tikki Tavi a few years ago with my seventh graders and loved it. When I started this collection, I began with the first two Mowgli stories and loved them.

Then I read the afterword. The editor of the books wrote "Kipling [was] a fascinating failure - a writer of considerable yet uncertain and ruined talent."

I scoffed at this assessment. Surely this could not be a portrayal of the same author whose brilliance I have just read?

Then I continued reading. Ugh...how much more tedious and painful the stories became; each worse than the last. I do not regret reading the first few stories of Mowgli, or the story of my most beloved mongoose. But, other than that, I want my time back. These were bad. ( )

eBook

Once again, I'm struck by the savagery that resonates throughout Kipling's writing. It would be so easy to think of The Jungle Book in a more Disney-fied light: talking animals, singing, the rhythmic cadences of a fairy tale or lullaby. But overarching all that is the ever-present reminder that the world of the jungle is a world of nature, red in tooth and claw. Mowgli is raised by wolves and instructed by Baloo for the explicit purpose of survival in a harsh world that actively seeks his death. Kotick is born and raised amidst bloodshed from two distinct sources: other seals and man. "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" subverts the traditional story of a pet protecting his master by making the masters little more than incidental characters; Rikki-Tikki wants to protect them, but his actions are driven by instinct rather than any familial bond with the humans. Even in the less-obviously blood-drenched stories, violence is a powerful force. Toomai's journey to witness the dance of the elephants puts him at great risk of death.

The story I found most interesting, however, was the one which closes the book, "Her Majesty's Servants." The characters of this particular story are the camp animals for an army, but paradoxically, these might be the most innocent characters in the whole book. All their conversation is about war and its methods, but without any real recognition of what it means. These animals have been tamed by man, stripped of their natural instincts, and so, with the exception of the elephant, they don't realize what war means, content merely to follow orders and limit their perspective to the specifics of their duties.

And maybe that's the true lesson of The Jungle Book. Yes, it's violent, endlessly circling and returning to the themes of death and danger, but in the world of the animals, death and danger exists because they are necessary parts of life. Animals must eat, so animals must hunt and kill. But for people, violence is stripped of that which makes it necessary. Wars don't happen for food and survival; they happen for sport and profit.

Or maybe I'm just a filthy hippie. ( )

The edition that I read contains both the first and the second Jungle Books.

I had never read this as a child, and was only familiar with the Disney version. Therefore, this book was full of surprises! Some of my favorite stories, like Rikki Tikki Tavi and many others didn't even make it into the film at all. There were even stories about the Arctic! As far as the Mowgli stories, which were wonderful, Kaa was far wiser and was not an antagonist.

I'm so glad that I finally read this. I enjoyed it. ( )