To me, this whole book is (in addition to being an
exciting adventure story) a story about Mowgli's attempt to find out where he
belongs.
Early in the story, Mowgli's identity is that of a
wolf. Everyone pretty much accepts that he is one of the wolves. But then, for
example, he uses fire to defeat Shere Khan. Everyone knows that wolves don't use fire
and this makes Mowgli and the others wonder what he really is -- what world he belongs
to.
This theme continues as Mowgli is adopted by the woman
who is actually his mother. He becomes part of human society, but only to an extent --
he clearly does not fully belong there. The people reject him, for example, when they
think he is a sorceror because of his ability to talk to animals. So now we have Mowgli
being rejected to some extent by both animals and
humans.
Eventually, of course, Mowgli decides that he is
going to have to be a human being. But this comes only after a long search in which
Mowgli tries to figure out which world he belongs to. During this search, we are forced
to ask ourselves what makes a person belong to some group. We have to think about
whether it is physical characteristics, or behaviors and adherence to custom. These are
issues that confront all people to some extent in their lives.
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