That he rescues an elephant is significant, since they are the creators of the jungle. With his trick, Mowgli is able to rescue one of the elephants. But Bagheera (and Baloo) eventually also sees the merit in Mowgli’s tricks. They are human, and thus do not belong in the jungle. Bagheera, also more strict with the law than Baloo, however still disapproves of Mowgli’s tricks. Mowgli also learns the use of his tricks. He finds the law cumbersome, so decides to view them as a “set of guidelines”, which can be taken lightly when necessary. Baloo, however, has an entirely different relationship with the law. For them, law is almost holy (that why it has a ritualistic nature). In his journey to his new home, Mowgli learns a bit more about the Law of the Jungle. It is important to realise that Mowgli does not decide to go to the human village because he admits in breaking the law, but to protect his family (the wolves) from danger – or even the whole jungle, since Shere Khan warns to kill them all to get Mowgli. (Think about the consequences of Shere Khan’s reasoning: applying the sentence of breaking a law before the law is broken…) Best to deal with the situation before the law is broken than afterwards. However, Shere Khan sees it differently: Mowgli might not be a man yet, but he will be one day and then he will be dangerous to the jungle. They stress that Mowgli is not (yet) a man, he doesn’t have the knowledge of fire. Note that they do not use the word “baby” or “child” (which denotes human infants) but “cub”, which denotes the infant of an animal. For the wolves and Bagheera, Mowgli is a cub. Why? Apparently, the wolf pack explains the law differently than Shere Khan does.
However, Akela dismisses Shere Khan’s reminder, he disagrees. According to him, the wolves break it by allowing Mowgli to stay in the jungle. Or isn’t it clear?ĭuring the water truce, Shere Khan reminds the wolf pack and Bagheera to this law. So, the Law of the Jungle is clear: man does not belong in the jungle, and may therefor be killed when he breaks this law. The red flower is the highest risk to the jungle: it destroys it, kills its inhabitants, and eradicates everything there is. It is thus described with a taboo word: the red flower. Furthermore, man is dangerous because he has the ability to produce fire, a thing so frightening to the jungle creatures that they dare not pronounce its name aloud. Mowgli is therefore forbidden to use his tricks: he is not allowed to drink water from a cup, the animals almost consider this as a form of dark magic given their startled reaction at it during the water truce. For the jungle, man is dangerous: he has tricks and fire. Humans do not belong in the jungle, since they can harm it. They made all that belongs: the mountains, the trees, the birds in the trees.
Where they blew their trunks the leaves fell. Where they made furrows with their tusks the rivers ran. Bagheera tells Mowgli to bow for them as a sign of respect: A fact which is made starkly visible when we meet the elephants for the first time. Humans are not of the jungle, they do not belong in that place.
These characteristics of the Law of the Jungle are all explained to us in the first scene of the Jungle Book, which emphasizes the importance of the law for the story.Īccording to the Law of the Jungle, man has no place in the jungle. Furthermore, the other jungle creatures also rever the law: according to that law the water truce is installed when water is very scarce. They recite the law in a special ritual, which you may only enter when you fulfilled certain requirements (which Mowgli for example has not).
#WHAT IS THE LAW OF THE JUNGLE FULL#
(for the full text of the law, you can read the original poem of Kipling here.) The wolf that shall keep it may prosper, the wolf that shall break it must die.Īs the creeper that girdles the tree trunk, the Law runs forward and back.įor the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack.” “Now this is the Law of the Jungle, as old and as true as the sky. In one of the very first scenes, the Law of the Jungle is introduced by the wolf pack: The phrase is also used in Disney’s new version of the Jungle Book, and there it reveals that the jungle has a law. This saying normally denotes a lawless place, a place (the jungle) where the strongest is the mightiest. The Law of the Jungle – the Changeable Law in Disney’s New Jungle BookĪnd another note: i draw from memory for this essay, please forgive me any mistakes.
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