Similarities Between The Jungle Book and Gaiman’s The Grave Yard Book

The similarities between Kipling’s The Jungle Book and Gaiman’s The Grave Yard Book are striking. For example, The Jungle Book and The Grave Yard Book tell the story of a young boy who is taken into a surrogate wolf and ghost family respectively, after the boy looses his family. Also, both books present a teacher who is harsh on the boy, but whose harsh lessons ultimately save his life.

            In The Jungle Book and The Grave Yard Book, an unconventional family takes in a boy, Mowgli and Bo Respectively, after they each lose their parents. A family of wolves take in Mowgli and he subsequently becomes part of their wolf pack. Two ghost parents, Mr. and Mrs. Owens, take in Bo and he subsequently becomes part of their ghost community. Gaiman describes, “Mrs. Owens and her husband have taken the child under their protection. It will take more than just a couple of good hearted souls to raise this child. It will” (Gaiman 22). Gaiman insinuates that Bo will not live with his adopted parents alone, but will become a part of the ghost community, just as Mowgli becomes a part of the wolf pack.

These unordinary families eventually hand their adopted son off to a teacher, Baloo in The Jungle Book and Silas in The Grave Yard Book. Mowgli is content with his wolf parents as his teacher, but he later transfers to a different, harsher teacher named Baloo. Baloo teaches Mowgli many valuable skills such as how to speak different animal languages and how to ask for permission to hunt in foreign territories. Yet, Baloo beats Mowgli when he messes up, and after one beating Mowgli runs of in a fit of rage to play with the lawless monkeys. These monkeys would ultimately kill Mowgli if it were not for the lessons Baloo had taught him. While taken prisoner, Mowgli asks a bird for help using a language Baloo taught him. This plea for help led to Mowgli rescue from the monkeys.

            Similarly, Bo leaves his pleasant teacher, Silas, in exchange for a harsher teacher, Miss Lupescu. Miss Lupescu likewise teaches Bo different languages that ultimately save his life. After one harsh lesson Bo shouts in a fit of rage, “‘What would you do to keep me here? Kill me?’ And he turned on his heel and began to walk down the path that lead to the gates and out of the graveyard (Gaiman 190). Just like Mowgli, Bo storms off into the hands of enemies. He gets caught up with ghouls who try to bring him to Hell. However, Bo shouts to friendly Night-Gaunts in their native language. These allies save Bo and prove that his harsh lessons were worth it after all.

            The similarities between The Jungle Book and The Grave Yard Book do not stop with an unconventional family who takes in a helpless boy or this boy saving his own life through the teachings of a harsh teacher. Instead, they extend to an antagonist who tries to kill the boy throughout the story, a snake who saves the boy’s life, and numerous other examples as well.