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CaitlynnVang
ProfessorHaas
Writing37
23February2015
TheMutualisticRelationshipoftheHumanAnimalBond
Animalshavelongbeeninvolvedinthehistoryofmankind.Asamatteroffact,humans
areconsideredtobeapartoftheanimalkingdom.Inthepast,itwascommontoforhumansto
drawadistinctivelineseparatinghumansasahigherspecies.Astimeevolved,animalshave
gainedahigherstatusthroughthebenefitsthattheyprovideforpeople.Thiscanbeseenin
history,themedia,andeveninbooks.RudyardKipling,anenglishpoetandauthor,isknownto
incorporateanimalsintohisrichstoriesthatgetsinspirationfromtheIndianculture(Webb,
RudyardKipling).Inhisfamouswork,
TheJungleBook,
Kiplingportraystwostories,
MowglisBrotherandRikkiTikkiTavi,withthesimilarconceptofafishoutofwater,
thatexploresthesymbioticrelationshipsbetweenhumansandanimals.InMowglisBrother,
Mowgli,ayounginfantboy,isseparatedfromhisfamilyduetotheatrociousShereKhan.Upon
crawlingaway,hefindssafetyinawolfdenwhereheisacceptedaspartoftheirpack.Heisthen
raisedbythejungle,completelystrippedoutofhishumansociety.Similarly,inRikkiTikki
Tavi,RikkiTikkiTavi,acuriousmongoose,isseparatedfromhisfamilybecauseofaflood.A
humanfamilydiscovershimandtookhimintocarefor.LikeMowgli,heistakenoutofhis
normal,familiarhabitat,wherehehastolearnhowtoadapttoadifferentsetting.Inboth
instances,theprotagonisthastofacemanyobstaclesastheymodifythemselvestowardstheir
naturalhabits.Likewise,themainconflictinthetwostoriesistodefeattheevilantagoniststhat

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argueagainsttheherosplaceinhisnewhomes.Intheend,thegoodprevailsandtheheroes
restorebalance.
Theuseofanthropomorphismandpointofviewasrhetoricaldevicesinfluences
readerstoconnectmorewiththeirequal,fellowanimalcounterparts,torecognizethemutualistic
relationshipthathumanshaveevolvedalongwithanimals,andthusmoredeeplyappreciatethe
goodvs.evilthemeinbothnarratives.
InMowglisBrothersandRikkiTikkiTaviKiplingdemonstratestheharmonious
relationshipbetweenanimalsandhuman.Mowglisacceptancetothewolfdenwasunexpected
andshowedthetendernessandgentlenessofthewolves.
Inthestory,KiplingwritesFather
Wolfsjawsclosedrightonthechildsbacknotatoothevenscratchedtheskin,ashelaidit
downamongthecubs(38).Thiswasparticularlyinteresting,becausethewolvescouldvejust
tornhimtopieces.LauraStevenson,aliteraryscholarandnovelists,believesKipling
descendedthewolvesfromabestiaryrealmintoahumanaspect(365).Thisnotonlygives
thesewolvesanaffectionatecharacterbutmakesthemlessbeastly.TheydofindMowgli
cruciallybeneficialforpickingoutthethornsintheircoat.Inreturn,theyofferhimprotection.
OHaire,aclinicalpsychologistwhoresearchesaboutanimal
assistedinterventions,wouldargue
thatthisistheessenceofthesocialsupporthypothesis,thebeliefthathumansandanimalsare
drawntoeachotherbecauseofthecomplementaryneedstheycanprovidedforoneanother
(Companionanimalsandhumanhealth).Thissuggestedthatnootherbeingwashigher,lower,
ordifferent.Intime,theirdistinctivepositionsdisappeared.Mowgliwentfrommanscubto
littlebrotherandfrogson.Mowgliisstillhumanandretainssomehumantraitsinhim,but
hecanassociatehimselfcloselywithhisanimalsfriendsonacommonground.Kipling
demonstratestohisaudiencetheequalstatusofhumansandanimals.AsMowgligrowsup,heis

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taughtthat
thereisasophisticatedsystemofcodesandtraditionsinwhatisreferredtoasthe
lawofthejungle.Stevensondescribesitascarefullythoughtoutrulesformutualsurvivals
whichrepresentsthejungleasinfinitelymorecivilizedthanwhatweperceive(370).Kipling
reiteratesthelawofthejunglefifteentimesinthestoryemphasizingthatthejungleisnt
barbaric.Throughoutthestory,Kiplingconceivedtheideathatthemostpowerfulanimalsinthe
junglearethosewhounderstandthecustomandmannersofmen(56).Menandanimalhaveto
beabletoseeeyetoeye.Therearerulesthattheyfollowjustlikehowthegovernmentimposes
lawsonhumans.Theycomplytoorderlikehowpeopleobeythelaw.Bydoingso,Kipling
makesanimalsmorerelatable,andreaderswillfeeldrawntothesimilaritiesinthejungle.With
theuseoffamilyandlaws,hetiesinhowanimalsandmenneedeachotherandthatpeople
shouldfocusmoreonakindandcloserviewonnonhumanbeings.
Likewise,RikkiTikkiTaviincorporatesawildmongoose,RikkiTikkiTavi,intoa
humanfamily.SimilartoMowgli,headaptswellintohisunfamiliarsettingwhichemphasizes
theharmoniousrelationship.Inthestory,Rikkiistaughtthata
Everymongoosedreamsisof
beingahousemongooseoneday(Kipling,136).Thisisbecauseoftheplethoraofresources
thathumanscanprovideforanimals.
Throughoutthestory,RikkiTikkiTavimostimportant
attributeishisprotectionagainstthesnakesHisprimaryroleistobecometheguardianofthe
gardenandthefamily.Inexchange,thefamilygiveshimahomeandfood.Thiswasthebasisof
theirmutualrelationship.Again,theinterdependenceisshowninthisstory.
Withhishelp,
Rikki
becomeslesslikeapetandmorelikeanequivalent,essentialpartofthefamily.Irvine,asocial
psychologistwhofocusesontheanimalandhumaninteractions,wouldlabelRikkiasa
companionanimals(33).Hesurpassedthecategorizationasananimalbutkepthisanimal

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dignity.Purposely,KiplingkeepsboththeinnatetraitsofMowgliandRikkiTikkiTavi.He
wantsreaderstorealizethattherearecertainaspectsthatdefineshumansandanimals,buthis
overallintentionsaretoemphasizethatsimilaritiesaresignificant.Thisisthecompanion
essencethatconnectswiththeaudience.Whenbothpartiesrealizethat,theresultisasymbiotic
relationship.Animportantexamplethatdemonstratestheresemblanceishowalikethemanand
Darzeeswifeare.Theywerebothpracticalandbravebeingswhichmadereadersperceivethem
onacommonground.BygivingDarzeeswifehumantraits,readerscanconnectandunderstand
ananimalsperspective.Animalsandhumanssharethesameenvironmentinbothnarratives.
Whetheritwasahumanorananimal,theybothunderstoodhowtolivepeacefullyalongside
withtheothers.Overall,Kiplingintegratesthehumansbeneficialtiesandmatchingtraitswith
animalstomakereadersfeelthesignificantassociationwithanimals.
Kiplingestablishesadeeprelationwithbothcharacterswhichinfluencesreaderstovalue
thegoodversusevilthemeinbothstories.Thisissimplytheideathatthereisavaliantherowho
getsridofthefearsomeenemyinthetale.Therearemanyconventionswiththetheme:aflawed
hero,hisviciousenemy,andhissidekickfriends.Mowglissolepurposeinlifewastosettlehis
scoreShereKhanRikkiTikkiTavisdestinywastokillNagandNagaina.Bothantagonists
weretrulywickedwhichiswhythegoodhastoprevail.Theenemieswerearroganttyrantsand
wantedtodominantlyrulewheretheylived.ShereKhanholdsagrudgeagainstMowgli,because
hedidntgetthechancetokillhimandgotburnedfromMowglisfire.NagandNagainafelt
threatenedagainstRikkiTikkiTavi.Thesnakeandthetigersareusuallyassociatedasthe
dreadful,terribleanimals.Asfortheheroes,ahumanandamongooseisntnecessarilyknownto
bedangerous.Kiplingchosetwoheroesthatcamefromdifferentbackgroundsbuthadsimilar

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characteristics.Theywerebothcurious,braveandsmart.Inbothtales,theheroesdetrimental
flawisbeingamisfitwhichresultsintheirenemy.Readersweredrawntotheprotagonists
becauseofthesefactors.Throughoutthestory,theyhadtheirsidekicksthathelpedtodefeattheir
enemy.MowglihadthewiseBalooandmenacingBagheeratohelpguidehim.Thenaswell,
RikkiTikkiTavihadChuchundra,Darzee,andhiswifetoprovidehimwithinformationforhis
strategies.Thetwobecamelovablecharacters.Havingoneanimalsandonhumanhero,Kipling
tiesinhowanimalsarecapableofgoodtoo.RikkiTikkiTaviwasgoodnaturedlikeMowgli.
Also,theybothhadsomethingtoprotect,theirnewfamily.Thisgavethemtheirheroquality.
Thetwoprotagonistsfacedadifferentkindofbattlethough.Mowglineverhadarealfightwith
ShereKhan,andhisfightdidnttakeplaceuntilhewasolder.Ontheotherhand,RikkiTikki
Tavi,hadabrutal,actionpackedconfrontationwithbothsnakes.Inanycase,theyusedtheir
witstowin.Nonetheless,Kiplingusesanthropomorphismandpointofviewtohelpusseethe
importantthemeofgoodtriumphsoverevilinboththestories.
Inconclusion,MowglisBrothersandRikkiTikkiTavibroughtanimalstolife.
Kiplingbroughthisreadersclosertoanimalsbydemonstratingthemutualisticneedsthatthey
complementeachotherwithwhichholdsourconnectionstogether.Byusinganthropomorphism,
hegavereadersinsighttoanimals,encouragingthemtoestablishacloserconnectiontoanimals.
Kiplingsstoriesmadehisaudienceexploreadeeperrelationshipandgratitudeforanimals.With
theconnectionhemakestheaudiencetieinwiththecharacters,hedevelopstwocaptivating
heroes.Althoughthetwomaincharacterswereafishoutofwater,theyfoundaplaceintheir
newenvironmentandmadeittheirhome.Consequently,whereahumanisfound,ananimalis
mostlikelywithit.Theybothhavecomealongwayanddevelopedamutualtie.Whetheritsin

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theeyesoftheanimalorthehuman,therecertainlyisaconnection.Kiplingwantsustopay
attentiontothisspecialconnectionandtrytounderstandoneanother.Afterall,humansare
animalstoo.

WorkCited

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Irvine,Leslie.
IfYouTameMe:UnderstandingOurConnectionwithAnimals
.Philadelphia:
Temple

UP,2004.3356.

O'Haire,Marguerite.JournalofVeterinaryBehavior:ClinicalApplicationsandResearch.5thed.
Vol.5.N.p.:Elsevier,2015.Print.
Stevenson,Laura.TheSewaneeReviewVol.109,No.3(Summer,2001),pp.358378
Webb,George."RudyardKiplingFrame."
RudyardKiplingFrame
.TheKiplingSociety,28Jan.
2015.Web.15Feb.2015.