For Wednesday: Kipling, The
First Jungle Book
* “Mowgli’s Brothers”
* “Kaa’s Hunting”
* “Tiger, Tiger!”
Answer TWO of the
following...
Q1: What do we learn about
the Law of the Jungle in these stories? How might this contrast with the
reality of British/English life, the very life that Kipling critiques in his
poems? In other words, why might we read the Jungle-People and their laws as a
response to Kipling’s world and its values?
Q2: Before Mowgli leaves
the Wolf Pack for his own kind, his Wolf Mother tells him, “for, listen, child
of man, I loved thee more than ever I loved my cubs” (23). Why do so many of
the animals revere Mowgli—and others bitterly despise him? What power does a weak,
naked child have among the Jungle-People?
Q3: Who are the
“Bandar-log” and what kind of relationship do they have with the Jungle-People?
Why does Bagheera fear Mowgli getting involved with them (and what might they
represent in the ‘real’ world)?
Q4: Kipling sets these
stories of fantasy and fable in a very real world, the India
Elyse Marquardt
ReplyDeleteQ2: Mowgli has been accepted into some tribes of the animal kingdom in the Jungle, but others hate him. The ones who have accepted him are the ones who understand leadership and authority: the wolves have their packs, Bagheera lived under man's rule for a time, and Baloo is wise and understands that man is powerful and not to be messed with. The animals who despise Mowgli are the ones who do not abide by others' laws and who want to be their own master. This weak and naked child symbolizes the rule that man has over the animal kingdom; the wise Jungle-People realize that and respect it.
Q3: The Bandar-log are the monkeys of the Jungle. They are the outsiders of the Jungle-People. They do not like to be ignored, but at the same time they do not know how to abide by the Law of the Jungle. Bagheera does not want Mowgli involved with them because he is afraid that the boy will pick up their rebellious and simple-minded attitudes. The monkeys seem to represent mankind; they live in an abandoned city and attempt to mimic man's behaviors. Bagheera does not want Mowgli exposed to this crude imitation of man, for he is afraid that the boy would begin acting this way instead of acting like a real man should. Bagheera understands that Mowgli will eventually return to his people, and he wants the boy to learn how true and upright men behave instead of taking lessons from the monkeys.
Elyse Marquardt
Q1.) The Law of the Jungle is very sympathetic towards those who are inferior to the hunters. If one of the Free People or any of the other people under the Law of the Jungle take down an animal such as human or a cow, they are seen as cowards and can be outcast from their own pack or family. It is also in the Law that there are certain words and signals that must be given if you plan to enter/hunt on another packs territory. The Law of the Jungle is far more just that the law of man, because it takes every small detail into consideration and does not break the details regardless of the situation. If you betray your pack or show cowardice, you are - regardless of rank - given your rightful punishment for the deed. Even Akela understands that his days of living are over when he misses the kill, and he does not question this or try to sway any of the others. Those like Shere Khan and Tabaqui are seen as creatures of cowardice, but are not seen on a different class level. The Bandar-log are the only despised creatures of the Jungle. They do not have their own laws and are typically lazy and filthy, but the other creatures (other than Kaa) do not typically go out of their way to harm them unless necessary.
ReplyDeleteQ3.) The Bandar-log are the Monkey-People. They have a horrible relationship with the rest of the jungle. While the Bandar-log are busy throwing down nuts and filth at those who cannot reach them, those on the floor are also - typically - speaking ill of the Bandar-log. One of the big reasons that the others do not like the Bandar-log is because of how they taunt a wounded or trapped animal of prey and then run away from it laughing while it is unable to move or help itself. They also do not like how lazy the Bandar-log are. It states several times that they will pick up a stick or any item to "do something with it" but then end up breaking it in half or throwing it down. The Bandar-log seem to represent arrogant nobility amongst humans. They do not see things with empathetic eyes and find items that many would value as trivial and useless. They spend their time playing in the ruins and making themselves feel more important and necessary than they are.
1. I feel like the Law of the Jungle in these stories is very much like what any country should have. It’s kind of like, “Don’t mess with us and we won’t mess with you guys.” The Law, however is very respected and all the animals follow it. Even Shere Khan follows it and he wants do to anything to kill the Mowgli. This is very much like Kipling’s poems when he discusses how the British Empire is just taking over everything. I feel like he really emphasizes the Law of the Jungle because it shows how they all live in unity even though there are many different animals. It also talks about how every animal has their own tongue that makes them unique. I think this is trying to open the peoples eyes that maybe the British Empire shouldn’t be trying to rule the world.
ReplyDelete2. I feel like most of the animals look to Mowgli and see how he can be a threat, yet he helps them. Then the others only see him as a threat. I feel this has a lot to do with his intelligence. He has never broken the Law of the Jungle. He is always helping with thorns or whatever the case may be. It is simply the fact that he is from another species that people look to him in awe. I think some find it disgusting that you can be apart of two or more animals and some find it awing. It is like he adapted to a culture and he is essentially a wolf, but since everybody is telling him he is a man then he can’t be a wolf. They are forcing him to be a man because they do not want a “Half-devil, half-child.”
Ashley Bean
ReplyDelete2. Mowgli represents a power that the Jungle People don't understand. For example, he can wield the "Red Flower." Some of them see this power, and want to harness it. The Jungle Law also cares for those that seem weak, for when Mowgli was a baby, he had an immunity in the Jungle. Cubs can't be killed until they have killed their first buck, and even Mowgli was granted this. Some see his worth beyond this power, such as Bagheera, and truly sees him as one of them. He has never broken a Law, and does his best to conform to their standards, yet most of the People do not accept him. They fear him, because they also see his power and how different he is. He could very well be an enemy of the Jungle People, and yet he tries his hardest to learn the laws and help them. These People fear the unknown, and will do anything to keep their strict black and white laws and the "us vs. them" outlook.
3. The Bander-Log are the monkeys of the Jungle. They are the outcasts -- the ones who can't and won't abide by the Laws. They isolate themselves, and yet they interfere with the People as much as they can, as they hate to be ignored. They seem like a metaphor for humans, we hate to be ignored and live in our broken cities, annoying everything around us. Bagheera and Baloo don't want Mowgli to encourage the monkeys, or give them any sort of attention. He might like their lawless ways better, and end up a Monkey rather than one of them.
Q1: The Laws of the Jungle respect the position of every creature (excluding the Bander-Log). They emphasize the connection between all animals, as every member of the jungle "be of one blood" (27). In comparison with English society, in which strict distinctions were made across classes, the Laws of the Jungle are on the opposite spectrum. Through the Laws, I think Kipling is trying to emphasize the inequality of England's social law. Through his criticism, he shows that the lowliest peasant and the "Widow of Windsor" are connected by their citizenship and their humanity.
ReplyDeleteQ3: The Bander-Log are the group of monkeys that rule the trees of the Jungle. Baloo warns Mowgli about the Bander-Log's lack of respect in the world of the jungle. The monkeys "have no law...no speech of their own...are without leaders...have no remembrance" (29) and are generally shunned by the rest of the animal kingdom. The Bander-Log tend to think they are always right, "good and clever and strong and gentle," (39) while they are actually known as thieves, fools, and outcasts. To me, they represent a sort of arrogance that can only come from the human world, but it is exaggerated because they can never be human.
Q2: Mowgli, as a cub of Man, is capable of things that the Jungle-People can only begin to dream of. He’s brave, intelligent, capable of remembering a lot of things for a long time, and of course there’s also the whole “opposable thumbs” thing. A lot of the animals - such as Wolf Mother – recognize this potential and want to see it grow. Those who hate him feel so because it almost feels like an insult to their own abilities to know that this pathetic creature is above them.
ReplyDeleteQ3: The Bandar-log are monkeys who wish to be far greater than what they are and yet lack the personal drive or intelligence to make it so. They don’t have a legitimate society, they’re downright rude, and don’t follow through with anything. In regards to the idea of the Law of the Jungle, Mowgli and his friends/family are Law-abiding citizens, Shere Khan is that jerk that breaks the Law but is too powerful for anyone to do anything about it, and the Bandar-log are the Bad Crowd. Bagheera, like a good pet-parent, worries that Mowgli interacting with the Bandar-log will get the Man-cub into serious trouble.
2. Mowgli is seen as having culturally appropriated the jungle and all its inhabitants “culture”, if that’ a thing. Whereas some look to him in awe over what he has accomplished being from a different species, others see him as a threat to their system. They see him only as how different he appears, and considering he is different, he has never broken one of the Jungle Laws and it’s as if the animals who don’t like him, want him to so they can say he with pride that he isn’t and will never be one of them. It’s interesting that Mowgli isn’t afraid to show that he is one of them. When he is talking to Bagheera about Tabaqui, he states, “Tabaqui came to me not long ago with some rude talk that I was a naked man’s cub and not fit to dig pig-nuts; but I caught Tabaqui by the tail and swung him twice against a palm-tree to teach him better manners” (15). I laughed at this passage because of how “matter of fact” it is. He knows he belongs, so he won’t allow for anyone to tell him otherwise.
ReplyDelete3. The Bandar-log are like teenage children who want to mimic their parents so bad and don’t want to be ignored, so they work even harder to have as much interaction with humans as possible. They’re interesting because of course they’re the outcast of the jungle, but they seem to have this appealing factor. It’s obvious that Mowgli is somewhat intrigued with them because they’re not like what he’s used to, but they carry something that he find familiar—traits like humans.
Bria Gambrell
Q2- The animals either revere or despise Mowgli because they all know that one day he will grow up to be a man and a hunter. He has a power in him that makes some of the Jungle-People respect him and some fear him. They basically don’t want to get on his bad side and know that he will be capable of doing great things when he is grown such as kill Shere Khan.
ReplyDeleteQ3- The “Bangar-log” are the Monkey People of the jungle. The Jungle-People do not like them because they are always causing trouble. I think in the real world they represent partying and goofing off and not taking care of your responsibilities. I think Bagheera wants Mowgli to stay away from them because he fears they may corrupt him. Mowgli is supposed to become this powerful man that can stand up to Shere Khan but if he gets caught up in a crowd like that then he will be worthless.
q2. I feel like the animals kind of resent Mowgli because they know that man kills animal and no matter where he was raised, he's still man. He's still the enemy. Some respect him for that reason and for the very same reason, they resent him.
ReplyDeleteq3. The Bandar-log is a group of wild do-what-we-want monkeys who claim to have no king (they do in the Disney movie, though). They seem like bad influences; they're like the older high schoolers that a mother doesn't want their ninth grade daughter hanging out with after school. They'd convince Mowgli to do something outside of his boundaries just for laughs.
Q2: Mowgli is either extremely loved and accepted, or despised and hated within the groups of the jungle. I think this is because they made it very clear from the beginning that he was to be the king of the jungle. The groups such as the wolves and also Baloo understand the benefits of having a hierarchal system in place in which order is retained, therefore they accept Mowgli and are excited to see him grow. On the other hand, see Mowgli as a threat to the chaos that they have embraced and are thriving within. They are in a term scared of him, due to the fact that he is more intellectually and physically advanced than they are. This is made clear to them by the fact that he can harness the “red flower” with ease. The reason that so many are rebelling and showing hatred toward Mowgli in person, is the fact that he is still a young child and growing through his formidable years before anything is truly set in stone. He is naked, alone, and therefore vulnerable, so his enemies are attempting to take advantage of that.
ReplyDeleteQ3: The Bandar-Log are a band of monkeys who are extremely headstrong. They want to be in control of themselves and have the autonomy to make their own decisions outside of the set code within the jungle that all other animals adhere to. It is very understandable that Bagheera would be afraid of Mowgli getting involved with the Bandar-Log people considering he is to grow up and be king of the jungle. He if gets involved with the wrong crowd, he could be distracted and develop unsavory morals in which would make him a corrupt king. Also, the Bandar-Log people are trouble makers and don’t take care of certain responsibilities that are entrusted in their care. If we apply this to real life and see people in our world through this lens, the Bandar-Log people of our generation could be the partiers and the D students who don’t care to put forth effort into anything.