“White Man’s Burden” Essay

In contrasting or comparing literary works it is crucial that the reader analyze the author's voice to gain a better understanding of the theme they are implying. In the contrast between the poems “I, too, sing America” by Langston Hughes, and “I hear America singing” by Walt Whitman it is clear that the two poets have very different point of views regarding American patriotism. Walt Whitman’s views on America’s joy and peace in his poems are very straightforward, while Langston Hughes poem--a response to Whitman’s--wants the reader to acknowledge what America should be like for everyone, including people of color such as himself. The authors of these poems prove to have conflicting judgements on matters in America including a theme of

The economic, political, and social forces that were most responsible for the new imperialism of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries were the desire for resources, capitalism, a new consumer market, cheap labor, then nationalism from the Romantics, distractions that prevents revolts, and lastly Rudyard Kipling's "White Man Burden", which epitomizes the opinión held by most of Europe. European imperialism grew from 1870-1920 because of economic, political, and social forces.

After the Spanish-American War came to an end, many people in the U.S. believed it was our country’s duty to help “civilize and educate less fortunate countries” (PW political cartoon 2, 10). In February of 1899, Rudyard Kipling wrote a poem entitled “The White Man’s Burden: The United States and The Philippine Islands. “In this poem, Kipling urged the U.S. to take up the “burden” of empire, as had Britain and other European nations (History Matters). Many other men thought of it from a business standpoint, believing it would not be in our country’s best interest to leave the Philippines to their own devices, or worse yet to allow some other country to control them. In their opinion, annexing the Philippines would be helpful in maintaining the country’s number one status.

In history, colonization was a truly popular tradition practiced by great and powerful empires in order to extract and retrieve all materials necessary to support their homeland. However, in order to achieve such sense of commerce and well-being, those colonists who had the power, had to colonize weaker and far less advanced societies. Great powers such as Britain and France would then travel to these societies and implement their rule in order to gain prosperity. Some, those who benefited from colonization, felt that the practice of colonization was an obligation to better the “uncivilized,” societies and help them advance, but the emotional and physical hurt that came from colonizing outweighed the positive aspects. The intention was good, but the manner in which colonization was carried out was poor. This topic is immensely controversial that pieces such as Kipling’s poem, “A White Man’s Burden,” and Achebe’s “Things Fall Apart,” have been written in order to support or go against colonization. But despite much debate, colonization has been a tradition that has caused those regions being colonized much struggle and negativity.

The central argument expressed by Marcus is that white privilege is not a result of a political agenda as was previously stated by Tim Wise, but rather a psychological one. He goes on to say that because the issue is not based on policy, the government cannot legislate it. He explained that, “almost all scientific evidence produced to describe the nature of any individual based on race is bunk” also adding that, “only when everyone views snap judgments about individuals based on race as the absurd equivalent of such judgments based on hair or eye color, will the great moral victory over bigotry be won” (Marcus). I agree with the author that white privilege is spread by individuals and not based on policy. However, I disagree that white privilege

Phillis Wheatley wrote, To the Right Honorable William, Earl of Dartmouth, to William Legge, a British politician who sided with the American’s wishes to repeal the Stamp Act, and refused to personally wage war against them. This poem is often viewed as a poem dedicated to congratulating and praising Legge for his amiable actions towards the American people. However, this idea is not entirely true. Wheatley’s poem isn’t solely a poem of praise but a desperate woman’s plea for help. In the poem Wheatley employs tactics of sympathy, empath, and bribery to convince Legge to use his influence to aid the African American race. It is important that we realize this poem is a cry for help because not only do we overlook Wheatley’s intelligence, but we also ignore he utter frustration and helplessness that the African American’s felt during the conclusion of the American Revolution.

While in India Kipling was exposed to British imperialism in India. This helped him in many novels he wrote along with poems such as “The Declaration of London” and “A Day’s Work” ("Kipling, Rudyard" Nobel Prize Winners). Kipling moved back to Britain and there he married his wife, Carrie, who was the younger sister of a publisher he worked with. Soon after Kipling married Carrie, he and his wife moved to Vermont in the United States ("Kipling, Rudyard" World Authors). Living in the United States inspired Kipling to write many works staring Anglo-Americans. One of these works, Captains Courageous, tells of the vast lifestyle of a European boy heading for New York, although no one but the captain’s son believes him. This work helps to show Kipling’s views on Americans. The rich European is a liar in the eyes of the Americans. It also reflects on Americas view on foreigners during the time period. Many Americans rarely welcomed immigrants, and typically treated immigrants with animosity. Eventually, Kipling moved back to Britain, where he published most of his poetry. Most of Kipling’s poetry relates to British imperialism. Kipling was accused of being an imperialist and jingoist ("Kipling, Rudyard" Hutchinson Encyclopedia). He shows some of his imperialistic ways in his poem “The White Man’s Burden” where he pleads for the United States to take up responsibility in the

“Take up the White Man's burden / Send forth the best ye breed / Go bind your sons to exile / To serve your captives' need,” (1-4) starts the poem written by Rudyard Kipling who is aiming to convince the United States to undertake imperialism under the guise of assisting and helping the savage indigenous people of Africa and East Asia. The nineteenth and early twenty centuries was the time of new imperialism where Europeans took up the white man’s burden, the idea that it was the European’s duty to civilize the “savages.” Europeans broadened their colonies, motivated by economic reasons to grow markets and to prove strength following the rise of social darwinism. European expansion left lasting impacts on, most recognizably, Africa.

Europeans contained the belief that their customs and religious values were the sole method in living. Missionaries from throughout Europe desired to journey to foreign lands in order to teach the civilized and Christian ways of living to the natives. Often missionaries were in competition for converts, and thus supplied imperialism with other drives (Patterson, par. 10). The Social Darwinist ideas were prevalent in this time. The Europeans believed in the survival of the fittest, and it was generally accepted that the Anglo-Saxons were the superior race. In the 1890’s Rudyard Kipling published “Whiteman’s Burden”. This poem defines the white man as responsible for civilizing the “others”. It is supportive of the imperialism of other countries

Rudyard Kipling’s attitude towards the British Empire was significantly negative. The novella essentially expressed Kipling’s feelings towards British Imperialism and his overall frustration with the British Empire. However, there are several positive qualities of the Empire pointed out by Kipling several times throughout his novella. Despite his mixed feelings, he is ultimately dissatisfied with the British Empire, claiming that it is “the White Man’s Burden”. Kipling was a steadfast imperialist, living in a time of British domination and oppression. He shared similar outlooks with the natives, that the majority of them were oppressed by the government and the wealthy. The upper class was greedy and wanted working men to do all of the work for them so that they could reap the profits. Kipling conveys his attitude towards British Imperialism through parallelism and figurative language.

Kipling refers to imperialism as a burden that the white nations must perform, as if the Philippines were an annoyance and the white nations were performing a good deed by helping the Philippines out (1899). Twain instead described this act of assisting foreign nations as “extending the Blessings of Civilization” (1901). Each authors referred to imperialism in different ways, and the word choice allowed the authors to convey their message. Kipling used the word “burden” in order to convince Theodore Roosevelt, who was governor of New York at the time, that they were merely dealing with an issue and that it was their duty to do so. This gave imperialism a sense of valor, as if it was justified and the right thing to do.

Even as late as a 100 years ago, racial tensions were high. Those tensions had such a far-reaching impact that they even affected poetry. This is epitomized by Rudyard Kipling and his works. Kipling was born in India and lived there for the first six years of his life. His parents then sent him to England, so he could get a quality education. Kipling became a journalist and got a job back in India. After working for some time, he traveled the world, published many works, and become one of the most prominent writers of his time. He then got married and settled down in Rottingdean. There, he turned his attention to colonial affairs due to the outbreak of the Boer and Spanish-American War. Rudyard Kipling’s pro-imperialist environment impacted

Consequently, Kipling’s poem has been given plenty of attention and backlash. The purpose of his work was meant to notify Americans, specifically Theodore Roosevelt and the privileged while males, to undertake the idea of imperialism for the country. He admits that they will suffer with difficulties and burdens by dealing with non-white, imperialized people but in the end will be worth it.

One added allocation of anti-imperialists that would appear from the woodwork chip an added afflicted category: “the guys of color” The ascendancy of non-white countries with the aid of an awfully white country abashed the atramentous intellectuals as for poor and casual blacks accept been not acceptable to be accomplished of the affaire of Yankee across advantage who had affiliated a cultural bequest from the Civilian battle and the absolute cessation to the anti-slavery activity three continued time before. The well-known Rudyard Kipling composition “The White Man’s Burden.,” acclimated to be appear in McClure’s annual in the advance of February of 1899 and served as a name to the affiliated states to accompany Europe in her administrative

Joseph Rudyard Kipling was British author of some renown, he was born December 30th, 1865 in Mumbai India to a lovely, wholesome “Anglo-Indian” family. At age five, he, and his sister were sent to the U.K. to live with a former navy captain (Pryse Holloway) and his wife (Sarah Holloway) while receiving a proper British education. During the six years he and his sister boarded with the British couple, they were neglected, and abused. One of the few escapes Kippling had was his love of stories and his ability to weave them. { "I have known a certain amount of bullying, but this was calculated