As a history major, I love this poem. ‘The White Man’s
Burden’ is a seriously important piece of historical literature because it
captures the devastation that the white men wreaked on the lands and peoples
they were invading, as well as the white man’s feelings about it. We can see
the troubles that white men were concerned with. We can see the motivations (or
at least, the justification of some of the motivations) of the men who were to deal
directly with the people who were suddenly folded in the British empire.
As an English major, Rudyard Kipling is a bit of a
mysterious guy. I’ve been in classes in which the entire class time was devoted
to an argument of whether or not Kipling really meant what he said, or if he
was a mind-ninja working within the constraints and expectations of society. I
tend to fall on the side of the latter. That is not to say that Kipling was a
nice guy, working for justice in a society full of racist elitists. But observing
his writing style, I think Kipling was fully aware of the white man’s ability
to wreak havoc and devastation.
Here’s why; in ‘We and They’ (see below), Kipling
turns around at the end and recognizes the thoughts of the ‘heathens’ when
considering the white men. After reading ‘We and They,’ ‘The White Man’s Burden’
looks a little different. Small statements (‘captives'; ‘The silent, sullen peoples/Shall weigh your gods’ and
you’) begin to read a bit differently. I’m certainly not saying that Kipling
thought that British expansion, or even the treatment of indigenous people was
wrong, but it seems to me that he definitely had some idea of how the white men
would be perceived, and how there was suffering, not just on the side of the
British people, but on the side of those they conquered as well. .
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We and They
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FATHER, Mother, and Me
Sister and Auntie say All the people like us are We, And every one else is They. And They live over the sea, While We live over the way, But - would you believe it? - They look upon We As only a sort of They !
We eat pork and beef
With cow-horn-handled knives. They who gobble Their rice off a leaf, Are horrified out of Their lives; And They who live up a tree, And feast on grubs and clay, (Isn't it scandalous?) look upon We As a simply disgusting They!
We shoot birds with a gun.
They stick lions with spears. Their full-dress is un-. We dress up to Our ears. They like Their friends for tea. We like Our friends to stay; And, after all that, They look upon We As an utterly ignorant They!
We eat kitcheny food.
We have doors that latch. They drink milk or blood, Under an open thatch. We have Doctors to fee. They have Wizards to pay. And (impudent heathen!) They look upon We As a quite impossible They!
All good people agree,
And all good people say, All nice people, like Us, are We And every one else is They: But if you cross over the sea, Instead of over the way, You may end by (think of it!) looking on We As only a sort of They ! |
I love this poem! Thank you for posting it! I agree with you about Kipling being aware of the effects that expansion had on the 'other.' Although it may not be as evident within "The White Man's Burden" after reading the poem a few times, I can see more similarities between these two works. The repetitive line "Take up the White Man's Burden-" is a reminder of the people responsible for the inequality described throughout the poem. Kipling's ability to relate to the 'other' is really evident within "We and They." My favorite lines from the poem "(Isn't it scandalous?) look upon We/As a simply disgusting They!" (15-16) show how perception can be switched. What is normal in one culture is seen as savage to another. This poem really plays with the importance of, at least attempting, to view the world from a different lens.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Kipling’s voice in this poem is ambiguous, and it was difficult to tell whether he was entirely for or against British expansion. When I read this poem I tried to think about why he capitalized “White Man”. I thought that with its repetition and capitalization, I thought that maybe Kipling was trying to point out how the British saw themselves as above the people indigenous of the places they imperialized. This would support the idea that “more civilized” places had a moral obligation to imperialize the places they saw as “less civilized” and to spread their ideologies, which they saw as superior. I also think that with the capitalization, he was trying to show how “white men” glorify themselves for imperializing other countries. I feel like they saw it kind of as charity. I think this is especially true because of the Victorian Era’s obsession with morality, so naturally the British would use this as an excuse to expand their empire. To say whether Kipling actually believes this or whether he is trying to criticize this, I’m still not sure, but I’m interested to hear what people have to say in class tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteI agree with post on the view of this poem. I believe that this poem also echoes the idea of philanthropy - something we briefly touched on in class that was starting to become prominent in the minds of the upper class Victorian population. White Man's Burden gives us a look of the elitists and how they felt about the "other" - it was either good to "fill full the mouth of Famine", or do the world a favor and get rid of the "others" of the world. I do like the other poem that you posted. In a way it turns the tables and gives us a new perspective on the idea of the "other." The comparison of what the people in England thought was civilized to what others in, say, Africa thought was the norm reinforces the idea that "they look upon We as only a sort of They."
ReplyDeleteGeena,
ReplyDeleteI really liked your thoughts on The White Man’s Burden. I have never read the poem before so the first time I read it I did not think that Kipling was the least bit understanding to the groups of people that the British imperialists took over. However after reading the poem you posted I read the White Man’s Burden again and was able to take away a different meaning. The end of We and They was almost a surprise itself because the whole poem was making the distinction between the we, who were the British, and the they, who were the people that the British conquered or thought they were better than. However in the end Kipling writes “You may end by (think of it!) looking on We / As only a sort of They !” showing that the British can just be considered another they if other people are looking at them. The White Man’s Burden seemed to have a slightly lighter tone after reading We and They, and I can see how you believe Kipling is not trying to be a social advocate for the they at all.
Daniel Pietaro
I agree that the poem "We and They" elaborates more on Kipling's view of how the British chose to deal with the ideology of the the "other." The "White Man's Burden" poem on its own though seems racist to me though and he seems an advocate of British imperialism. To me, poets are artists and the have the unique ability to cast THEIR thoughts and emotions onto a blank page. They are the sole creator of what they produce and I find it hard to believe that someone had a gun to Kipling's head and told him to write a poem that could be read by every Nation-- advocating that the British ( read: the white man; the general people whom which dominate the hierarchy of races) have the right to control the more brutish civilizations. I say, he wrote that poem with all intentions of expressing that he is superior, because he is a true British imperialistic man.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read this poem before this class, and after reading your blog post I reread it, and I do see it differently. At first I just thought it was basically a list of the things the white man have done wrong, the things he keeps with him and cannot overcome even after they are over. After I see it much more deliberately as bringing notice to what the white man has actually done wrong, some of which might not have been as obvious. I do agree that Kipling is stating this very deliberately and in this instance wrote this for a distinct purpose. I also agree that "We and They" exemplify his views of the distinctions between the white man and the 'others' we've been talking about, even though these might not be his exact thoughts but that of the great majority and how this view impacts the way things are done in society.
ReplyDeleteI am glad you posted that poem. To me, Kipling is exposing basically how the British view everyone but themselves. The British live on an island so basically everyone who lives across the water from them is a "they". Personally, I believe that Kipling is opposed to British imperialism. It is hard to tell at first which side that he takes, but I think he is against imperialism. If he was for imperialism, I do not think these poems would be as racist as they are. His racism could be possibly exposing the racism in Britain, and the darker side of British Imperialism. Just my take on Kipling's views, and I could completely understand why someone would think that Kipling is for imperialism. I just think if he was, the poems would be written much differently.
ReplyDeleteI love this poem, which is why I chose to write my paper on it. I think it's extremely well done, and contains some of the pithiest phrases in British literature: "half-devil and half-child," "savage wars of peace."
ReplyDeleteIt's always been obvious to me that this poem is satire, not an expression of racism. The poet is mocking the racist, imperialist views of many Britons. There are several layers of sarcasm, which is why many people have thought he meant it literally.
I also don't think it's really important whether or not Kipling was a "racist." Nowadays, we like to put people into neat little categories: pro-life vs. pro-choice, liberal vs. conservative, racist vs. non-racist. In reality, people's views on all these things are much more complicated, and there is no black-and-white duality. What's more, as we know as English majors, authorial intention doesn't matter when analyzing the meaning of a piece of literature (or anything else). What matters is not what the writer was trying to say, but what he actually said. We can't get into the head of an author, we never know what HE meant, but we can figure out what the POEM means. Kipling's views on race are irrelevant to understanding the meaning of the poem. People don't always say (or write) what they mean, and they don't always mean what they say.