The major themes of this children’s story from Rudyard Kipling’s Jungle Book are nature vs. nurture, identity, and respect for the law. When an abandoned “man cub” is adopted by a family of wolves, the wolf parents face two challenges: having the child accepted as a member of the Pack, and protecting him from a crazed tiger who does not follow the “Law of the Jungle”. Things go well until the awakening of the boy’s human reasoning capacity leads to an existential crisis and his eventual expulsion from the Pack. Other themes: abandonment and adoption, family, community, envy, survival.
Original Text / PDF / Audio (7,450 words)
Video Version
This 1976 animated film directed by Chuck Jones is largely true to the original, the major exceptions being expanded roles for Baloo and Tabaqui and no suggestion of a lame leg for Shere Khan. Watch and enjoy!