Intro

Although the personalities of the Cat from the story “Cat that Walked by Himself” and the Crab from the story “The Crab that Played with the Sea” are very similar, the two characters differ in the sense that the Crab admitted his mistakes when confronted and the Cat did not. Both the Cat and the Crab go through similar transformations throughout the story. The Elephant described in the story “The Elephant’s Child” goes through the opposite to the Cat’s and the Crab’s character transformations. The Elephant’s personality is easily distinguished from the Cat’s and the Crab’s behavior. While the Cat and the Crab are portrayed as being selfish with an ambition to satisfy their own needs, the Elephant is described by a more respectable characteristic which is his insatiable curiosity.

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In the introduction part of the story "Cat that Walked by Himself," Rudyard Kipling differentiates the Cat from other existing in the story animals: "The wildest of all the wild animals was the Cat.” The author further proceeds to describe the Cat's personality as selfish and egoistic: "He walked by himself, and all places were alike to him.”

The phrase "I am the Cat who walks by himself, and all places are alike to me" is used by the Cat many times in many different situations throughout the story. While the phrase that the Cat says stays the same the situations in which he uses it portrays different sides of his personality. As an example, when the Wild Dog offers the Cat to come with him to the cave built by the Man, the Cat declares that he walks by himself and all places are alike to him. It is then realized that the Cat is being portrayed as unfriendly and negligent. Although the Cat denies the Wild Dog's offer, when the Wild Dog walks toward the cave by himself, the Cat secretly follows him. By understanding this behavior the Cat's personality can also be characterized as dishonest as well as clever.

By the time all of the animals, excluding the Cat, had found a place in the cave for themselves, the Cat takes his turn. However, the Cat doesn't want to give anything in return to the Woman for exchange on residing in the cave. He believes that it is possible to acquire a living place in the cave without giving anything in return, as opposed to determination of other animals. This behavior underlines the Cat's cleverness and intelligence.

When the Woman and the Cat make a bargain the rules of which state that if the Woman says a good word in the Cat's praise then he will be allowed to stay in the cave, the Cat outsmarts the Woman. He does this by provoking the Woman to say a good thing about himself. In this case, the Cat's actions describe his dishonesty and deceitfulness. As a whole, the Cat is portrayed as being arrogant, unfriendly, dishonest, untrustworthy, selfish, egoistic and neglectful.

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In the story "The Crab that Played with the Sea," the hypothetical creator of the Earth and the Sea is portrayed as the Eldest Magician. When he assigns their respective duties to the creatures of the world, the Crab named Pau Amma disobeys the rules by escaping into the sea as he proclaims: “I will play my play alone in the deep waters, and I will never be obedient to this son of Adam.” This behavior characterizes Pau Amma’s rebellious and disobedient personality traits. Pau Amma can also be described as being clever and sneaky because he escaped the obligations of the Eldest Magician. In comparison, in the story “Cat that Walked by Himself,” the Cat is noticed to have similar characteristics as the Crab. Both characters’ actions disagree with the normal, more obvious, behavior of other animals.

Being arrogant, Pau Amma would only come out of the sea for his own needs. His manners would bother other creatures because he was of an enormous size. Every time he would come out of the sea to obtain food, he would bare the beaches of all the islands and the fish would die. The waters would rise when Pau Amma returned into the Sea, flooding the Man’s house and the surrounding islands where some of the animals resided. When confronted by the Eldest Magician, Pau Amma arrogantly ignored his remarks: “Pau Amma, deep down below, laughed and said, 'I did not know I was so important. Henceforward I will go out seven times a day, and the waters shall never be still.'“

When the Eldest Magician took away Pau Amma’s shell, the Crab felt ashamed of it because he couldn’t protect himself any longer from the dangers of the Sea and the surrounding environment. As a result, Pau Amma lamented in this situation which shows the weak side of his character. This behavior contrasts the behavior of the Cat from the story “Cat who Walked by Himself”. By being confronted in the end of the story, the Cat simply escapes without acknowledging the unfairness of his character. When the Eldest Magician offers Pau Amma a safe place he accepts the offer but demands to reacquire his shell. These circumstances portray the Crab’s persistent arrogance.

The Crab‘s most portrayed characteristics are those of being disrespectful, rebellious, disobedient and unrestrained. The Crab is also characterized as being arrogant. These personality traits convey the relationship of the Crab to the Cat from the story of “Cat that Walked by Himself.”

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In the story “The Elephant’s Child,” the distinctiveness of the Elephant from the other two characters from different stories, the Cat and the Crab, lies in the unique attributes that describe his personality. The most obvious trait of the Elephant’s personality is characterized by his persistent curiosity which is seen during his dialog with the Kolokolo Bird: "My father has spanked me, and my mother has spanked me; all my aunts and uncles have spanked me for my 'satiable curiosity; and still I want to know what the Crocodile has for dinner!”

The other trait that none of the other characters have compared to the Elephant is politeness. Despite the fact that all of the animals in the story disrespect the Elephant’s curiosity, it is shown that the Elephant is just and respectful toward them: “And they all spanked him once more for luck, though he asked them most politely to stop.”

The Elephant is also portrayed as being friendly because he initiates a conversation with practically all of the other described in the story animals. Without fully understanding the environment he is in, his immature curiosity leads the Elephant to hurtful and unkind results.

When Elephant's Child returns from his visit to the banks of the great Limpopo River he wields newfound power and displays a more spiteful personality than before, as he spanks all his family who had previously spanked him. While the Elephant was initially timid, considerate, and curious, on his return he is transformed into a powerful "Child" who seeks justice for his previous abuse.

Ending statement

Out of all three characters, the Crab and the Cat are the ones who relate to each other the most. They are both unrestrained and arrogant. Another characteristic that is shared between the Cat and the Crab is that they follow identical transitions throughout the story from the beginning to the end. Both initially appear to be unrestrained and are confronted toward the end of the story, whereas the Elephant‘s transition seems to follow opposite direction. The Elephant is initially portrayed as being modest and grows arrogant toward the end. Another point which makes the Elephant differ from the other two characters is that neither the Cat nor the Crab are portrayed as being spiteful as the Elephant. Overall, the Elephant is more positive and rightful than the other two characters.

Trivia:

The story is also known as "The Cat That Walked Alone"

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