PERCEPTION OF NATURE AND THE LANGUAGE OF IMPERIALISM IN RUDYARD KIPLING’S THE JUNGLE BOOK

Yıl 2018, Cilt: 16 Sayı: 1/2, 129 - 140, 16.05.2018

Mahinur Akşehir Uygur

Öz

Published in 1894, The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling has become a great
success in England. Telling the story of Mowgli who is raised by the animals in
the Jungle, the book portrays Mowgli and animals as symbolizing the
reunification of human beings and nature. The story is generally perceived as a
Bildungsroman with undertones of imperialist discourse or Mowgli is perceived
as a romantic hero who represents the noble savage that embraces and reunites
with nature. However a closer look reveals the fact that the depictions of
nature sanctified, function as discursive reproduction of its materialization
and reinforcement of the modern hierarchy between man and nature and culture
and nature. Thus, the aim of this article is to propose a fresh look at
Kipling’s text through the frame of human-animal studies.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Rudyard Kipling, The Mowgli Stories, imperialism, binary of man and nature

Kaynakça

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