Shere Khan 🔒 Members

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Age and build

large and powerful frame

“Shere Khan’s great square head and shoulders were thrust into the entrance” (The Jungle Book, part 1)

physically constrained by narrow spaces

“Shere Khan’s shoulders and forepaws were cramped for want of room, as a man’s would be if he tried to fight in a barrel” (The Jungle Book, part 1)

Face and hair

has a tuft on his chin

“caught him by the tuft on his chin” (The Jungle Book, part 3)

striped coat

“Shere Khan’s striped hide on the rock” (The Jungle Book, part 8)

has whiskers

“stooped down to singe Shere Khan’s whiskers” (The Jungle Book, part 8)

Dress

The book is silent here, so we keep this plain and neutral.

Voice and speech

roars with great volume and authority

“The tiger’s roar filled the cave with thunder” (The Jungle Book, part 1)

mutters and mumbles savagely

“Father Wolf ran out a few paces and heard Shere Khan muttering and mumbling savagely as he tumbled about in the scrub” (The Jungle Book, part 1)

whimpers and whines when afraid

“the tiger whimpered and whined in an agony of fear” (The Jungle Book, part 3)

Signature words

uses 'Lungri' (the Lame One) as a taunt

“Stir a whisker, Lungri, and I ram the Red Flower down thy gullet” (The Jungle Book, part 3)

declares ownership with 'my quarry' and 'my meat'

“My quarry. A man’s cub went this way” (The Jungle Book, part 1)

emphasises his identity and authority

“It is I, Shere Khan, who speak” (The Jungle Book, part 1)

uses 'Free People' when addressing the Pack

“The cub is mine. Give him to me. What have the Free People to do with a man’s cub” (The Jungle Book, part 1)

Gait and mannerisms

limps from lameness in one foot

“He has been lame in one foot from his birth” (The Jungle Book, part 1)

lumbers when moving heavily

“Shere Khan heard the thunder of their hoofs, picked himself up, and lumbered down the ravine” (The Jungle Book, part 7)

tail switches when agitated

“Shere Khan, whose tail was beginning to switch” (The Jungle Book, part 3)

ears flatten back when frightened

“Shere Khan’s ears lay flat back on his head, and he shut his eyes” (The Jungle Book, part 3)

Strengths

commands respect and fear among younger wolves

“the lame tiger had come to be great friends with the younger wolves of the Pack, who followed him for scraps” (The Jungle Book, part 2)

skilled at manipulation and flattery

“Then Shere Khan would flatter them and wonder that such fine young hunters were content to be led by a dying wolf” (The Jungle Book, part 2)

formidable hunter despite lameness

“he has only killed cattle” (The Jungle Book, part 1)

Flaws

permanently lame from birth

“He has been lame in one foot from his birth. That is why he has only killed cattle” (The Jungle Book, part 1)

cannot fast or abstain from food and drink

“Shere Khan could never fast, even for the sake of revenge” (The Jungle Book, part 7)

cowardly when facing direct opposition

“willing to do anything rather than fight” (The Jungle Book, part 7)

obsessive hatred of Mowgli

“from the marrow of my bones I hate him” (The Jungle Book, part 2)

Traits

ambitious for power over the Pack

“Shere Khan with his following of scrap-fed wolves walked to and fro openly being flattered” (The Jungle Book, part 2)

vengeful and persistent in pursuit

“he swears that he will lay thy bones in the Waingunga” (The Jungle Book, part 6)

arrogant and commanding

“Ye choose and ye do not choose! What talk is this of choosing? By the bull that I killed, am I to stand nosing into your dog’s den for my fair dues” (The Jungle Book, part 1)

prone to rage and fury

“was furious from the pain of his burned feet” (The Jungle Book, part 1)

Lines in their own words

asserting his authority

“It is I, Shere Khan, who speak” (The Jungle Book, part 1)

expressing his hatred of Mowgli

“He is a man, a man’s child, and from the marrow of my bones I hate him” (The Jungle Book, part 2)

calling out to Mowgli in the ravine

“Who calls?” said Shere Khan” (The Jungle Book, part 7)