The Two Faces of Kim: An Investigation into Rudyard Kipling's Kim

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The Two Faces of Kim: An Investigation into Rudyard Kipling's Kim

"I would go without shirts or shoes,

Friends, tobacco or bread

Sooner than for an instant lose

Either side of my head."

The Two-Sided Man (Kipling 179)

To think of "the two-sided man" is to think of the self-searching protagonist of Rudyard Kipling's Kim. "Burned black" and yet white, Irish and yet 'Little Friend of All the World', British and yet native, ruler and yet servant, Kipling's multi-faceted Kim must find his place in the social order of a society that he resides in but is not truly connected to (51). Moreover, what he must also do is recognize that his two identities do not have to come together to form one; it may be more advantageous to keep the two separate from one another. Thus, his quest to find the "Red Bull on a green field" accomplishes two-fold: it allows Kim to find his identity and Kipling to convey his feelings on imperialist presence in India (49). It may be argued that Kipling chooses England over India, elevating the righteousness and appropriateness of British rule over the lowly and needy Indian nation. To say this, however, would be incorrect, for Kim also celebrates the beauty and exoticness of India, its native languages and culture, showing that as much as British customs are praised so too is the Indian way of life. Thus, the identity that Kim forges for himself does not value British over Indian ideologies or blend the two into one hybrid mixture. What he does do, instead, is hold each as a separate, equally important entity. To use the term 'postcolonial' in Kim would therefore suggest the need to develop British and Indian identities in a way that the distinct characteristics of each group are retained and yet equally r...

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...oughout the contexts of the play, Kim has developed each persona independently, be it through schooling or his interactions with other characters, and done so successfully. The term 'postcolonial' then is indeed a suggestion of the need to maintain both identities in the face of a culturally fragmented society, where one identity is no more important than the other. If Kim were to be an actor in a play, he could masterfully take the stage of the British gentleman one night, and in the next performance, an Indian untouchable. It is this very ability to become English and then in another moment Indian that makes him such a successful spy. In the end, whatever the disguise, Kim's adventure along the Grand Trunk Road of Life and his chase of the 'Great Game,' as spying is called, does go on. Hopefully by doing so, Kim can one day answer his question - who really is Kim?

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