ENG 463 Rudyard Kipling
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![Rudyard Kipling.[1]](/index.php/Image:KiplingPortrait.jpg)
Introduction
Basic information about Rudyard Kipling on the web:
Famous quotations by Rudyard Kipling:
- Take everything you like seriously, except yourselves.
- Every woman knows all about everything.
- There's no jealousy in the grave.
- Funny how the new things are the old things.
- Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind.
- We have forty million reasons for failure, but not a single excuse.
Topics
Class, Tradition, Money
For Kipling, the issue of class and Money is a bit ambiguous because life in India was so different from life in England. According to The Kipling Society, Kiplings father "was an artist and teacher of architectural sculpture. His mother was one of the talented and beautiful Macdonald sisters, four of whom married remarkable men." Because of his father's profession, according to Mitchell, he would have been classified within the middle class. However, as Mitchell states in her chapter on "The Empire" many middle class men in India "occupied positions they were not able to achieve in England" and therfore probably had opportunities that were not available to the average middle class. When Kipling was only sixteen, his father arranged a job for him as an assistant editor of Civil and Military Gazette in Lahore, India (Birkenhead, 58), which opened doors for his future success.
![This is an old picture of Shimla, a Hill station where Kipling attended many balls and parties during the summer months. Today, it is very popular with tourists due to its beautiful Himilayan view and rich history.[2]](/index.php/Image:Simla.jpg)
Here is a poem about the hardships a soldier faced in India:
The New Knighthood
WHO gives him the Bath?
"I," said the wet,
Rank-Jungle-sweat,
"I'll give him the Bath!"
Who'll sing the psalms?
"We," said the Palms.
"Ere the hot wind becalms,
"We'll sing the psalms."
Who lays on the sword ?
"I," said the Sun,
Before he has done,
"I'll lay on the sword."
"Who fastens his belt?
"I," said Short-Rations,
" I know all the fashions
"Of tightening a belt!"
Who gives him his spur?
"I," said his Chief,
Exacting and brief,
"I'll give him the spur."
Who'll shake his hand?
"I," said the Fever,
"And I'm no deceiver,
"I'll shake his hand."
Who brings him the wine?
"I," said Quinine,
"It's a habit of mine.
"I'11 come with his wine."
Who'll put him to proof?
"I," said All Earth.
"Whatever he's worth,
"I'll put to the proof."
Who'll choose him for Knight?
"I," said his Mother,
"Before any other,
"My very own Knight."
And after this fashion, adventure to seek,
Sir Galahad made--as it might be last week! (Kipling,from The Kipling Society)
The comparison of military men to a new sort of knighthood proves his admiration for these men. Instead of having all of the honor that kights of old recieved like "laying the sword", or "shaking his hand", or singing his praises, the new Knight gets hot sun laying on his shoulders, fever shaking his hand, and palms in the hot wind singing his praises. Kipling reminds his readers the credit that is due to these honorable men serving their country in India.
The officers, however, he does not treat as kindly. A stanza from Kipling's poem "Army Headquarters" about a priveledged officer illuminates his bitterness towards the high ranking officials.
"They haled him from his regiment, which didn't much regret him;
They found for him an office-stool, and on that stool they set him
To play with maps and catalogues three idle hours a day,
And draw his plump retaining-fee - which means his double pay." (kipling, From The Kipling Society)
Though they were held in great esteem, rarely did they experienced what an average soldier faced in the service of the queen.
Working Life
According to a criticism by C.S. Lewis, “Kipling is first and foremost a poet of work.” By this, Lewis means that though work is that from which most people want to escape, Kipling choses to elaborate focus on and treat it with much respect in his works. Lewis explains how “imaginative literature in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries had quietly omitted, or at least thrust into the background, the sort of thing which, in fact, occupies most of the waking hours of most men”-work. (Lewis, 102)
In his descriptions of work, Kipling seems to glorify high standards of discipline.
“There is nothing Kipling describes with more relish than the process whereby the trade spirit licks some raw cub into shape.”(Lewis, 105) Some examples of this mentality are in Captians Courageous, The Centaurs, Pharoah and the Sergeant, and The ship that Found Herself.
In his poetry, a great example is his ballad about "The Law of the Jungle" which came out of the second Jungle Book. Many of his "laws" parallel laws of everyday life and might reflect his oppinions on work and discipline. Lines like "the wolf that shall keep it [the law of the jungle] may prosper, but the wolf that shall break it must die," is basically an admonition to follow the hidden rules of society one of which would be work. The motivation for following these societal rules is ssurvival according to his poem just as it is a matter survival to follow the laws of the jungle. Part of this survival is obedience to authorities, those in power. "Keep peace with the Lords of the jungle-the Tiger, the Panther, the Bear," a line reflecting his acceptance that one must comply with those more powerful than you.
Another interestng discussion of work is in Kipling's Ballad The Sons of Martha. He compares the plight of the working class(the sons of Martha)with those who will "inherit" their wealth (the sons of Mary). He sympathises with the sons of Martha because they have been punished for their mothers mistake( working instead of spending time with Jesus) while the sons of Mary have been blessed not to have to work. Lastly, the idealization of the purest form of work comes in his poem When Earths Picture is Painted which shows his belief that in heaven work is not for money or fame but for the joy of working. This may be his oppinion of what work should be on earth as well.
C.S. Lewis says the earliest generation of readers, and I think many still today, consider Kipling a mouthpiece of patriotism and imperialism with his calls for obedience to the "Lords of the Jungle," and his consistent writings about "licking" people into shape. However, he seems to have an affection for common work and the common working class. Maybe his respect of work comes from his own interest in his Journalism. In a few of his letters to family members and close friends, we see though he often complianed of being lonely at times, he generally loved dealing with all of the interesting information that a Journalist comes across.(Letters, 25) It is evident that he is still a member of the middle class because he looks on work as a positive, moral act,even though it seems somewhat unessesary since he lives with his parents and could probably survive without working.(Letters, 24-26)
This shows he relates to those average unaristocratic working folk more than those powerful English Lords, those "sons of Mary" who control the Empire.
Science and the Urban World
Discussing science in relation to Rudyard Kipling brings up important questions of how growth in science and technology affected British Colonies and more specifically what was Kipling’s experience with them.
When thinking of British India, one might naturally assume that the militia or other British civilians in India lacked the newest technologies existing in England. However, according to many of Kipling’s writings technologically England was expanding not only within its own borders but within its occupied territories as well. In fact, in Science in British India, R.K. Kochhar claims that science became “an important imperialist tool, with accidental benefits to science,” and played a huge role in military activity beginning in the mid 1700’. Therefore, in the Victorian era in which Kipling writes of the Anglo-Indian experiences, there is a strong presence of technology. Though railways and the telegram system were new technologies of England, they also extended to certain reaches of the Empire. In a letter to “The Reverend George Willis” on November 17, 1882, Kipling, as a Journalist for the Civil and Military Gazette in India writes how telegrams come to his house all hours of the day and night. (letters))
The consistency of the telegrams he received shows the reliability of the technology. If it wasn’t a trusted form of technology it would not be used so frequently. It is, also, safe to assume, since many telegrams traveled from within India, that the telegraph was some what widely available to Anglo-Indians as well.
In The Man Who Would Be King, written not long after, Kipling’s main character describes the power Journalists had against the Indian government. They received much information through telegrams. Because of this “native (apparently a derogatory name for Indian) states” had “a wholesome horror of English Newspapers exposing their methods of government. (44)” It seems that Editors could withhold or exploit as much information as they wanted and were sometimes paid “hush money” to keep certain information from reaching the general public.
The Indian railways as addressed in Kipling’s The Man Who Would Be King, seem well established in British India, though not all travel is done by rail. The demographics of the trains closely resembled the class lines of Society in India. First class were your high dollar Aristocrats, second class were your middle class folk, and Intermediate were basically all of those considered lowly in the British mind - Eurasians, Natives, and Loafers. In the beginning of the story the narrator reveals his regret at having to ride with the Intermediate class, who brought their own food and often died before the ride was over. (39-40) The segregation on railways was just another visible sign of imperialistic ideals and ethno-centrism.
Government and the Law
In order to understand the contexts for Kipling's political affiliations, it is important to understand the political context of Kiplings day. Kipling was born in India some years after the British Government had fully taken control of the country. In an article by George P. Landow, we find out that previously, India had been ruled by The East India Trading company. However, in 1857-1858 when the Indian Mutiny( also called the Sepoy Rebellion) took place, the Crown stepped in and implemented what's known as the Raj, the rule of a British Governor General or "Viceroy".
One particular Viceroy is of interest for the mere fact that he was in power in 1882, when Kipling came back to India. The WIkipedia entry on Lord Ripon, the second earl and first Marquess of Ripon,claims he was appointed "Viceroy of India" in 1880 and held office until 1884. During his time in India, Ripon introduced legislation (the "Ilbert Bill," named for his secretary Courtenay Ilbert) that would have granted native Indians more legal rights, including the right of Indian judges to judge Europeans in court. Though progressive in its intent, this legislation was gutted by the British Parliament who did not want to lose their legal superiority." Apparently kipling was among those who disagreed with Lord Ripon's liberal views. According to a letter from Kipling to Cromwell Price in 1884, the viceroys liberal treatment of the Indian populations thourgh the Ibert bill caused many anglo-Indian newspapers to "cut" him from their papers. He relates "you shall see a real live Viceroy talking by the yard and perambulating all Madras, with only two or three papers taking any note of his movements or speeches."(58) According to the wikipedia, he was a devotely religious catholic; however, Kipling saw him as "a circular and bewildered recluse of religious tendencies"(Something of Myself, p.50)
Kipling in general depicts his Imperialist, more conservative mentality towards Britian's governing of other countries, specifically India. David Cody in "Kipling's Imperialism", writes that inspite of the fact that "he was himself, all his life, something of an outsider...he made himself the interpreter, propagandist, and chief apologist of the Imperialist elite, and was therefore profoundly suspicious both of Democracy and of the members of the British Liberal intellegentsia who opposed Imperialism as a philosophy and who might coerce the masses into 'employing the vote to betray their heritage and their resonsibilities.'"
When he was a boy he spent many christmas' and summers with his Uncle Edward Burne-Jones and his Pre-Reaphealite friends. One would think he might have been influence by these giants of astheticism. However, going back to India and experiencing what was actually going on between the militia and the Indians anchored him more firmly in his imperialistic, conservative stance towards government.(Birkenhead 24) This was probably typical of most Anglo-indians at that time.
Just Notes Until My Thoughts Come Together
House, Food, and Clothes
In Pool's What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew, one of the guidelines for ettiquate was that “A gentleman never smokes in the presence of ladies.”(Pool, 55) Yet judging by the experience of Kipling's Stalky and Co. characters, smoking was also forbidden for boys in college even though there were no women anywhere near. Within two years these boys would be man enough to serve in England's military, yet they were not man enough to smoke.
Kipling(called Beetle) and the other boys had to create a hideout in the woods in order to smoke.
"And for the fifth summer in succession, Stalky, M‘Turk, and Beetle (this was before they reached the dignity of a study) had built like beavers a place of retreat and meditation, where they smoked." It is evident that smoking was forbidden because the boy held a pervading fear that Mr. Prout, one of the headmasters would find evidence of their smoking. One day suspecting Mr. prout had been in the lair, one of the boys "removed the pipes, swept up all loose match-ends, and departed to warn Beetle and M‘Turk."
More evidence that smoking was considered a vice for boys at this age is the attitude of the teachers toward this behavior. Mr. Prout, being in charge of Kipling and his mischeivious group of friends, is asking another teacher for advice whether he needs to obtain proof before he punishes them. The teachers response is:
"‘Proof? With the egregious Beetle! As if one wanted it!...Of course they were smoking and drinking somewhere. That type of boy always does. They think it manly.’"
Apparently the practice of smoking was a widely disputed topic of discussion. A Victorian article about smokingdemonsrates some of the disagreemant on the issue. The man writing the article is refuting a Miss M.A.W's essay, which states that smoke being an enemy of mans health was a universally acknowledged fact. The woman also added that "the unavoidable inhalation of it by workman in certain spheres of manufactory labour" produced "the most meloncholy results."
Willliam Bates, the man writing the article, rejects Miss M.A.W.'s notion of "melancholy results" and argues that these men have no more meloncholy the average working class man. Instead he agrues the opposite. Aparently, in a French manufacture at the time the men were found to "as a body, enjoy a remarkable exemption from prevailing epidemics."
It seems logical that at this time women were in opposition with men on the issue. What is less clear is the prohibition of smoking for teenage boys in a fully boys school taught by men. If there were no women around and the general male public was not against smoking, why was it an act eliciting punishment for Kipling (Beetle), and his friends.
Family and Social Rituals
Childhood in India
Similar to Mitchells description of children in Dialy Life in Victorian England, Rudyard had a nursemaid or nanny to look after him when he was born. She, however, was called ayah, and was a Roman Catholic from Goa.(Birkenhead,13) He spoke to her and the others who looked after him, in their Hindi language. Since he and the other children spent most of thier time with these Indian care takers, they had to be "reminded when they were sent to the dining room, correctly dressed, to speak English to their parents." (Birkenhead, 13)
Childhood in England
The time Rudyard and his sister "Trix" spent at the Lorne Lodge was nothing short of torture. They not only received religious and verbal abuse, but often Rudyard was the victim of daily physical abuse from both Mrs. Holloway (called "Aunty" or in stories "the Woman")and her son Harry(whom Rudyard thought of as 'the devil-boy').(Birkenhead, 15-19) All of this made rare visits to his Aunt Georgiana's seem like heaven. In fact, ringing the bell-pull at her front gate caused so much happiness that after he was grown and her house came under knew owners he obtained the bell-pull for his own house "in hope that other children might also feel happy when they rang it." (Birkenhead, 22)
His Aunt's Husband, Edward Burne-Jones,a Pre-Raphealite painter and friend of William Morris("Uncle Topsy")had an intimate and happy relationship with Rudyard. As Rudyard got older and moved back to India he kept in touch with his uncle through continued correspondance where according to Birkenhead they would exchange funny drawings, "manuscripts or curios", and "letters packed with schoolboy banter".(Birkenhead, 24) In the future Burne-Jones and his crew would become objects of Rudyards bitterness because of their Pre-Raphealite thinking. According to him they lacked knowledge about war or "anything that did not directly touch their own emotions and prettinesses." Maybe he considered them something like today's "ivory-tower" thinkers who have no real experience themselves.
Education
John Kipling and Teaching
Westward Ho!
Westward Ho! was kipling's name for a public military school which he attended previous to his return to India. United Services College was located at Westward Ho! which was near Bidford in North Devon. Most of what we know of Kipling at this school comes from a group of short short stories he wrote later on called Stalky and Co.
In Stalky and Co., the word "fag" comes up frequently and encites curiousity for the modern reader who does not understand its context. According to Mitchell, "an older boy would traditionally choose a new boy to run errands and do chores; meanwhile, the older boy (at least in theory) provided friendship and guidance for the lonely youngster. The younger boy was called the older boy's "Fag" - the word did not then have a sexual meaning." (Mitchell, 175) However, in Kipling's Stalky and co., the relationship that existed between the older boys and the "fags" was quite different. Instead of treating the fags with kindness and hospitality it seems that the older boys ridiculed and mock the younger students much like the modern day treatment of highschool Freshman. In the following paragragh, Stalky, Beetle and M'Turk argue over who will go into the Fags lockers and "borrow" a few bug-hunting tools for their hike.
"‘This way,’ said Stalky, turning to some fags’ lockers behind him. Fags are dabs at Natural History. ‘Here’s young Braybrooke’s botany-case.’ He flung out a tangle of decayed roots and adjusted the slide. ‘’Gives one no end of a professional air, I think. Here’s Clay Minor’s geological hammer. Beetle can carry that. Turkey, you’d better covet a butterfly-net from somewhere.’
‘I’m blowed if I do,’ said M‘Turk simply, with immense feeling. ‘Beetle, give me the hammer.’
‘All right. I’m not proud. Chuck us down that net on top of the lockers, Stalky.’
‘That’s all right. It’s a collapsible jamboree, too. Beastly luxurious dogs these fags are. Built like a fishin’-rod. ’Pon my sainted Sam, but we look the complete Bug-hunters! Now, listen to your Uncle Stalky! We’re goin’ along the cliffs after butterflies. Very few chaps come there. We’re goin’ to leg it, too. You’d better leave your book behind.’ "
Often the older boys like stalky and his gang saw fags as ostentatiously well-behaved and dispised them for it. M'Turk uses their behavior at certian sports matches to prove this point.
"‘If we attended the matches an’ yelled, “Well hit, sir,” an’ stood on one leg an’ grinned every time Heffy said, “So ho, my sons. Is it thus?” an’ said, “Yes, sir,” an’ “No, sir,’ ‘an’ “Oh, sir,” an’ “Please, sir,” like a lot o’ filthy fa-ags, Heffy ’ud think no end of us,” said M‘Turk, with a sneer."
Health and Medicine
One aspect of Health that Mitchell neglects to mention is mental health. The treatment of the mentally ill is ambiguous throughout her study; however, in reading Rudyard Kipling's short story the Phantom Rickshaw it is evident that Victorians had different perspectives on mental illness then we do today.
In Phantom Rickshaw, the main character Jack Pansay leads a woman to believe he is seriously interested in her but soon gets bores with her and ends the relationship. Eventually, she dies apparently from heartache and comes back to haunt him after she is dead. When Jack begins acting peculiar as a responce to these visions of her ghost, all of his relations turn their back on him. The doctor gives him a choice whether to tell everyone he is dealing with epileptic fits or D.T. Jack decides "They're confoundedly particular about morality in these parts. Give'em fits, Heatherlegh and my love."(Kipling, 30) He knew if the people heard that he suffered from a medical illness like epileptic fits they would have pity on him. On the other hand, plain insanity hinted to some sort of manifested immorallity.
The story continues with jack becoming increasingly aware of the ghost to the point where the the real world becomes the shadows.(Kipling, 34) At first, he held the pity of those around him. "There I found that every man knew my story as told by Heatherlegh, and was in clumsyt fashion, abnormally kind and attentive."(Kipling, 32) Yet after a while they gave that theory up for shear insanity.
The book ends with Jack's inner turmoil. He knows the torment he experiences is a product of the "Powers of Darkness," consequences of his own actions." His final justification of the whole incident is him getting what he deserves. "For as surely as ever a woman was killed by a man I killed Mrs. Wessington. And the last portion of my punishment is even now upon me."(Kipling,38) The reader is supposed to be comforted by the idea that the heartbreaker gets his just deservance, halucinations which ruin his life.
This mirrors perfectly the Victorian concept of mental health and morality. If you did not have a clinically proven illness like epilepsy, your mental problems were a result of your own immorality or sin. Just as Jack accepted his punishment people were to accept their the mental consequences of their actions.
Holidays, Sports, and Recreation
In a letter to his cousin, on September 27 1885, Kipling reveals some interesting clues as to what Englishmen in India did in their spare time.
"Trixies Waler has turned out no good at a lady's work and I have the Pater's instructions to sell him. Have discovered that he is no end of a jumper and plays polo as nearly perfectly as one I could wish. So does Dolly- not so well as Brownie but with less pulling. Now I am forbidden by the powers above: and I have two horse who love the game. Also, I have been alone for amonth with precious little to do. Can you wonder then that I have fallen from the paths of virtue? I did all I could to keep staight but I couldn't help it and I play surrepticiously twice a week on Brownie and my beloved...But this is a deep and Wopsome secret and I trust to your sisterly honour not to divulge it. The Mummy thinks polo is dangerous and I never play when she's down."
"The British were introduced to Polo in the mid 19th century when military officers and tea planters in India witnessed the game played by Manipuri tribesmen. Military officers imported the game to England in the 1860s. The establishment of Polo clubs throughout England and western Europe followed after the formal codification of rules.[3]" "Polo, though formalized and popularized by the British, is derived from watching natives of Manipur (India) play. In India, the game was not a "rich" game but was played even by commoners who owned a horse."
Kipling's participation in polo matches in India reveal fun- the new Victorian ideal. He has so much fun playing polo that he continues to play even even in the midst of his mother's disapproval. Previously in English middle class society, leaisure time was scarce and fun did not seem to be a goal as much as survival.
Religion and Reform
Kipling was at odds with the idea of God from a very early age. When he went to live with Mrs. Halloway, she would constantly use religion to bully him. According to "The Light that Failed," a story which parallels his experience there, "at such times as she [mrs.Jennett who represents Mrs.Halloway]herself was not personally displeased with Dick [kipling] she left him to understand that he had a heavy account to settle with his Creator, wherefore Dick learned to loathe his God as intensely as he loathed Mrs. Jennett." Knowing his early experiences with religion, one can guess why as an adult he would have some doubts.
In an intimate letter written to Caroline Taylor, Kipling unfolds his basic religious beliefs as if in response to her inquiry. It seems that he has made some sort of proposal to her and she is assessing his religious beliefs in order to make sure they are compatible. Though he admits to having doubts about the doctrine of Redemption and the Trinity and rejects the belief in eternal reward or punishment he admits to his strong belief on one controversial subject- Faith and Works. “I believe, after studying eight or nine creeds, in Justification by work rather than faith, and most assuredly do I believe in retribution both here and hereafter for wrong doing as I believe in a reward, here and hereafter for obedience to the law.” However, after stating his beliefs he submits himself to her and her understanding of scripture. He promises, “neither in word or deed will I do anything to sap or divert your faith and if it is so willed ‘thy God shall be my God’…Only, don’t you give me up sweatheart.”(letters, 379) It seems obvious he cares more about her affection than about any religion creed, and seeks only to please her, which shows his lack of fervor in his beliefs one way or the other.
This letter is interesting for two reasons. First, it speaks of "doubt" which could have sprung from his bad experiences with Mrs. Halloway or from the widespread Victorian religious doubt that became a trend after certain scientific theories came on the scene. Second, it addresses the ever controversial issue of whether a Christian must have Faith or Works in order to get to heaven.
Morality
In Kiplings Sea to Sea and other Sketches, he writes of his traveling experiences. One aspect of his travels in America that particularly interested him was the women. Specifically, "eight American maidens" caught his eye. He admitted he was hopelessly in love with each one and pointed out their admirable qualities. However his list of qualities such as "a maiden who believes in education and possesses it" or "has a tongue as keen as a sword" did not reflect most women in Victorian England. The woman who was "earning her own bread", who "daringly" discussed metaphysical problems, and who "move through the world manfully" was a novelty to Kipling(3-4). He was used to the naive dependency of the english women and admitted "the girls of America are above and beyond them all(4)." Kipling's oppinion of a woman's role might have differed from John Ruskins ideals in the Spheres of Men and Women, proving that there were men who were liked the idea of blurred gender lines. He does not seem to want a dependent woman knowing nothing of the world, regardless of how respectable she is, but one who would look him "between the brows with unabashed eyes" and share in lifes experiences-like slumming for example and metaphysical chats, and money making.
England and Empire
According to Cody, Kipling's wrote in a time when Britain was vastly expanding their territory to hold "nearly one fourth" of the earths land surface. In fact, Kipling himself was one of the major spokesmen or some would say propogandists of the expansion of the English Empire. Some famous poems of his on the subject are "The White-man's Burden" and "Recessional." In these two poems he encourages England and "the white man" to understand the great "responsibility" they have to civilize other inferior nations like India and Africa. However, his goal is not for power. In fact, his whole life seems to despise power and wealth. Instead, he prays in Recessional that God would still be with them if they "drunk with sight of power... loose wild tongues that have not thee in awe...or lesser breads without the law." (Mitchell, 290) He seems to be saying that some leaders for the sake of popularity (power) want to give the "lesser breads with no law" some freedom. This goes back to his "lick'm into shape" mentality. He seems to sincerely feel that this is the best way to help the Indian people. If reading "The White Man's Burden" literally it reinforces this theme.
"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."
These nations half devil and half child needed strict parenting.
However, when we view this poem ironically, so that it makes fun of the white man's need to colonize the other nations, it reflects a short story Shooting an Elephant, by George Orwell,which provides an opposing view on the Empire from someone who was born and served in Indian Colonies just like Kipling. It is interesting to compare Orwell's plot in shooting an elephant to Kipling's "White Mans's Burden". If you see Kipling's poem through the eyes of sarcasm, they have very similar morals. However, if you take Kipling's lines literally, he and Orwell stand on two different sides of the political spectrum. Orwell's main character represents his views that once you become an authority over another country not only do you end up killing it, physically and culturally, you make it dependent on you for this authority which you have excersized and you are therefore taken captive yourself. he seems to think this "licking" others into shape not only unnecessary but harmful to the one who administers the licking.
If you consider Kipling an anti-imperialist figure, you have to somehow explain away all of his other literary works as well as some of his personal letters and memoirs of travel which suggest that he does actually believe in the words that he writes about a white man's burden.
References
Birkenhead. Rudyard Kipling. New York: Random House, Inc., 1978.
Cody, David."Kiplings Imperialism,"The Victorian Web 2/22/07
<http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/kipling/rkimperialism.html>
Kipling, Rudyard. The Phantom Rickshaw and Other Stories. "The Phantom Richshaw." New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1899.
Kipling, Rudyard. The Letters of Rudyard Kipling. Ed. Thomas Pinney. Vol. 1. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1990.
"kiplings Imperialism." The Victorian Web 2/22/07
<http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/kipling/rkimperialism.html>
"George Robinson, 1st Marquess of Ripon." Wikipedia. The Free Encyclopedia 2/22/07
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Ripon>
Kochhar, R.K. "Science in British India.I.Colonial Tool." Current Science. Vol.63, No.11, 10 December 1992; 689-694.
Landow, George P. "The 1857 Indian Mutiny (also known as the Sepoy Rebellion, the Great Mutiny, and the Revolt of 1857)." The Victorian Web. 2/22/07
<http://www.victorianweb.org/history/empire/1857.html>
Lewis, C.S. "Kipling's World." Kipling and the Critics. Ed. Elliot L. Gilbert. New York: New York University Press, 1965.99-117.
"Rudyard Kipling." The Kipling Society. 1/30/07
<http://www.kipling.org.uk/kip_fra.htm>
Mitchell, Sally. Daily Life in Victorian England. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press. London, 1996.
"Shooting an Elephant" Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 3/21/07
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_an_Elephant>.
Image Sources
- ↑ Poet Laureate- The laureateship. http:// www.antiquemapsandprints.com/poets.htm
- ↑ Rudyard Kipling. http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruyard_Kipling.