100 Things Blogging Challenge: #1 - Bagheera

[huinare]

My topic: 100 Literary Characters Who Have Affected Me

I was initially going to blog about a particular Shakespearean character, but realized I will be better off waiting, since I will doubtless have many more thoughts after portraying that character in one of my class finals.
So I thought back to early childhood: Who was the earliest character I was particularly fascinated by? ...

My earliest contact with Bagheera was either in the old Chuck Jones cartoon "Mowgli's Brothers" or in a story of the same name contained in an old storybook of my mother's.  The anthologized story took the first chapter or so of Kipling's classic The Jungle Book and capitulated it to me it in likely abridged form.

I don't remember which came first.  Both might have come when I was around 6 or 7.  I loved the cartoon and the video was thus periodically rented from the corner store.  I would also read the story and stare at the lavish illustration in the book, a glossy Mowgli and Bagheera, both long and lean and lounging on a large, exotic tree branch.

Children remember things differently.  This illustration may not have been as grand as I recall.  The animation in the cartoon was, from my largely fruitless attempts to research it online, not nearly as grand as I recall.  The voiceovers in the cartoon, likely, were also not as profound as I remember.

But here is what my much younger mind perceived, then: Bagheera was an enviable and admirable character--elegant, wise, well-spoken and fair-voiced, charismatic.  This is an ideal archetype that has stayed with me all my life.

Snippet of Bagheera from The Jungle Book sourced from: Project Gutenberg.

"O Akela, and ye the Free People," he purred, "I have no right in your assembly, but the Law of the Jungle says that if there is a doubt which is not a killing matter in regard to a new cub, the life of that cub may be bought at a price. And the Law does not say who may or may not pay that price. Am I right? [...] To kill a naked cub is shame. Besides, he may make better sport for you when he is grown. Baloo has spoken in his behalf. Now to Baloo's word I will add one bull, and a fat one, newly killed, not half a mile from here, if ye will accept the man's cub according to the Law. Is it difficult?"

Later I saw the Disney animated film version, which presents Bagheera as a rather uptight and anxious fellow (another archetype that has resonated with me).  When I at last read The Jungle Book and its lesser-known sequel The Second Jungle Book at the age of 13--several poems from which I can still recite from memory--, I was surprised to find that Bagheera had quite the soft spot.  In a reversal of the now well-known Disney versions (or rather, pre-Disney-reversal), Baloo was much harder on young Mowgli than Bagheera was.  Nonetheless, the character's knowledge and elegance continued to haunt me throughout my reading of those volumes.

So, here's to you, Bagheera.  Though I would have to do more research to figure out whether I in any way approve of your creator now, my little-recalled thoughts of you were and remain fond.

Comments

[aliana1.livejournal.com]

What a lovely reflection on this character in his original(?) incarnation. I understand what you mean about experiencing literature/fiction differently as a child. I think that when I was really young, specific phrases and words had a much bigger impression on me than overall narrative or plot. I have to admit I know very little of Kipling's originals (they're dismissed nowadays as chauvinistic/colonial/whatever) but your idea of Bagheera sounds delightful.

[huinare.livejournal.com]

Original with a question mark is appropriate, since my profoundest impressions of the character are only based clearly upon one scene. I really can't quite recall how he panned out throughout the story arc.

I do remember thinking there was something rather human-centric about the books all those years ago, despite virtually all the characters being animals, and thinking it could be almost an allegory for white-centrism. I was vaguely aware that there were such accusations floating about. But yeah I don't care to take a stance on it without actually reading Kipling extensively, which is not exactly high on my list of priorities.

[bunn.livejournal.com]

With Kipling, don't confuse racism / colour discrimination in the US sense with political views on empire. Kipling is very definitely respectful of people of other colours and cultures, and writes a lot about them.

But he also thinks that rich powerful empires have a duty to go out there, stop wars, improve the drainage, educate people and prevent famine, by force if necessary (and, of course, get richer still in the process...)

This is something a lot of people find very hard to take from a British writer, in the same way that anti-semitism starts a lot of alarm bells when it comes from Germany. Even though 'White Man's Burden' is actually about US imperialism...

That's why Mowgli has to leave the jungle, it's his duty to Improve the World. I completely agree with you that it's sad, and I think by the end of his life when Kipling had lost his beloved son to WW1 and was having second thoughts about a lot of stuff, he might have written the story differently.

[huinare.livejournal.com]

Ah, you're right that there's a distinction between racism and imperialism--though it seems it's easy enough to conflate white/imperialist. The very title 'What Man's Burden' suggests such a conflation to my mind, though again I don't have sufficient context.

Even though 'White Man's Burden' is actually about US imperialism...
Ohh. I've learned something today.

Interesting that he was having second thoughts about things near his life's end. Which brings up another important point, that a person can change a lot in a mere human lifespan, and that writers may be held to words penned long before. Thanks again for your Kipling comments!

[keiliss.livejournal.com]

...and then I got down to the excerpt and suddenly I was however old I was when I got a copy of The Jungle Book and devoured it and loved, loved, loved Bagheera. And there were classic comics, too, I remember them, with these stunning illustrations (wonder if I'd think they were wonderful today :D ) That was a great memory to end the night on.

No really, I could smell the book almost.

[huinare.livejournal.com]

I'm glad this entry provided a trip down memory lane. =)

There were comics??

[bunn.livejournal.com]

I have a lot of time for Kipling. He was an imperialist, but not an uncritical or brutal one, and a lot of what he wrote is not really concerned with Empire so much as people - people from different cultures, how they relate, where the meeting points are. And his writing style is gorgeous...

People read 'the white man's burden' and judge him solely on that, which is unfair : he was a product of his time of course, but who isn't? And I'm not even sure that poem is quite as simple in message as people make out if you read it along with all his other stuff, particularly the Indian material.

I love Bagheera too (though personally I am not keen on the Disney version). He's so laid back, so smooth and dangerous. :-)

[huinare.livejournal.com]

I've not read his work beyond the Jungle Books and those were many a year ago, so I don't feel qualified to make any pronouncements. Thanks for your input. You make a good point about placing things in their context. People are, after all, infinitely fond of taking things out of context.

The Disney version is practically an about-face from the book version I suppose. I managed to connect them in my kid mind with some sort of coherence; perhaps in part because I was so fond of felines (a point I considered making in my post but didn't see a germane spot for) and in some ways a sleek cat was a sleek cat, whether laid back or uptight. These days, I'd probably have a field day cursing at the screen if I were to read the book and see the film again, since I really dislike character-mangling. =D

[bunn.livejournal.com]

True, the Jungle Books are really a small part of his work, and those are largely remembered through Disney for most people - I'm afraid my Kipling-is-better-than-you-think rant is too easily triggered! :-D

Disney's Bagheera is very pleasingly sinuous in appearance.

[engarian.livejournal.com]

I love Bagheera, he was sleek, sensuous, and so in control. I first read The Jungle Book when I was in my early teens or late pre-teens (11-13 or so) and have read it and reread it many times. The language is glorious, and I always regretted that Mowgli left the jungle behind him and went to live with his own kind. I would have opted for the jungle and my animal teachers if I had been given a preference.

What a nice way to start out your 100.

- Erulisse (one L)
sorry - realized I posted first as a response to a comment rather than as a stand-alone (oops)

[huinare.livejournal.com]

I was always bummed out by Mowgli's decision, too. And that's where I recall the book (and also The Second Jungle Book) entering into somewhat uncomfortable territory. If memory serves, the animals began responding to Mowgli like he was some kind of emperor or prophet or something. (?)

[engarian.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure about that, I suspect your memory is probably clearer than mine on this point. I was just horribly disappointed that he returned to human society, turning his back on those who had raised him and taught him the Law of the Jungle. I wanted to live in the canopy, hunting with Bagheera and Baloo, and wandering with the pups of Mother Wolf. I wanted to run from Sher Khan and explore the dark shrines hidden by the overgrowth. It was a magic world where there was no concrete and no bullying. So much better.

But, my life wasn't in a jungle, at least not that type of jungle. So I lived it through Mowgli and it always felt as if he turned his back on me too when he crossed that field at night to listen at the doorway and peer into the windows of the settlement of man.

- Erulisse (one L)

[huinare.livejournal.com]

Yeah, aside from being a bit creeped out by it, I did find it disappointing.

So I lived it through Mowgli and it always felt as if he turned his back on me too when he crossed that field at night to listen at the doorway and peer into the windows of the settlement of man.

This makes a good deal of sense to me. We can attach such symbolic significance to characters, so I could see where it might even have seemed a betrayal of sorts.

There's a song that might appeal to you, "Brothers All." It's a demo from when Disney was first conceptualizing their film version; apparently they were originally going to stick much closer to the book. The lyrics are very true to the original story, it's rather beautifully-arranged, and the photos the youtube poster placed with it work really well.

[engarian.livejournal.com]

I never saw the animated, never wanted to water down my visions of Kipling with Disney "cuteness". Kipling pulls me with him down his river of plot and I, unresistant, just enjoy the ride.

- Erulisse (one L)

[huinare.livejournal.com]

Noted (and understandable, given Disney's, er, tendencies). For what it's worth, the song I mentioned was not actually used in the Disney film-more's the pity, perhaps--and the youtube contained animal photos, not film clips.

[hhimring]

I loved Bagheera in Kipling's books. I've never seen more than clips from the Disney version or any cartoon.

[huinare.livejournal.com]

The Disney version does not really do the character justice at all, though I still liked him (I might not anymore).

The other, obscure cartoon is epic in my memory. I seem to recall Bagheera having the coolest voice ever, but something tells me that none of this was as grand as I experienced it at that young age.

ETA - holy crap, I think I found it on youtube. I recall looking for it before and being stymied, yet it popped up happily this time around!
Like I need something else to consume my time this evening..