The consequences of curiosity

In the Jungle Book and The Graveyard book, Mowgli and Bod both exhibit loyalty to their society’s inhabitants but the two characters sometimes disobey due to their curious tendencies. Bod decides to take the brooch in order to help the dead, while Mowgli takes the ankus out of greed. Both characters are threatened, but Mowgli is able to handle the situation independently, while Bod depends on those around him.

 When Mowgli takes the ankus, he knows little of its value. Mowgli refers to the treasure as a “thorn-pointed thing”(Kipling 252) and wants it out of greed, yet he disregards White Hood warnings about its consequences.  Though Mowgli has no reason to believe the warnings and is threatened by White Hood, his instinct to kill out of greediness for ankus reflects Mowgli’s lack of boyish trust. However, Mowgli finally listens to Bagheera’s warnings about the ankus and the death it brings saying “If I had known this, I wouldn’t have taken it.” (Kipling 255). White Hood had already warned Mowgli of the ankus’s tendencies but Mowgli shows loyalty by only disposing of the ankus after talking with Bagheera. Over the course of Mowgli’s interaction with the ankus, six humans die, but Mowgli has no direct punishment. This differs from when Mowgli interacted with the monkeys and received several “love taps” upon his return. The absence of punishment reflects the jungle’s newfound trust in Mowgli’s curiosity and decisions.

In comparison to Mowgli, Bod’s curiosity is more restrained, but Bod disobeys for the good of others. Bod is warned about Potter’s field and a visit would “not be advisable”(Gaiman 106), but when Bod falls into the field, a witch meets him with kindness. When Bod enters the tomb to steal the brooch, Bod, like Mowgli is met with warning, but Bod leaves with his brooch rather than pursue to harm the Sleer. Unlike Mowgli, Bod knows the value of what he is stealing and wishes to use it to buy a tombstone. Bod is not above the advice of others as he takes the card with Jack’s name and exits the pawnshop as Liza advises him. As with Mowgli and White Hood, Bod had no reason to trust Liza, but does so due to her previous kindness and the desperate nature of the situation. Bod is treated in a more childish way than Mowgli, as he receives spankings and is affected by the “look of worry on Mrs. Owen’s face.” (Gaiman 141).  Such punishment shows Bod is still considered a dependent of the graveyard and is still being taught that which is right and wrong.

Bod and Mowgli both disobey by taking things that aren’t theirs, but only Bod is met with direct consequence. Such comparison shows Mowgli is held more accountable for his actions, as he returns the ankus on his own and listens to only a select amount of advice he is given. Bod only exits his situation by trust and still needs help navigating the world around him. While both characters are still loyal to those who raised them, these situations highlight Mowgli has become a master of his surroundings while Bod is still a sheltered dependent.