Okay so yes, Rudyard Kipling wasn't the most forward thinking person but I can't help it, I still love The Jungle Book (the book). Kipling was absolutely wonderful at blending scientific knowledge and complex personalities in creating his animal characters in a way that completely brought the jungles of India to life. The culture and laws of the jungle felt like a description of the way things were and not a prescription human conventions and stereotypes on nature. I'm particularly fond of Kaa's Hunting, perhaps my favorite chapter in all of literature. In it Mowgli is kidnapped by the monkeys and Baloo and Bagheera enlist the aid of the ancient python Kaa to rescue him. The description of Kaa and his battle with the monkeys is at once terrifying and beautiful. Apollonian that I am I love to read into Kaa's struggle a victory for order, serenity, and reason over the chaos and cacophony of the monkeys. Much as I love it The Jungle Book came at a cost for me, I can no longer enjoy the Disney movie because it's such a poor interpretation of the book, it caused me to implement a policy of not reading novels that inspire movies I love.
Aidan, May I say that your Grandmother Betty would be terribly pleased to have a grandson who would find it necessary to implement such a policy!
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