Kipling's View Of Imperialism
There is a clear negative connotation that Kipling attributes to the notion of imperialism in his novella, The Man Who Would Be King. There is a lot of controversy around Kipling's feelings towards imperialism and the British Empire as a whole, which can be mainly attributed to his possibly satirical poem, “The White Man's Burden.” It seems, however, that Kipling's side on the subject of these arguments though is much more clearly presented when evaluating the novella that he wrote, as it paints some clear, one-sided messages on the topic of imperialism and the British Empire. In-depth analysis of the themes provided by the novella will give insight into his views of the British Empire. More information on his views of the British Empire can
…show more content…
As clearly shown, The Man Who Would Be King is definitely not encouraging the British Empire's actions at the time written. The short story shares quite a bit with the poem, which shows the mindsets of those who believe imperialism is a justified act. In the poem, specifically stanzas two and six show significant parallels to what the characters Peachey Carnehan and Daniel Dravot do in The Man Who Would Be King. “Check the show of pride; By open speech and simple, An hundred times made plain, To seek another's profit, and work another's gain.” These lines very accurately describe how Dravot “checked the show of pride” of the Kafiristanis by outright killing them and acting ignorant of their gods, and then ordering them by means of “open speech and simple” to work farms and not fight anymore, lest they want to be shot. These are examples that don't exactly highlight the nature of how colonisers, such as Britain, dealt with the native populaces they encountered. Another parallel is seen as “The silent, sullen peoples, Shall weigh your gods and you.” This is an obvious correlation to the mutiny of the Kafiristanis and their realisation that Dravot was not a god, but only a man, and the resulting shootout and revolt. This ties in neatly with the message that Britain will inevitably face trouble from its conquered populations. Again, Kipling's various texts strongly point to the notion that he does not agree with Britain's practices and holds his nation in a negative
As clearly shown, The Man Who Would Be King is definitely not encouraging the British Empire's actions at the time written. The short story shares quite a bit with the poem, which shows the mindsets of those who believe imperialism is a justified act. In the poem, specifically stanzas two and six show significant parallels to what the characters Peachey Carnehan and Daniel Dravot do in The Man Who Would Be King. “Check the show of pride; By open speech and simple, An hundred times made plain, To seek another's profit, and work another's gain.” These lines very accurately describe how Dravot “checked the show of pride” of the Kafiristanis by outright killing them and acting ignorant of their gods, and then ordering them by means of “open speech and simple” to work farms and not fight anymore, lest they want to be shot. These are examples that don't exactly highlight the nature of how colonisers, such as Britain, dealt with the native populaces they encountered. Another parallel is seen as “The silent, sullen peoples, Shall weigh your gods and you.” This is an obvious correlation to the mutiny of the Kafiristanis and their realisation that Dravot was not a god, but only a man, and the resulting shootout and revolt. This ties in neatly with the message that Britain will inevitably face trouble from its conquered populations. Again, Kipling's various texts strongly point to the notion that he does not agree with Britain's practices and holds his nation in a negative