Fate and Failure
In The Beast in the Jungle, protagonist John Marcher believes he’s destined for a mysterious fate that will alter his life—though he isn’t sure exactly what will happen, or if this fate will be positive or negative. While he keeps his belief in his fate a secret, he later remembers that, years earlier, he told a woman named May Bartram about it. After Marcher reconnects with May at a luncheon, the two of them…
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Understanding and Connection
John Marcher believes that he’s unique, as he’s convinced that he’s fated to experience a life-altering event. Because he assumes that no one can understand him, he hides his authentic self in public. However, he eventually learns that he revealed his secret long ago to a woman named May Bartram. Marcher continues to believe in his own uniqueness, but he also likes that May knows his secret; in fact, he sometimes wishes that everyone…
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Love and Loss
John Marcher has spent his whole life believing that he’s fated for something significant. His friend May Bartram suggests that this fate could be love—she believes love is exciting and world-altering, just as Marcher believes that his fate will be. But May is secretly in love with Marcher, and throughout the novella, her love is quiet and selfless rather than dramatic and life-altering. Marcher, on the other hand, refuses to deepen his relationship with May…
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Courage vs. Cowardice
John Marcher believes that a great—and possibly violent—fate awaits him, and he refers to this fate as the “beast in the jungle.” Because Marcher accepts his mysterious fate and stoically awaits it, he doesn’t know whether or not he’s afraid of it—and later, his friend May Bartram helps Marcher see that even if he is afraid, he’s able to live with that fear, which is a kind of “courage.” But although Marcher doesn’t know…
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