The theme of fear in The Jungle Books by Rudyard Kipling and The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman is fascinating because of how it is conceptualized by each author and how it is utilized by the protagonists. Kipling's conceptualization of fear is most salient in the story, "How Fear Came." In this story, wise old Hathi the elephant relates the tale of how the law and order established in the jungle was essentially based on the Fear of Man in lieu of the death and shame that the first "masters" of the jungle had brought upon the jungle society; Hathi delineates a need for this fear in saying, "only when there is one great Fear over all, as there is now, can we of the Jungle lay aside our little fears, and meet together in one place as we do now" (Kipling 191). This statement by Hathi suggests that this Fear of Man serves to unite the jungle creatures under one superordinate enemy of sorts, thereby giving power to the humans and inordinately shaping the very hierarchy that is the Jungle society. As I was reading the Jungle Books, it seemed to me that fear was used as a tool to inspire obedience of the Law of the Jungle and to ensure that everything goes according to the status quo. This idea of Fear, with a capital "F," works to the advantage of Mowgli, the human protagonist in the novel, who bends the will of the animals to his own by using the power of "the eye" throughout the stories.
The influence of Kipling on Gaiman becomes very apparent through Gaiman's conceptualization of fear in The Graveyard Book. In some ways, fear of the unknown world outside of the Graveyard shapes the world of Bod, the protagonist of Gaiman's contemporary take on Kipling's classic stories in that it keeps Bod in the Graveyard for the most part. More importantly, the Freedom of the Graveyard that is given to Bod in the novel seems to empower him to overcome the fear that at times debilitates the normal people in the novel. For instance, when Scarlett and Bod go exploring in the Graveyard and encounter the Indigo Man, Bod is the first to compose himself and calm down his friend after quickly realizing that it was fear that killed the man who died there before (Gaiman 54). In The Graveyard Book, fear is employed as an emotion that demands to be felt, with the exception of Bod, who masters it as a tool of his own. Gaiman writes, "Fear is contagious. You can catch it. Sometimes all it takes is for someone to say that they're scared for the fear to become real" (188). Bod uses "The Fear" to his advantage in scaring off the bullies Nick and Mo in a manner similar to Mowgli's mastery of the power of the eye. Ultimately, the idea of mastering fear rather than being mastered by it is an idea that both Gaiman and Kipling suggest is necessary for not only survival, but also for dominating a social hierarchy.
When reading these books with various stories I always try to pay attention to the title of each of them while I read them. With the particular story you mentioned “How Fear Came” we saw the story told by the elephant Hathi. This story shows how important fear is in the jungle and how it can be used to control the animals.
ReplyDeleteI also like the quote that you used to describe fear as a unifier. In that quote: "only when there is one great Fear over all, as there is now, can we of the Jungle lay aside our little fears, and meet together in one place as we do now" (Kipling 191) It basically states that fear (of man) brings them together. As Mowgli is human this changes the dynamic as well he is not only merely a character in the jungle but he indirectly rules it.
I think overall fear shows that man is ultimately in charge of the jungle and in many ways Mowgli himself personifies the Law of the Jungle ultimately through his use of fire he does have control over animals in more ways than just his gaze.
I agree with your claim that fear is a necessary element in the lives of all of the Jungle People. The animals must balance their fear with control in order to survive, and to maintain the social hierarchy of the jungle. It is interesting that in Her Majesty’s Servants Kipling approaches the concept of fear in a much different way than he did in How Fear Came, while still maintaining that fear must be mastered. The story he provides is based on the experiences of military service animals, and focuses on the existence or non-existence of fear in relation to intelligence. Each animal in the story describes the work they do and gives an example of when they are most comfortable in their work. The bullocks tell of how they leisurely eat on the front lines while being shot at, with no fear at all. The camel talks about how he feels little fear when the sound of gunshots are all around him. The mule says that he prefers to have cover when there is fighting going on, and the elephant does not go anywhere near the fighting. This ordering also marks the hierarchy among the military animals in terms of intelligence, as the elephant describes later in the story (144). The illustration provided with Her Majesty’s Servants supports the hierarchy that the elephant describes, and also places the horse in front of the elephant, an indication that your claim from How Fear Came is supported in this story as well. The horse is the only animal that proactively attempts to rid himself of the source of his fear. He charges into battle in order to stop the people who are shooting at him, and although he is fearful, the horse trusts his human more than any of the other animals. It is the horse’s mastery of fear that puts him high on the military totem pole, just like the mastery of fear in the jungle does the same.
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