Jungle Book
Summary
The well-known book The Jungle Book came into its own as one of the animated highlights of the Disney empire. It was published in 1894, and its sequel The Second Jungle Book came a year later during the time when Kipling was ensconced at Brattleboro in Vermont. The story tells of the child Mowgli who is a foundling brought up by wolves. He learns over time and due to the instructions of various animal mentors the rules or ‘Laws’ of the jungle. Key figures are the wise black panther, Bagheera, and Baloo the sleepy bear. Both of these friendly beasts contribute to the child’s education. We learn about the great enmity between Mowgli and the tiger Shere Khan who killed the boy’s parents. Like Just So Stories (1902) it portrays the natural world and especially its creatures in a logical anthropomorphized manner, entertaining to adult and child alike. The simplicity of the concept and the lack of didactic moral overtones have made The Jungle Book a lasting influence on the young.
Table of contents
- Mowgli’s Brothers
- Hunting-Song of the Seeonee Pack
- Kaa’s Hunting
- Road-Song of the Bandar-Log
- “Tiger! Tiger!”
- Mowgli’s Song
- The White Seal
- Lukannon
- Rikki-Tikki-Tavi
- Darzee’s Chaunt
- Toomai of the Elephants
- Shiv and the Grasshopper
- Her Majesty’s Servants
- Parade-Song of the Camp-Animals
More by Rudyard Kipling
Other Fiction classics
- Lady Chatterley's Lover — D.H. Lawrence
- Crime and Punishment — Fyodor Dostoevsky
- Billy Budd — Herman Melville
- Ulysses — James Joyce
- Dubliners — James Joyce
- Little Women — Louisa M. Alcott