Banderlogs: who are they and why are they needed

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Mowgli is the famous hero of Kipling's work of the same name. Children read this book at primary school age, a wonderful cartoon was made based on it, the name Mowgli has become a household name. This is the name of children who, for some reason, are brought up outside of human society. True, they usually do not at all look like the brave and smart Mowgli, who skillfully used both human and wolf language, freely existed in the jungle and was able to settle into the village community.

In "Mowgli" there are two worlds for the hero: the forest and the village. Moreover, mostly noble and interesting heroes live in the forest, while in the village - mostly a gray mass of people. Kipling's people are deprived of nobility, dignity, they behave almost like banderlogs. Who they are, Mowgli himself did not know for quite a long time. Acquaintance was unexpected, even somewhat dangerous. One of the stories about Mowgli is dedicated to this.

Many of Kipling's works are about animals. And he, like our famous fabulist I. Krylov, ascribes to them human virtues and shortcomings. Each animal is a special, complex and interesting personality. After all, for a long timeBalu's lout, the proud and wise Bagheera, the unhurried Kaa, the leader of the Akella pack, the treacherous tiger Sherkhan, and the dastardly jackal Tabaki are remembered. There are banderlogs, who they are and whether they have any positive qualities, it becomes clear almost immediately after meeting their flock. Banderlogs are monkeys who try to behave like people, but this is what exposes the people themselves. All their actions are meaningless, they are subject to moods and influences, they do not have their own law, and they do not recognize the law of the jungle. The people of the jungle despises them so much that no one even wants to answer Mowgli's question: “Banderlogs? Who is this?”

If you seriously think about the meaning that Kipling put into his books, it becomes clear that under the guise of banderlogs he portrayed the crowd. It is the crowd that behaves in the same way as this herd of monkeys. There are no personalities in the crowd, no bright characters, it lends itself to an instant impulse: rage, enthusiasm or fear. Therefore, when asked why banderlogs were needed, who they are and who they symbolize, we can safely answer: this is a crowd.

In the book "Mowgli" everything is built on opposition. Jungle and village, banderlog with their complete chaos and a completely ordered pack of wolves, cunning and meanness of Sherkhan and nobility and mercy of Akella. This is a children's book, so this opposition, the division of the world into two camps (good and bad) is quite appropriate. It is in these categories that younger students think, for them it is natural. A picture of the world unfolds before them, peculiar, of course, but very similar toour. In any case, the problems in it are the same: study, helping friends, curiosity, disobedience and its deplorable consequences. Bright heroes pass before readers: Bagheera, Kaa, Banderlog, Mowgli, Sherkhan and others.

Of course, this is an adventure work, one of those where you do not need to look for too deep meaning. True, sometimes it seems that Kipling wanted to say a little more than is usually seen in this story. Children should definitely read this book.