Violence is a common theme between Kipling’s Stalky & Co. and The Jungle Book. Violence arguably serves several purposes throughout these texts, but one particular umbrella function shared by both books is violence as an assertion of control. This theme of control will be my broad focus throughout this essay whilst further exploring the methods by which violence is used by certain characters, and discussing more specifically how violent behaviour is portrayed through Kipling’s writing in the chapters ‘Stalky’, ‘The Moral Reformers’ (Stalky & Co.), ‘Mowgli’s Brothers’ and ‘Kaa’s Hunting’ (The Jungle Book). These particular chapters capture moments of violence functioning through the idea of hierarchy- whether that be an obvious awareness of authority, like Bagheera and Baloo in The Jungle Book, or a more implicit, suggested superiority like that of Stalky in Stalky & Co. Both texts seem to place value on the use of physical force and strength; holding it as a sort of key that allows access to the control systems of their societal world. Both texts are similar in this way of hierarchical control yet their characters are creations within very different societies- a 19th Century English Public School versus the Indian jungle. Although violence is a common feature in both Stalky and Co. and The Jungle Book, its use is very much unique to each book. In a broad sense, violence is like a multi-purpose tool- it functions similarly in the two texts as asserting control; however, it is used with different, specific motivation.
It is evident that violence is like a language amongst the boys in Stalky & Co. In the chapter Stalky, Beetle suggests that Stalky is being sharp with M’Turk because he had not thought of the idea to “cattle-lift” first- “Corkran kicked him thrice calmly”. This adverb ‘calmly’ here implies that this violence is not an emotional outburst from Stalky; he has not lashed out at Beetle in rage, but instead it suggests a warning-like reply. M’Turk then accuses Stalky of thinking he is the only cleverly cunning boy in ‘the Coll.’ and Kipling writes “Corkran kicked him as he had kicked Beetle; and even as Beetle, M’Turk took not the faintest notice” (‘Stalky’, p.13). The use of the abstract noun phrase here “the faintest notice” seems to support the idea that this, almost rhythmic-feel, thrice kicking from Stalky is like his warning to them to stop their insulting of his intelligence, but it suggests that they have refused to acknowledge his message. On the other hand, it could more simply suggest that the boys are used to this level of violence; it is possibly such a regular occurrence that they have become desensitised to it. “By the etiquette of their friendship, this was no more than a formal notice of dissent from a proposition” (‘Stalky’, p.13). The fact that this type of violence is described as part of their etiquette questions whether this behaviour can even be classed as violent. By definition, etiquette is “the customary code of polite behaviour in society” and violent is defined as “…the doing of deliberate harm or damage”. Etiquette is not naturally characterised by deliberate harm, which begs the question, is Stalky here intentionally harming his school friends, or is this physical response to the verbal accusations rather another way of communicating his disagreement? The noun phrase “…no more than a formal notice” implies that this communication is all Stalky intends by the kicking and, moreover, this response is a convention, a language understood by the boys. Bradley Deanne talks about a rebellion against an only natural development of maturity in young men during 19th Century Imperialism, referring to heroically-created boy characters like Peter Pan, and states “This remarkable rebellion against masculine maturity enlisted writers, too, such as Rudyard Kipling”. This seeming lack of maturity in using physicality to communicate is clearly evident in Stalky & Co.
Along similar thought of violence as another form of communication, a language understood by a particular society, it appears that violence exists within a hierarchy of power and creates a sense of authority. It seeks to control the behaviour of those in an inferior position and it appears that this is an understood, well-established code in Kipling’s animal society of The Jungle Book as well as his schoolboy society of Stalky & Co. In the opening scene of The Jungle Book, Shere Khan, the tiger, had disrupted the Man Village and a man’s cub toddles near the opening of the cave where Mother Wolf is feeding her cubs. Father Wolf brings him inside for Mother Wolf to take a closer look but Shere Khan is following after the man’s cub and squeezes his head into the opening of the cave. “It is I, Shere Khan who speak!” and Mother Wolf stands up to Shere Khan, replying “And it is I, Raksha [The Demon] , who answer… now get hence, or by the Samnhur that I killed (I eat no starved cattle), back thou goest to thy mother…lamer than ever thou camest into the world! Go!” (‘MB’, p.7-9) Mother wolf ‘s fighting speech not only insults Shere Khan by belittling his strength, but she compares his strength to her own- having killed strong and fattened cattle, with emphasis on “I”, almost disregards him as a jungle predator or threat. Raksha expresses herself in a higher, more respected position than Shere Khan for her ability to prey. Kipling writes “Shere Khan might have faced Father Wolf, but he could not stand up against Mother Wolf, for he knew that where he was she had all the advantage of the ground, and would fight to the death. So he backed out of the cave-”(‘MB’, p.9). Shere Khan esteems Mother Wolf as a superior in this part of the jungle, and her abilities in regards to violence have positioned her superior, therefore, Raksha is provided with respect enough to assert power over Shere Khan. However, it is not only her physical ability that places her in this superior position, but her knowledge of this jungle ground- “she has all the advantage of the ground”- with her understanding and knowledge of this part of the jungle, paired with her fighting strength, positions her above in this societal hierarchy, giving her the key to command and control the situation.
Similarly, in ‘Stalky’ violence creates a hierarchy between the boys, demonstrated by the physically forceful behaviour of Stalky and M’Turk and a lack of fight from Beetle as he is thrown out of the shed for his inability to control his laughter. “If you’re goin’ to laugh, Beetle, I shall have to kick you again” (‘Stalky’, p.21). M’Turk’s tone of voice towards his fellow school mate is seems abnormally authoritative to the modern-day reader. This warning from his peer not only carries an heir of authority but also a sense of responsibility from M’Turk- the use of the modal verb shall paired with auxiliary verb phrase have to expresses a must, like he deems himself responsible for Beetle’s behaviour and therefore seeks to control it. Understandably M’Turk is concerned for their cover being blown, but the length of violence him and Stalky carry out to prevent this seems arguably extortionate, if not only to the modern-day reader. Kipling writes “He thrust the already limp Beetle through the cart-shed window. It sobered him; one cannot laugh on a bed of nettles”(‘Stalky’, p.22). “Then Corkran stepped on his prostate carcass, and M’Turk followed, just as Beetle would have risen; so he was upset, and the nettles painted on his cheek a likeness of hideous eruptions” (p.22) Their use of violence physically knocked the amusement from him, however it caused both a physical and emotional upset. It seems significant that Stalky stepped on his prostate area- the primary physiological difference between a man and a woman- this could suggest a threat not only to him as another human being and school peer but a belittlement of his ‘manhood’. Its seems violence is a defining fundamental of manliness in that it enables them to control another’s behaviour by asserting strength, and with that naturally comes power and superiority. Knowles and Malmkjær sum up Stalky & Co. as “being about power relations and the hierarchy of the school”. Physical qualities such as this were sought after and encouraged in boys at this time of New Imperialism, especially in public boarding schools like the United Services College where Kipling attended and lived similar experiences of which his stories of Stalky & Co. are based upon. Carole Scott discusses this school’s manufacturing of ready-to-fight men, stating “the fact that USC prepares boys for the military makes the school’s sense of disorder and violence justifiable” “’Thought that ‘ud cure you’ said Corkran, with a sniff” (‘Stalky’ p.22) Stalky even is arrogant about the distress he has caused his friend whilst also suggesting that Beetle has some sort of illness or problem through the use of the verb cure, and Stalky and M’Turk’s violence is an attempt to make him ‘better’, more like them. His lack of ability to control himself opens up a door for Stalky and M’Turk to assert control over Beetle through whatever means are successful. Seeing as Beetle is “already limp”, and his character throughout Stalky & Co. is described similarly with a lack of physical strength which is discussed in the work of Eastlake “Beetle who, unlike the other boys, is not athletic”, “ a far cry from the hardy, physical robustness of the New Imperialist” Beetle openly expresses his preferred interest in academics “’You chose that place, too-an’-an’ I wanted to read this afternoon’”. His interest and attainment in academic subjects makes him cleverer than Stalky and M’Turk- Eastlake mentions his “…preference for subjects like literature and French”, therefore, Stalky and M’Turk are unable to outsmart Beetle. This paired with his physical ‘weakness’ begs the use of violence in order to control his behaviour. He does not respond in any way to Stalky’s sadistic comment, but instead simply sees to soothing his wounds. “Beetle rubbed his face desperately with dock-leaves, and said nothing” (p.22) This paints an image of hierarchical friendship- Beetle’s less violent nature positions him inferior to Stalky and M’Turk in situations where physical behaviour is exerted.
Although it appears that violence is used to single out a weaker member of society, later chapters of these novels offer an alternative motivation for using violence. In The Jungle Book’s second chapter, Mowgli gets kidnapped by the Bandar-log and Baloo and Bagheera enlist the help of the giant python Kaa in order to rescue him. “’He is always hungry’ said Baloo hopefully. ‘Promise him many goats.’” This idea of promising Kaa a meal is based upon Bagheera’s ability to prey which, inevitably, involves violence. Therefore, before the rescuing even begins, violence is a part of helping Mowgli in, firstly, enlisting the help of another member of the jungle society. Furthermore, violence is an also an expression of gratitude- Mowgli thanks Kaa “I take my life from thee, tonight, My kill shall by thy kill if ever thou art hungry, O Kaa” (‘KH’, p.63). Kaa was able to control the behaviour of the monkeys through his power to frighten them. This fear, Kipling writes, came from the stories of Kaa- “Generations of monkey had been scared into good behaviour by the stories their elders told them of Kaa… none of them knew the limits of his power” (‘KH’, p.59). Similarly, in Stalky & Co.’s The Moral Reformers, the boys are encouraged by the Reverend John to use their “influence” to stop the bullying of a younger boy. He tells the boys “I want your authority to stop it.” This “cheerful approval of violence and vigilantism” is pointed out by Kutzer in her work discussing children of Empire; however, not only does this idea of the boys having authority through their physical ability directly support the previously discussed idea of violence creating a hierarchy of power, it also opens an opportunity to fight for a weaker member of the school society. Scott writes “where rules are broken, they must be mended, and this, it appears, can only be accomplished with violent action”(1992, p.65). Stalky has the idea of drawing the attention of the bullies by acting out a pretend fight between themselves, enabling them to carry out their “authority” underhandedly. Once they have the two bullies engaged in the action, they tie them up and, to put it bluntly, torture them. “We’re goin’ to be just as fair to you as you were to Clewer”(‘TMR’, p. 129) - only they are actually more violent towards the bullies than they were to Clewer- Stalky asks “’Did you give Clewer the key?’” which provokes the response “’No, we didn’t. I swear we didn’t!’ from Campbell, rolling in agony”. Stalky sadistically announces “Then we’ll give it to you, so you can see what it would be like if you had”. Scott states that “revenge frequently inspires violence” (1992, p. 63), but rather than inflicting equal violence to ‘get even’ on behalf of Clewer, they ensure they inflict even more pain- “Now we’re goin’ to show you what real bullyin is” (p.130). This use of the adjective real suggests to the bullies that what they were doing to Clewer was nothing of bullying compared to what they are about to receive; belittling their physicality, or arguably, their manliness. Their threat of more violence towards the bullies creates fear, and it is fear that enables Stalky, M’Turk and Beetle to wangle an apology out of them. “’Will you bully Clewer any more?’” to which one of the bullies replies “No. No-ooh!” Kipling writes that they “made unconditional surrender” and vowed to “never touch any one again” (‘TMR’, p. 134).
Stalky & Co. not only abuse the bullies into promising to stop their awful behaviour, but Stalky even manages to persuade them to express gratitude for the ‘lesson’ they have been taught. “’Haven’t we taught you a lot?’”…“’Aren’t you grateful?’” to which they reply “Yes!”. Violence functions here not only as a physical stopping of their behaviour, but a mental controlling as a form of blackmailing. Along a similar thought, violence functions as a teaching strategy in The Jungle Book, with Baloo and Bagheera also wishing to teach Mowgli a lesson after his kidnapping by Bandar-log- after all he had engaged with them which resulted in this event. After Mowgli expresses his regret, Baloo tells Bagheera “Sorrow never stays punishment” and Baloo responds “…blows must be dealt now” (‘KH’, p.59). This exchange explains their understanding of violence as a more effective disciplinary action than simply feeling the emotion of regret, or any other means of punishment. Kipling goes on to write “Bagheera gave him half a dozen love taps… for a seven-year-old-boy they amounted to as severe a beating as you could wish to avoid” (‘KH’, p.66-67). Both instances of discipline, in The Moral Reformers (Stalky & Co.) and Kaa’s Hunting (The Jungle Book), demonstrate violence functioning as a disciplinary technique; inflicting physical punishment in order to control the future behaviour of a member or several members of society.
Each instance of violence discussed in this essay have had some aspect of control as their motivation. In a broad sense, violence is asserted throughout these texts as a technique that allows characters to control behaviour of other members of society, and it appears that this works through a hierarchy of power and respect. Characters are respected for their ability to inflict violence, where in contrast those characters who are not, or rather are much less, physically strong are disrespected and more easily (and in some cases, frequently) manipulated. This is not always to the direct advantage of the manipulator, but sometimes simply in order to announce the superiority that the ability to use violence creates. This in itself allows control to be asserted. Bibliography:
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