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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
This was a fun book to read but I wasn’t blown away by it. It was nice to read Mowgli’s stories and see where Disney got some of their ideas for the movie but the last couple of stories in the collection were a little slow and I could have done without them.
I wasn’t expecting so much violence in a children’s book either. I think that having the songs and poems that were introduced throughout kind of saved these stories for me.
I wasn’t expecting so much violence in a children’s book either. I think that having the songs and poems that were introduced throughout kind of saved these stories for me.
medium-paced
I am glad we read 'Just So Stories' first because I don't know if we would have gone out of our way to read another story by Rudyard Kipling after reading 'The Jungle Books.' The stories about Mowgli were by far the favorites and Rikki Tikki was exciting but we were less than enchanted with this book.
Such a classic book and I enjoyed the stories that weren't about mowgli which I hadn't read previously, especially the one about the seal and the lively tale about a mongoose that protects his human family.
Did not finish - unfortunately after being halfway through I only ended up linking one or two of the stories.
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A very enjoyable read! I knew the Jungle Book only from the Disney movie version and was really curious for the source material.
I was very happy to see all my favourite childhood characters again after all these years, and was even more excited to get to know all the other cool characters that Disney left out.
Rikki-Tikki-Tavi the mongoose is probably one of my favourite characters of all time.
I was very happy to see all my favourite childhood characters again after all these years, and was even more excited to get to know all the other cool characters that Disney left out.
Rikki-Tikki-Tavi the mongoose is probably one of my favourite characters of all time.
The best adaptation is the 1967-1971 Soviet Союзмультфильм "Маугли"—the animation is so good.
The more I think about this book (collection of stories, really), the more uncomfortable I am. It's impossible for me to overlook the blatant misogyny and racism in Kipling's writing, particularly when he anthropomorphises animals to this extent. The monkeys and snakes are inherently evil because Kipling has decided so; the animals exist within a hierarchal society with authoritarian principles reminiscent not of the wild jungle but of late-19th century Britain; the treatment of transgressions is done in an undeniably "human" manner, despite being called "the law of the jungle." Yes, it's a make-believe fantasy story about talking animals, but that doesn't excuse the racism.
Kipling was British, although he spent some time in British-occupied India. This was at the heyday of Social Darwinism, the concept that misinterpreted Charles Darwin's ideas of natural selection and survival of the fittest by applying them to human societies. The idea was that humans had a natural hierarchy, that white men were at the top, and everyone else was somewhere down the ladder. This then bled into the belief that white men, specifically white European men, had a right—nay, a duty—to colonise and "civilise" other races, cultures, countries, and so on. That was the ideology to which Kipling subscribed, and that which he had in mind when deciding the characters of these jungle animals.
Here is an example of Kipling's racist and white supremacist beliefs—an excerpt from a poem he wrote, called "The White Man's Burden," in which he urged the United States to follow in Britain's footsteps and conquer the Philippine Islands:
I only watched the Disney adaptation once, a very long time ago, so I can't speak to its objective quality; however, any adaptation which departs even slightly from the legacy of racism, imperialism, and colonialism entrenched in these short stories is likely to be better than the original.
The more I think about this book (collection of stories, really), the more uncomfortable I am. It's impossible for me to overlook the blatant misogyny and racism in Kipling's writing, particularly when he anthropomorphises animals to this extent. The monkeys and snakes are inherently evil because Kipling has decided so; the animals exist within a hierarchal society with authoritarian principles reminiscent not of the wild jungle but of late-19th century Britain; the treatment of transgressions is done in an undeniably "human" manner, despite being called "the law of the jungle." Yes, it's a make-believe fantasy story about talking animals, but that doesn't excuse the racism.
Kipling was British, although he spent some time in British-occupied India. This was at the heyday of Social Darwinism, the concept that misinterpreted Charles Darwin's ideas of natural selection and survival of the fittest by applying them to human societies. The idea was that humans had a natural hierarchy, that white men were at the top, and everyone else was somewhere down the ladder. This then bled into the belief that white men, specifically white European men, had a right—nay, a duty—to colonise and "civilise" other races, cultures, countries, and so on. That was the ideology to which Kipling subscribed, and that which he had in mind when deciding the characters of these jungle animals.
Here is an example of Kipling's racist and white supremacist beliefs—an excerpt from a poem he wrote, called "The White Man's Burden," in which he urged the United States to follow in Britain's footsteps and conquer the Philippine Islands:
Take up the White Man’s burden—This poem was written in the aftermath of the Berlin Conference which led to the "Scramble for Africa," which refers to the invasion, colonisation, and occupation of African states by different European powers. In this poem Kipling explicitly urges the United States to extend its colonialism and imperialism, following in the footsteps of Western Europe.
Send forth the best ye breed—
Go send your sons to exile
To serve your captives' need
To wait in heavy harness
On fluttered folk and wild—
Your new-caught, sullen peoples,
Half devil and half child.
I only watched the Disney adaptation once, a very long time ago, so I can't speak to its objective quality; however, any adaptation which departs even slightly from the legacy of racism, imperialism, and colonialism entrenched in these short stories is likely to be better than the original.