The Jungle Book: A collection of stories by the English author Rudyard Kipling

The Jungle Book (1894) is a collection of stories by the English author Rudyard Kipling. Most of the characters are animals such as Shere Khan the tiger and Baloo the bear though a principal character is the boy or man-cub Mowgli who is raised in the jungle by wolves. The stories are set in a forest in India; one place mentioned repeatedly is Seonee (Seoni) in the central state of Madhya Pradesh.A major theme in the book is abandonment followed by fostering as in the life of Mowgli echoing Kiplings own childhood. The theme is echoed in the triumph of protagonists including Rikki-Tikki-Tavi and The White Seal over their enemies as well as Mowglis. Another important theme is of law and freedom; the stories are not about animal behaviour still less about the Darwinian struggle for survival but about human archetypes in animal form. They teach respect for authority obedience and knowing ones place in society with the law of the jungle but the stories also illustrate the freedom to move between different worlds such as when Mowgli moves between the jungle and the village. Critics have also noted the essential wildness and lawless energies in the stories reflecting the irresponsible side of human nature.