Tammy’s Reviews > The Jungle Book > Status Update

I wonder if his facility with languages points to Adam. His father is wise in letting him keep some of his ways at first. That night, Mowgli meets the eldest of the cubs. He tells him all is well in the cave. Shere Khan has left the area and vows to return and lay Mowgli's bones in the ground when his fur grows out. The cub warns him that his new pack may reject him because men are like frogs in a pond.

Messua's name has no meaning, but I sure detect the influence of Venus. She wears copper bands and copper pots. She has red lacquered furniture and an earthen grain chest (fertility). She is a mother with a lost son. She has a mirror, too! She named him Nathoo which means lord, master, and protector. I wonder if having a god on her shelf makes her an image of Mary.

The woman gave him a long drink of milk and bread. She calls him by her son's name (Nathoo which means lord or protector in Sanskrit), and he does not recognize it. Because he learned so many languages in the jungle, he picks quite a few words. He does not like the hut, for it makes him think of a panther trap. However, he sees how easy it is to get out. He slips out to sleep on the grass that night. His mom is wise.

All I can think of is "Tiger, Tiger, Burning Bright." This picks up after the first tale. Mowgli walks 20 miles because he does not want to be near his people. He reaches a plain cut by ravines. He sees a big thorn bush in front of the gate, put there at twilight to keep out the jungle people. When he goes in, a crowd stares at him, and he is miffed at the lack of hospitality. He is hungry and motions for food.

Kaa is interesting. On the one hand, he keeps his promise and he saves the life of the three. But, he is so enormous that he has blood lust. He is a serpent whose words are hypnotizing and they sway others into literally killing themselves. The monkeys make me think of the dangers of mob rule for they are an unruly mob.

Going to the podcast. Mowgli is like Adam. He has learned the Law and he can speak to animals and they all see him as a leader. However, he does not know all of the Law and he inadvertently breaks it. Even though he does not know he should not hang out with the monkeys, he did it for selfish reasons. He was rebelling against Baloo. His actions nearly got himself killed as well as Baloo and Bagheera.

Mowgli falls asleep on Bagheera’s back and they take him to the wolf’s cave. He doesn’t even wake up.

The poem is the picture of wilful self-deception. Because they have the attention span that is the size of a gnat, they think they have done great deeds but the only deeds that can do takes less than two minutes.

Bagheera is the voice of Truth: they must count the cost of Mowgli’s foolishness. Baloo is the voice of Grace: we have him back. Their roles seem to have reversed from earlier in the chapter. The Law of the Jungle says that sorrow is not enough for there must be punishment. Bagheera gave him half a dozen smacks which amounted to a beating for a child. Punishment settles all scores (no nagging afterwards).

Is this where Mowgli is a little higher than the beasts? Mowgli puts his hands on their shoulders and they snap out of the spell. They realize how close they came to following Kaa’s command and vow never to ally themselves with him again. His way of hunting is manipulation of the mind so that those who hear his voice do the unthinkable. Hmmm. Mob rule leads to self-destruction. Mowgli doesn’t get it.