Alright, I tried several different ways to post this. But it was too difficult to try and get the context, which is key. BUT if you read this and want to find out what it is go to:
projectguttenburg.org, Kipling, The Jungle Book part 2, "The Kings Ankus", p. 64
"A Jungle-dweller gets to learn by experience as much as many doctors know of poisonous plants and berries. Mowgli sniffed the smoke that came up from the fire , broke off a morsel of the blakend bread, tasted it , and spat it out again.
'Apple of death,' he coughed. 'The first must have made it ready in the food for these, who killed him, having first killed the Gond.'
'Good hunting, indeed'! The kills follow close,' sadi Bagheera.
"Apple of Death" is what the Jungle call thorn apple or dhatura, the readiest poison of all India"
It's interesting to me as the story has to do with Mowgli taking an incredibly valuable jeweled piece of treasure out of this corrupted lair. He has no use for it but he takes it out into the world. The thing guarding it screams out as Mowgli takes it: "It is Death! It is Death! It is Death!".
When I read it I really quickly thought of the connection with Goldstar's journeying and exploration. As well as MOanez's posts a while back on Morality. Anyhoo, check it out and don't call me 'the boy'.
PS: unless you're Carlos, cuz you treated my teeth with genrosity and respect when i needed it. You may call me what you wish.
4 comments:
can i call you "sport", "junior", "kid", or "youngster"?
if i do, it's only b/c i'm jealous because i'm now suddenly pushing 50.
i mean 40.
anyway, this is interesting.
Kipling, who wrote this, had such a complicated relationship to India, where this book and others of his are set.
trottedh
I'll never call you that again.
I'd also say that Kipling's poetry is better than his prose. Cool post.
weird. This apple lives all over the world. Apple of knowledge of good and evil? What is there to do once it is known beyond doubt that the world is composed of thought. That what i dream is no different from what is real?
wizards are real. The shaman enrique told me to find alphonso here in Montanita. I spotted him last night. He s the one with the sun tattoed on his forehead.
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