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Claudia Cota
Dr. Lynda Haas
Writing 37
2/23/15
Hominine Creatures
Throughout time <<<Took out the clich throughout time and revised it to
sound better anthropomorphism has been used in stories, the Greeks used it in mythology to

explain various natural phenomenon or in tales about their gods. Rudyard Kipling is an English
writer whose works include The Jungle Book, and many other short stories as well as novels and
poems. He received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1907 (Rudyard Kipling Biography). In
The Jungle Book, Kipling uses anthropomorphism as a rhetorical device in the Mowgli stories
and "Rikki Tikki Tavi" in order to focus readers on the overarching theme of good vs. evil, with
both a human and an animal hero. In the Mowgli stories, Mowgli is a human saved from Shere
Khan, a tiger, by wolves and raised by them. He ends up defeating Shere Khan and gaining
respect from the pack after being excommunicated. Rikki Tikki Tavi has a similar story but
instead of the hero being a human, it is a mongoose who is taken in by a human family. Rikkitikki, the mongoose, saves them and is loved by the family. Both stories use anthropomorphism,
giving animals human characteristics, to portray the theme of the heroes winning over evil to the
readers. Taken into account that the story is for children, the use of this rhetorical device makes
sense since it makes it easier to understand the message the author is giving.
In the first Mowgli story Mowglis Brothers,<<< Put comma inside quotations the
characters are introduced and it is when we first see anthropomorphism used with all the animal

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characters. Anthropomorphism is Giving human characteristics to animals, inanimate objects or

natural phenomena is a human trait called to anthropomorphize (Nauert). The characters can
communicate with each other, and even have a society where even with other species they share
laws and a common language, since they can all understand each other. We learn about Baloo
who is a bear and teaches Mowgli about the law of the jungle and how to treat other animals and
be able to communicate with them. Bagheera, a black panther, also takes care of Mowgli and
becomes his mentor along with Baloo. In Rikki Tikki Tavi, the animals can also communicate
with each other although they do not explain any laws or rules they do show relationships such
as families and marriages as shown with Nag and Nagaina, and Darzee and his wife. That the
animals have laws, relationships, families, a society, and are able to communicate, are all aspects
of anthropomorphism.
The animals are also shown to have a sense of morality which is also a human
characteristic, they believe that there are certain things that are good and bad as shown with the
laws.<<< Took out repetitiveness An example of the law is the scene where Bagheera says,
thou canst kill everything that thou art strong enough to kill: but for the sake of the bull that
bought thee thou must never kill or eat any cattle young or old. That is the Law of the Jungle
(Kipling 8).<<< Explained what the law is teaching the children audience This shows that they
have rules like humans and contracts that although might be different from our current contracts,
before it wasnt uncommon for contracts to be made by trade or exchange of goods. Another
instance of this is shown in the event where Mowgli is being exiled by the pack and the pledge of
the bull is brought up again. In Rikki Tikki Tavi, this is shown when Darzee and his wife are
mourning for the loss of their egg. Rikki-tikki says, do you think it is right for you to eat
fledglings out of a nest? (Kipling 59). Rikki-tikki even tells Nag that what he did was wrong

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and he shouldnt have done it. As a critic wrote in his novel Rudyard Kipling, Craftsman, "Love
of animals, imagination about animals, the placing of anthropomorphic words in their mouths, is
the prevailing whim of the English, and The Jungle Books, for that reason, have brought joy and
enthusiasm to many a heart.(MacMunn 202).<<< Changed placement of this quote to intro
paragraph, a more fitting place The anthropomorphism used in this scenes gives the reader a way
to relate to the characters and the story, it also sets a moral tone needed for the theme of good vs.
evil.
Even though the animals share a society together with various species, the animals still
hate humans and discriminate against them. We can see this when Bagheera explains why the
other animals hate Mowgli and want to kill him. Bagheera says, The others they hate thee
because their eyes cannot meet thine; because thou art wise; because thou hast pulled out thorns
from their feet, because thou art a man (Kippling 10). <<< Elaborated more on the
meaning of the quote, added how does it relate to children The animals see humans as

more intelligent and able to use and make tools; use their hands more precise. This is shown by
Mowgli taking the splinters of the other wolves paws and staring into other animals eyes
without looking away. The look of humans alone makes them nervous and be intimidated.
Discrimination is a human action, the fact that the animals hold a grudge against the humans and
see them differently but accept other species is anthropomorphism. This use of
anthropomorphism, adds to the readers understanding and empathy. This can also be seen in
Kaas Hunting, where the event with the Bandar-log shows the animals hatred for the
monkeys. The monkeys are shown trying to imitate humans and think of themselves as better
than the other animals. This arrogance is was lead them to be hated by all the other animals but
the resemblance to humans further shows the discrimination of the animals towards the humans. .

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Scientist found, humans are 96 percent (DNA) similar to the great ape species (Lovgren 1). By
putting human emotions and actions to the animals, the audience<<< Made the addressing of the
audience targeted more to children can better understand the characters in a way that is relatable.
Both Mowgli and Rikki-tikki are heroes in their stories but aside from one being an
animal and the other a human, how they are treated and their endings are different. Although in
the Mowgli stories the animals and the humans do not like each other, in Rikki Tikki Tavi the
humans and Rikki-Tikki have a great relationship. Where with Mowgli, he was not accepted
neither by the wolves or the humans, Rikki-tikki is loved by the human family and is taken in as
a pet. The anthropomorphism used in Rikki Tikki Tavi is more subtle than the one used in the
Mowgli stories. The anthropomorphism in the Mowgli stories is more intricate and complicated,
the animals personalities are shown more and they also have a complex society with rules and
laws. This difference in the level of anthropomorphism allows the reader to focus more on what
is important in the message of the story. In the Mowgli stories there needed to be more
anthropomorphism because the message would have not have such a great impact to the reader
and the good vs. evil theme was also stronger. You got to see the whole story unfold from
begging to end, the story was longer as well as more complicated. The moral of the story wasnt
just the triumph of good over evil but also the relationship between humans and animals. It
showed the struggle of Mowgli trying to find a place he belonged to and in the end he did not
have such a happy ending as Rikki-tikki. In Rikki Tikki Tavi, the message of the story was
simpler and the theme of good vs. evil was straightforward. The more subtle use of
anthropomorphism allows the message to be more easily understandable and easier to grasp
since it is more simple and direct.

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Overall the use of anthropomorphism is used in the Mowgli stories and in Rikki Tikki
Tavi to help the reader understand the message by being able to relate to the characters. The
anthropomorphism is used in the animal characters personality, moral sense, emotions, actions,
and in their society and relationships with others. All of this are human traits or characteristics
that help the reader better understand the theme of good vs. evil in a human-like description but
by using the relationship between humans and animals to convey the message. In the end, both
Mowgli and Rikki-tikki are able to triumph over evil even though they are different but they are
both heroes nonetheless.

Works Cited
Lovgren, Stefan . "Chimps, Humans 96 Percent the Same, Gene Study Finds." National
Geographic. 31

Aug. 2005. 18 Feb. 2015.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/08/0831_050831_chimp_genes_2.html.
MacMunn, George Fletcher. Rudyard Kipling, Craftsman. London: R. Hale, 1937. Print.
Nauert, Rick . "Why Do We Anthropomorphize?." Psych Central. 1 Mar. 2010. 18 Feb. 2015.
http://psychcentral.com/news/2010/03/01/why-do-we-anthropomorphize/11766.html.
"Rudyard Kipling." Bio. A&E Television Networks, 2015. Web. 18 Feb. 2015.<<< Fixed works
cited MLA format