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 …show more content…
One metaphor Kipling uses compares white men to horses that have to carry a heavy load when he writes, “To wait in heavy harness” (5). The words “heavy harness” reveal Kipling’s belief that colonizing the countries and civilizing them is a difficult job. The metaphor itself reveals Kipling’s belief that civilizing these countries is a necessary venture, relating to the theme of duty. This can be concluded from the metaphor because a horse has to go forward to advance just like civilizing the colonies is necessary to advance. These ventures would have significant implications for all parties involved. For the colonizers, it required significant time abroad and for those being colonized it would mean the replacement of their culture. Another way Kipling proves the theme of duty is through repetition. Kipling repeats the phrase “Take up the White Man's burden” (1, 9, 17, 25, 33, 41, 49). In the phrase, “burden” stands for the hard work that white men have to do to civilize the world. The repetition of this command proves the theme of duty because its shows Kipling believes the civilizing of developing countries is an urgent matter. Overall, Kipling’s use of metaphors and symbolism contribute to a tone of
In this poem, R. Kipling expresses his dislike for minorities and how they are only holding America back. This is shown when he states “Half-devil, half-child.” This poem illustrates that people in these colonized nations “needed civilization” which I disagree with because these people should be treated as any other American and should be allowed to
The White man’s Burden edifies readers who are not familiar to Kipling’s imperialistic ideology. The poem was written and sent to Theodore Roosevelt in 1898 when America
Rudyard Kipling was an English writer well known for a variety of works like 'Just So Stories’, 'The Jungle Book,’ and ‘The White Man Burden.’ He got the 1907 Nobel Prize in Literature. Rudyard Kipling's, "The White Mans Burden" is an unequivocal articulation of social Darwinism. Amid the Industrial Revolution Americans and Europeans Were starting to Expand into Africa. They
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
Sending the best men to war, holding back your pride, taking profit of learning from the mistakes made by others, getting rid of famine and diseases, not stopping for any less, and figuring out your manhood, and by not being childish anymore should be kept in mind in order to Imperialize Europe. This poem was Kipling’s response for the speed of imperialization in
Rudyard Kipling’s poem ‘The White Man’s Burden’ was written in a supportive response to the recent victory of America against the Philippines in the Spanish-American war and America’s subsequent colonisation of it. The main idea of the poem is that it is the white man’s duty to work towards civilizing the ‘Half-devil
“The White Man’s Burden” by Rudyard Kipling is a poem that was created during the time of the Spanish-American War. When imperialism, a process of extending one state’s control over another, was becoming more powerful. Kipling, witnessing the impact that it had on societies wanted to become apart of the change. Therefore, the creation of “The White Man’s Burden” encourage men, specifically caucasian men to share the “burden” and be apart of this new form of colonization. By moving to new lands such as india and teaching the uncivilized natives to become civilized, “send forth the best ye breed-go, bind your sons to exile, to serve your captives’ need… your new-caught sullen peoples, half devil and half child. ” However, Kipling goes on
In one of his most famous poems, Rudyard Kipling said, "Take up the white man's burden!" (146). He was only one of many who believed in the virtues of imperialism in the late nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries. During that period, imperialism was on the rise, and Africa was being swallowed up by competing European nations. The imperialists had many arguments supporting imperialism. They said it was beneficial and, in some cases, essential. Their arguments did not satisfy everyone, but that did not bother them. The justifications ranged from economics to social services, while touching on everything else in between (Hayes 222-3).
Rudyard Kipling’s poem “The White Man’s Burden” expresses the notion that it is a nation’s responsibility to help the indigenous individuals of third world countries and bring them into the modern world. Through the advocacy of Imperialism, it allowed for nations to gain control of new territories and also achieve political, economic, ecological, and cultural gains from various conquests. During the 19th century European countries had become the major players advocating imperialism due to the wealth gained form the Industrial Revolution. This had lead for the desire to expand their territories into Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The growing idea of Imperialism in the 19th and 20th century caused both Japan and the United States to advocate
Rudyard Kipling’s 1899 poem “The White Man’s Burden” epitomizes the European man’s view on imperialism, Euro-centrism and social Darwinism. Four centuries before 1899, such ideas were briefly hinted in the letter from Christopher Columbus to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, however by 1899 these attitudes strengthened and developed fully into their complete meaning. The U.S and Europe’s imperialism in the nineteenth century were the most influential ever in the history of human civilization. The immense motive for imperialism came from social factors including religion and Social Darwinism.
The tone of the poem is strangely encouraging, using a rhyme scheme that causes the work to be comparable to a march, and the intentions of the artist are clear. Kiplings meanings matter very much to the poem, he means for the people of the United States to take control of the “... new-caught, sullen peoples,/ Half devil and half child”(7-8). The decree of assuming power over a “new-caught” group of people seems outrageous now, but at the time that this was written, this was a common
Rudyard Kipling’s “The White Man’s Burden” and Reverend H.T. Johnson’s “The Black Man’s Burden” take very different stances on whites’ treatment of blacks, but both poems have/include/take on a particularly candid attitude. Kipling believes it is the duty of white men to “Fill full the mouth of Famine,/ And bid the sickness cease;”, whereas Johnson criticizes the whites: “Hail ye your fearless armies,/ Which menace feeble folks.” Kipling’s standpoint is that of pity for the blacks and the belief the white men must come civilize them and solve their problems such a famine and sickness. On the other hand, Johnson’s view is that the white people are praising their efforts to help the blacks, while in reality they are oppressing the them. Obviously
Kipling wrote “Take up the White Man’s burden- Send forth the best ye breed- Go bind your sons to exile To serve your captives’ need; To wait in heavy harness, On fluttered folk and wild- Your new-caught, sullen peoples, Half-devil and half-child… Take up on the White Man’s burden- The savage wars of peace- Fill full the mouth of Famine and bid the sickness cease; And when your goal is nearest The end for others sought, watch sloth and heathen Folly Bring all your hopes to nought…” In this he is saying that the White man suffer from being obligated to give the slaves work. He believes that blacks are uncivilized savages. This is the way Europe felt at the time. So sis Europe start imperialism in Africa because they felt morally obligated to use Africa and their people for their own self benefit, not believe that it would cause any harm to
The author of the poem, The White Man’s Burden, was Rudyard Kipling who was born in 1865 in Bombay. As a young person, he lived in India, but at the age of six he was taken to England and left for five years at a foster home at Southsea so that he could receive a formal British education. He went to school in England and continued his education before returning to his home place of Bombay in 1882, where he worked as a journalist for seven years. Kipling was an accomplished journalist, writer, poet and author. Kipling’s work was influenced by the Imperialistic era in which he lived. During this era of Imperialism, European powers practiced a foreign policy of expanding its influence around the world; both peacefully and by force .Kipling witnessed the loss of lives on both sides, the British and the inhabitants of India, but still believed that the British had a right to control India and also a responsibility to civilize the Indians. This belief was reflected in his poem, The White Man’s Burden, which was originally published in February of 1899, under the title An Address to the United States.
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.