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7. The White Seal
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Jungle Book, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
The Laws of Nature
Human and Animal Relationships
Loyalty
British Imperialism
Coming of Age
Summary
Analysis
The seals who live in the Bering Sea sing a song about their tragic lives. They refer to the song as their “National Anthem.” Each verse discusses how the seals were living happy and prosperous lives before humans came and started killing them. Any time something good happens to the seals, the humans find a way to destroy it. For instance, any time a seal gets married, a human comes along and kills their spouse. Similarly, whenever the seals hang out with their friends, humans show up and start trying to club and skin them.
Although “The White Seal” ends happily, “Lukannon” casts doubt on whether Kotick’s hidden island will remain hidden forever. After all, humans have always found ways to destroy the seals’ happiness before. If nothing else, this song explains why the other seals were so hesitant to follow Kotick to the hidden island.
Themes
