"I met my mates in the morning, a broken, scattered band,/ Men shoot us in the water and club us on the land...." Deploring the cruel practices of seal hunters, Rudyard Kipling concludes his short story "The White Seal," part of the well-known Jungle Book, with these lines from his grief-stricken poem "Lukannon." Born into a world of violence and insensitivity, Kotick stands out from the other seals, not only by his unique white color, but also by his unbridled idealism, and his youthful lust for life. One day, driven by curiosity, the young animal witnesses a group of hunters brutally slaughtering many of his peers for their pelts, yet the indifference of his community, Novastoshnah, appalls Kotick. Taking upon himself the visionary task of finding an island where no man can tread and where seals can live in freedom and safety, Kipling's maturing hero departs on an eventful odyssey, where he encounters walruses and sea cows, and in the end succeeds in his goal. Upon his return to Novastoshnah, Kotick surprisingly discovers that his friends do not appreciate his efforts; instead, they ridicule him and refuse to leave their nurseries. In a desperate attempt to persuade his companions to follow him to safety, the young animal successfully challenges his elders' leadership by attacking them in a savage rage of bloodshed. After forcing them to recognize his dominance, Kotick leads the other seals to his utopian island, where they live safely under his authority. Rudyard Kipling makes "The White Seal" outpace the traditional children's fable, by cleverly using Novastoshnah as a mirror for human society, by carefully describing the evolution in Kotick's personality, and by subtly relaying the underlying theme of English imperialism.
             Many aspects of Kipling's society of seals and other aquatic animals show that the story serves as an allegory of human life. First...