The Next Great Adventure

In Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book, the orphaned Mowgli grows up under the supervision of Mother and Father Wolf, who treat him as they treat their other wolf cubs.  In Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book, the orphaned child grows up under the supervision of the childless ghostly Owens couple, who name him Nobody.  Both Mowgli and Nobody experience the isolation of aging at a different rate than their peers; Mowgli ages more slowly due to his longer lifespan, and Nobody ages more quickly because the ghosts are frozen in time.  As a result, Mowgli's life in the jungle contains more fear of death than Nobody's life does in the graveyard.

While Mowgli's faux brothers provide him with companionship throughout his childhood, their biological differences lead Mowgli to live a life in fear of death.  When Bagheera implores Mowgli to beware of Shere Khan, Mowgli responds, "I have the Pack and I have thee; and Baloo, though he is so lazy, might strike a blow or two for my sake.  Why should I be afraid?" (Kipling, 15).  While this suggests a lack of fear, Mowgli is driven to leave the jungle, and his anguish at leaving his pseudo-family is such that he says, "I do not wish to leave the jungle, and I do not know what this is.  Am I dying, Bagheera?" (Kipling, 22).  His attachment to his brothers makes him fearful of separation, both by death and by being forced to grow apart.

In contrast, Nobody's companionship with the Owens and the other spirits of the graveyard lessens his fear of death.  When Silas tells him that the man who murdered his family still runs free and seeks to kill him, Bod replies, "So?  It's only death.  I mean, all of my best friends are dead" (Gaiman, 179).  Mowgli and Bod both live, but while Mowgli lives for the enjoyment of living, Bod lives because his ghostly companions will him to remain so, even though it separates him from them and makes his departure from the graveyard inevitable.  Mowgli's difference in species from his companions creates tension, and his relationships thrive in spite of that tension.  Thus, his departure from the jungle seems slightly more liberating than Bod's from the graveyard, as Bod's departure seems more temporary and bittersweet.