What Is Kipling's View Of Imperialism

English journalist, Joseph Rudyard Kipling used his writing to express his complicated views on the expansion of countries and Empires. The Man Who Would Be King, his most famous work, tells the story of two British adventurers and their desire to become kings of a remote part of Afghanistan. The story is told through the eyes of an unnamed narrator and direct quotes from one of the adventurers, Peachy Carnehan. Though Kipling’s other ambiguous works would suggest he may have had a bitter view of imperialism and the British Empire, I think The Man Who Would Be King and other historical pieces by Kipling would suggest a more complex view. Historical connections in the novella and the elements of his novella indicate this.

In the

beginning of the novella, the narrator, who remains unnamed, has his first encounter with Peachy Carnehan and Daniel Dravot as he convinces them to halt their plans of blackmail. They part but, are reunited several months later where Carnehan and Dravot unveil their plan to become kings and travel to a place where no Englishman dared to travel before; Kafiristan. The following day, the trio meet again. This time, Carnehan and Dravot are in disguise preparing to join a caravan into Kafiristan. The trio part ways for what is assumed to be the final time. “’It’s the last time we’ll shake hands with an Englishman these many days,’” Dravot tells. The narrator seems to be feeling a mix of emotions as time goes by. He describes his work in the office as repetitive and tedious. Yet, he is relieved he no longer has to hear of the nonsense Carnehan and Dravot had been planning. Two years after, Carnehan finds his way into the narrator’s office. By description, he is run down and broken. The narrator offers Carnehan a drink and the chance to explain where he and Dravot had been.

Through the lesson and by listening to explanations, we are often lead to believe that Kipling used his writing to convey a poor message and highlight the negative behavior of the British Empire. In fact, the reader experiences Dravot and Carnehan as two very uneducated conmen and continually sees the negative aspects of their actions. It is suggested that the narrator represents the unwilling and hesitant nature of those already living under the empire, while Dravot symbolizes the cruel opportunistic behavior exhibited by the colonizers. These ideas are reinforced through the middle and end of the novella where Carnehan has a chance to explain the mannerisms and actions taken in the new kingdom. He tells of how Dravot threatened the tribal Chief and beat on others below him to show strength and impress his people. Dravot develops a superior sense of himself and Carnehan. “I am the son of Alexander by Queen Semiramis, and you’re my younger brother and a god too!” he proclaims.

In contrast to the elements in the novella, Rudyard Kipling was historically identified as a staunch imperialist.

Literary critics often find it worth noting that his views on imperialism and Jingoism were so controversial at the time that his works are normally paraded as satirical or housing an underlying theme. His views regarding imperialism and the message behind another of his works that drew parallels from The Man Who Would Be King were validated in a letter written to an American soldier. “For you see, you are on the threshold of your work which, thank God, is the white man’s work, the business of introducing a sane and orderly administration into the dark places of the earth that lie to your hand…” he wrote. He continues to explain that much like in The Man Who Would Be King, you will return broken, unenthusiastic, yet the goal you set out to complete will have been fulfilled. However, it lays in the hands of the natives to continue your plans which is where the weakness of imperialism and expansion lay. This can be drawn back to The Man Who Would Be King, where Dravot entrusts the message of his Empire only in the hands of Peachy because he is white. The same idea can be seen in final stanza of The White Man’s Burden and even in the beginning of the Jungle

Book.

A complicated yet definitive view on imperialism is what was had by Rudyard Kipling. Although, most textbooks and analyses show that his views must be a parody of themselves. Throughout history, Kipling saw the growth of the British Empire as a noble cause yet doomed to fail if the reigns of foreign authority had been loosened on the indigenous people. This idea had been reflected by The Man Who Would Be King only towards the end. His negative interpretation of Dravot and Carnehan were not meant to be a dig at the British Empire itself, rather the way imperialism has been carried out by them. His letters and repeating theme in everything from articles to children’s books, is where this idea is confirmed.