The White Man's Burden

In Rudyard Kipling’s poem “The White Man’s Burden” was issued shortly after the Spanish-American War in 1899. It happens to be one of Kipling’s most well-known works and was published in The New York Sun as well as McClure's Magazine. The poem was set under a theme of imperialism along with racial ideology. Kipling advises the “white men” of the United States to take up the “burden” by civilizing with the individuals from colonized areas (and/or simply non-white people). Ironically, this the same man from a country that was known for its infamous imperialism in India. It is clearly evident that the author wanted the message to be read by Theodore Roosevelt (who was the U.S’ current president at the time) and certain Americans from the 1800’s. This response will evaluate how an upper-class American man and a
lower-class Indian man during the 1800’s has read and interpreted the text differently. By placing the text in its context, it is important to reveal the past within the 1800’s.
During the time, the United States was under a policy of isolation. The isolationist country wouldn’t necessarily interfere with other country’s problems or business. With this policy, it advised other countries to stay out of America’s concern as well. However, in the 1890’s, the U.S was sent off to battle against Spain. The reason being that the United States supposedly wanted to assist Cuba in obtaining their independence from Spain. Soon enough, the aftermath of the Spanish-American war led to the Treaty of Paris which gave the U.S complete control of Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines but temporarily acquired Cuba. The once isolated country completely transitioned into being an imperialist country with a few words of encouragement from Kipling. Rudyard wrote 'The White Man's Burden' as a motivation and warning to America about how having imperial powers is a noble yet an enduring task. As he noted with emphasis regarding the duty; “Go bind your sons to exile…To serve your captives' need; To wait in heavy harness…” (Kipling, Rudyard) depict its
superiority.
The author begins the poem by pressuring only white men to do some sort of labor “Take up the White Man's burden--…Send forth the best ye breed--…Go bind your sons to exile…. To serve your captives' need” (Kipling, Rudyard). The labor consists of
In the poem, the writer includes racial undertones that sparked controversy. Kipling speaks lowly of the colonial people, “On fluttered folk and wild--Your new-caught, sullen peoples…Half-devil and half-child” (Kipling, Rudyard). He describes them as uncivilized human beings—in fact, he doesn’t even consider them as fully human. The author labels the imperialized people as a demon with childish behavior. He also calls them lazy “Watch sloth and heathen Folly…Bring all your hopes to nought.” (Kipling, Rudyard). Basically, Kipling views these imperialized people as immature, indolent, and not likely human. Only he would know such a thing about imperialism since he’s familiar with it. Within the same time period, Britain was colonizing India—the British empire left a lasting negative impact on India. Indians were poverty-stricken as well as suffered from many famines and starvation. Under the British rule, most of the Indians were considered in the lower-class because of how badly they were struggling with low-paying jobs. However, Kipling disregards the whole Britain/India fiasco and believes that a European influence would help the people of India. Even though that wasn’t the case, the Indians especially the lower-class would be completely offended. Britain’s colonialism on India didn’t result in anything positive. It seems as if the author is blindsided to the pain and sufferings the British had placed on the people of India but still thinks they should be happy and accept the fact that the whites are willing to “help” them. Consequently, Kipling’s poem has been given plenty of attention and backlash. The author intended to publish the poem during the late 1800’s since it was after the time of the Spanish-American War. The purpose of his work was meant to notify Americans, specifically Theodore Roosevelt and the privileged while males, to undertake the idea of imperialism in the country. He admits that they will suffer with the difficulties of dealing with non-white individuals but in the end will be worth it. Kipling already had dealt with a similar experience; when Britain colonized India. Indians, especially from a lower-class, would be insulted by the poem’s choice of words because of the damage Britain had left for them. Lastly, the author insults the imperialized people by identifying them as a “burden” for the white men.