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Short Essay On Jungle Book
Introduction
The jungle book is a story about an orphaned boy or man-cub named Mowgli who was abandoned in the jungle and was found by a panther named Bagheera who takes the boy to grow up with a pack of wolves where he was raised by Raksha. The stories are set in a forest in India. The book is one of the classic stories written by Rudyard Kipling. A major theme in the book is abandonment followed by fostering, as in the life of Mowgli, echoing Kipling's childhood.
Discussion
A ten-year-old Mowgli becomes well acquainted with life in the jungle with the help of his wolf family. But being a human living in the jungle Mowgli was always in danger of some form. The wolf pack leader Akela tells Mowgli not to use his man tricks in front of the other animals when Mowgli uses the shell of fruit to grab water for himself during the drought that makes other animals look at him oddly (Akşehir 138). Then arrives the fearsome Sher Khan who is aware of Mowgli’s presence and considers Man to be forbidden in the jungle. Akela covers Mowgli and tells Sher Khan that he cannot have the boy. Sher Khan vows to come back for Mowgli once the river runs again. When the other wolves of the pack and Bagheera learned of the danger, they decided to take Mowgli back to the man-village. On their journey to the man village, Mowgli and Bagheera get separated once they come across a field of buffaloes where they are ambushed by Sher Khan. Bagheera holds the tiger off for Mowgli to run. The boy escapes and Sher Khan returns to the Peace Rock to confront the wolves where he throws Akela off the cliff and assumes leadership over the other animals and awaits for Mowgli to return. Now wandering alone in the jungle, Mowgli is met by yet another foe that tries to kill him. The snake called Kaa kept Mowgli under her spell with her hypnotic voice and eyes. Kaa told Mowgli of where he came from. She told him that he was an infant when his father came across a cave in the jungle and protected him from Sher Khan with the "red flower†(fire). Mowgli’s father blinded Sher Khan’s left eye and the tiger killed the man. As the boy was lost in her story, Kaa almost ate him by wrapping herself around Mowgli but a bear named Baloo saved him. Since he saved Mowgli’s life, he asked the boy to help him gather some honey. In the process of breaking off some honeycomb, Mowgli gets stung a few times but Baloo and Mowgli form a bond of friendship (Asghar and Muhammad 150). Baloo showed Mowgli that the human village is nearby and that he can go whenever he wanted, but Mowgli decided to stick with Baloo, who shows him all about the bare necessities of life.
As the story unfolds, we see Bagheera telling Baloo that he needed Mowgli to get to safety and away from Sher Khan. Baloo reluctantly tells Mowgli he never thought of him as a friend and wanted him to go away. Heartbroken, Mowgli retreats to a tree and gets captured by a group of monkeys. Baloo and Bagheera see this and follow. The monkeys bring Mowgli to the temple of King Louie, a massive orangutan. Louie claims he can protect Mowgli, but he wants to learn the secret of the red flower (fire) and thinks Mowgli can solve it. Mowgli says he cannot, sending Louie into a fit of rage. Baloo and Bagheera arrive in the nick of time and fight the monkeys while Louie chases Mowgli, taunting him as he tells him that Akela, the pack leader has been killed by Sher Khan and Bagheera knew about it. As Louie tries to get Mowgli, he runs through his temple, causing it to crumble and crush him. Infuriated that Bagheera didn’t tell him about Akela, Mowgli runs away and enters the man village undetected and takes a burning torch back into the jungle. As he runs back, the other animals see him with fire and follow (Park 228). A piece of ember falls from the torch and slowly starts a fire. Mowgli confronts Sher Khan as the other animals gather to watch. Sher Khan tries to turn the animals against Mowgli by stating that man has brought the red flower into the jungle. Mowgli tosses the torch right before Baloo and Bagheera show up. They along with the other animals, stand by Mowgli and against Sher Khan. Baloo battles Sher Khan. Bagheera tells Mowgli that he must fight like a man and not as a wolf. Sher Khan takes Baloo down, but before he can kill him, Raksha and other wolves attack Sher Khan. Mowgli sets a trap in the trees and waits for Sher Khan there (Mutiarani et al. 27). Escaping the wolves and Bagheera, the tiger climbs the tree and walks the branch where Mowgli is standing but Mowgli jumps to safety. Sher Khan ends up falling and is consumed by the fire. Mowgli returns to the other animals, and the river, aided by grateful elephants, turns its flow, putting out the fire. Mowgli finally reunites with his wolf brothers and Raksha. Baloo now lives close with Mowgli, Bagheera, and the other animals. The story of Mowgli later ends with Mowgli leaving the jungle bringing tears to the eyes of his friends in the jungle.
Conclusion
This story teaches us valuable life lessons as Mowgli undergoes an epic journey of self-discovery guided by a no-nonsense panther and a free-spirited bear. It is entertaining as the adventures described are so exciting. This story teaches us about the bond of friendship and unconditional love. It also explains to us the laws of nature and to face our fear. Mowgli was afraid of Sher Khan, but he faced his fear and so could defeat it. The stories also illustrate the freedom to move between different worlds, such as when Mowgli moves between the jungle and the village. The book describes the amazing bond between man and animals. The Jungle Book is the perfect book for a person who loves fun and adventure like me.
Reference
Akşehir Uygur, Mahinur. "PERCEPTION OF NATURE AND THE LANGUAGE OF IMPERIALISM IN RUDYARD KIPLING’S THE JUNGLE BOOK." Celal Bayar Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi 16.1/2 (2018): 129-140.
Asghar, Jamil, and Muhammad Iqbal Butt. "Contrapuntal Reading of Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book: Theorizing the Raj through Narrativity." NUML Journal of Critical Inquiry 15.1 (2017): 144-160.
Mutiarani, Mutiarani, Hasanul Misbah, and Aliya Nafisa Karyadi. "Rudyard Kipling’s Novel the Jungle Book as Moral Literacy Material on EFL Learning." English Language in Focus (ELIF) 3.1 (2021): 23-30.
Park, Minjin. "A Cognitive Approach to the Formal Aspects of Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book." Children's Literature Association Quarterly 45.3 (2020): 224-243.
