The Jungle Book: Cultivating Virtue and Imagination in Young Readers

By Tomek Grzesiak
Barney Charter School Initiative Instructional Coach

Written over 100 years ago, Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book continues to be read by and to children of all ages. Despite his controversial colonialist views, Kipling has proven himself a master storyteller in his ability to draw readers into his rich and memorable worlds. Many readers have come to know The Jungle Book through the story of Mowgli, the man-cub adopted by wolves, due in no small part to that tale’s multiple adaptations to the screen. While these adaptations take liberty with portions of Kipling’s story, his original text demonstrates both a vibrant world for our imaginations as well as a reflection upon topics worth pondering to readers of all ages.

For example, many understand the “Law of the Jungle” as something akin to “survival of the fittest” or “anything goes.” However, Kipling’s The Jungle Book provides a very different understanding of the Law that guides the lives of beasts. Adopted by wolves, Mowgli is brought into the pack under the protection of the Law and is brought up to observe it dutifully. However, Mowgli is excluded from the pack when the other young wolves ignore the Law, disregarding any sense of honor, loyalty, or authority in favor of the tiger Shere Khan’s fearmongering. Mowgli’s subsequent adventures further highlight the importance of law and order in his abduction by the Bander-Log, the monkeys of the Seeonee jungle who are disgraced due to their lawlessness. Through his fascinating world, Kipling questions what makes a just and good society.

Furthermore, Kipling’s characters throughout his stories provide models of virtue and vice. Readers are left with vivid examples of the best and worst qualities of humanity, whether through the loyalty and self-sacrifice of Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, the mongoose; the vengeance of Nagaina, the cobra; or the perseverance of Kotick, the white seal. By our immersion into these stories and discussion of their ideas, Kipling’s tales cultivate the virtues and imagination of every reader, young or old.

 

To download a Jungle Book poster (in PDF form) for your classroom, please click here.