Preview

The White Mans Burden

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
321 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The White Mans Burden
What is your general interpretation of the poem? My general interpretation of the poem is that Kipling presents that white people have an obligation to rule over people from other races or ethnicities. Also, it suggests that the “burden” of white people, is to help other countries to develop around the world. Finally, Kipling is suggesting that we need to “Take up the White Man’s Burden” meaning that we, the United States, must begin to colonize places around the world. I think that Kipling specifically wrote “Take up” as a message that the imperialistic era had begun, and the United States must begin to compete for colonies around the world.

How does the poem reflect the European’s and American’s attitude towards the peoples of Asia and Africa? The poem reflects the European’s and American’s attitudes for several reasons. For one, the poem suggests that white people have an obligation to rule over other, less fortunate people, around the world. During the Imperialistic Era, Europeans and Americans began to colonize places around the world for the similar thought that they were more powerful, and their respective government should be the one in power in all the colonies around the world. In addition, when Kipling writes “Fill full the mouth of Famine, and bid the sickness cease…” Kipling describes how the obligation of white people was also to help develop and improve the lifestyles of poorer countries. This reflects the attitudes of Europeans and Americans because part of the reason these countries colonized areas around the world was because they felt they needed to “save” Less fortunate countries around the world. Finally, in the poem, Kipling writes “To seek another’s profit, And to work another’s gain.” This can serve as an example of the American and European attitudes because during the Imperialistic Era, many of the mother countries around the world used their colonies as a market for their own domestic

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    Gwendolyn Bennett Heritage

    • 1193 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Cullen begins his poem questioning himself about what Africa means to him and it I extremely interesting because you sense his uncertainty. He proceeds to describe Africa as a beautiful place but then follows the statement with him himself pondering about what Africa really is like. He often questions himself about Africa which is somber due to the fact that he is innately ignorant to his own culture. Throughout Heritage, he also discusses the internal conflict of having to choose between two cultures, African American culture, and American culture. Many Americans who are not African Americans find it hard to actually see the divide between the two cultures, there is a veil. Cullen describes this internal conflict between the two cultures in lines twenty-five through thirty, “With the dark blood dammed within, like great pulsing tides of wine. That, I fear, must burst the fine channels of the chafing net, where they surge and foam and fret.” The absolute fact that African Americans were brought first brought to America against their own will is upsetting but what is even more upsetting is the fact that African Americans have to struggle with two complete conflicting cultures, and not too many people understand this issue unless they are African American…

    • 1193 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Kipling starts off his poem stating that we are the best breed. While I was reading this poem the first time I didn’t really take most of it in, because I was trying to figure out exactly what the white man’s burden was. After reading it a few more times, I realized that the white man’s burden is imperialism. The burden is the white man’s assumed responsibility to govern and pass on their culture to the other races.…

    • 656 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The American Imperialism

    • 933 Words
    • 27 Pages

    By the year 1901, the United States possessed the third-largest navy in the world, a considerable overseas empire, and a burgeoning reputation as a world power. It had acquired this international precedence through its involvement in the fervent imperialism of the era; the rapid expansion, colonization, and competition that was occupying the most influential nations of the world, including Britain, France, Germany, and Japan. America’s new found role as a colonial power was not, however, a sudden development. Whereas the United States expansionism of the late nineteenth- and early twentieth-centuries was a clear continuation of the social and cultural principles that had fueled the nation’s past expansionism, it was to a greater degree a departure from the methods of the past through its pursuit of new economic and political motives. American imperialism of the late 1800s and early 1900s demonstrated the same cultural and social justification of previous expansionism. The original doctrine of Manifest Destiny, which emerged in the 1840s to accompany westward continental expansion, advocated a belief that America was destined by God to expand its borders across the continent in order to spread the blessings of liberty. As Senator Albert J. Beveridge explicates in his 1900 speech to 56th Congress (Doc. E), this belief was equally influential in later imperial America; he expresses the Americans’ self-recognition as God’s chosen people, a race not only blessed, but bound by a holy duty to enlighten the rest of the world through their own expansion. This was the sentiment of “The White Man’s Burden”, described in Rudyard Kipling’s 1899 poem of this title, which invoked the social responsibility of the American race to elevate the primitive…

    • 933 Words
    • 27 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Question: After the defeat of Napoleon in Europe and the subsequent liberation movements in the Americas, Europeans began to look at Africa and Asia for future imperial conquests. This new imperial attitude was known as New Imperialism to distinguish it from the previous Age of Discovery. Analyze the impacts of New Imperialism (1800-1914) on the various regions of world.…

    • 3231 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The White Racial Frame

    • 912 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Feagin defines racism as a consistent problem that has lingered in American society since the founding of the country. There are many things that can be held accountable for this issue. Feagin’s min idea is that there is a different state of mind between the races, especially in the United States. History has proven to repeat itself as far as racism goes. There have been many changes that have pushed this country in the right direction as far as abolishing racism, but many problems are still very much alive. We have made significant changes, such as abolishing slavery, getting rid of racism in numerous aspects of legality, and outlawing public displays of racism to level the equality in everyday life. According to Feagin, this issue is called the white racial frame. By this, he means that the white population in America still has very racist ideals, but has managed to believe differently. Since the percentage of people who are in control of the money and power in this country still remains mostly white, many things that still go on are in favor of the white population. Feagin believes that since the white population has talked themselves in to believing that racism has been defeated, it is nearly impossible to progress to achieve full equality in this country.…

    • 912 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Nationalism is an urging for a shared identity based on culture, race, or ethnic origin. Nationalism can be defined as a drive for national unification or independence. . Therefore, the ultimate duty of people of a nation is military service to defend the nation. Although, in the nineteenth century, nationalism created more competition between nations because nations felt they needed to overpower another nation. Nationalism, like imperialism, justified Europeans were superior to non-European people. Thus nationalism and imperialism pertained to racist ideas, these two concepts perceived that white Europeans were more superior to non-white Europeans. Rudyard Kipling expressed racism in his poem “The White Man’s Burden” by presenting a point of view centered on Europe’s view of the world. This view proposed that white people subsequently have an obligation to rule over and encourage people of different ethnic backgrounds to adopt Western customs. During European imperialism, the white man’s burden was an explanation for expansion and annexation. The first and second line in the poem, “Take up the White Man's burden / Send forth the best ye breed”, along with the rest of the stanza, explained an overall mindset that the Europeans placed their race above all others and associated their “breed” with the “best”. The Europeans associated any other culture besides the white men as a threat to society. “To veil the threat of terror / And check the show of pride” (Kipling,…

    • 1152 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    After the expansion inside the nation, its expansionism did not stop there; the US then set its newly superior sights on the foreign countries, such as the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Guam, and Hawaii. By the time, America was full of pride, thought America itself knew what is best for the rest of the world. From the English poet Rudyard Kipling's pem, imperialists within the United States understood the phrase "white man's burden" as a characterization for imperialism that justified the policy as a noble enterprise.…

    • 734 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Take up the white man’s burden/ send forth the best ye breed -“Rudyard Kipling mockingly wrote in 1899, he was describing the aggressive European imperialism that took place in the 1880’s. In 1884 Africa was divided up among European nations, only two African countries remained independent. One may question, what the driving force behind this European imperialism was. Although technology, political and cultural causes were factors in the Europeans imperializing Africa, ultimately the primary reason for imperialism was economic benefit due to the fact that Africa had vast resources.…

    • 459 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The late nineteenth century was known as the age of the “New Imperialism.” Robert Marks describes imperialism as a time “where European countries and the United States competed to grab large parts of the world to create, or add to, their colonial empires.” This in most eyes, does not seem like the correct way to raise a society, but major nations who had power led others to believe in the justification of imperialism through theories, writings, and images.…

    • 444 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    “They don’t understand. We know these hills, and we are comfortable here”. There was something aout the way the old man said the word “comfortable.” It had a different meaning- not the comfort of big houses or rich food or even clean streets, but the comfort of belonging with the land and the peace of being in these hills”(Silko, p117). It is this quote that essentially defines the reader response criticism. They Indians , Tayo, are victims of racism. Silko lets the reader hear their most inner thoughts. It is clear that there is an inner struggle with Tayo, between the white half of his heritage and how much better his life could be if he lived that heritage and the Indian heritage and how difficult his life is because he is Indian. Allowing the reader to feel what Tayo feels, hear what he is thinking and experience his reactions to the prejudice he faces helps “make sense out of chaos” (Tyson, 219).…

    • 451 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The beginning of this article discusses how men exhibit privilege in society over women, and either fail to admit to the privilege, or fail to actually do anything about it. The reason being is that men would have to disadvantage themselves, in a sense. McIntosh discusses both topics of male privilege and white privilege, stating that white people have been trained to be blind to see white privilege, but wholly benefit from the phenomenon known as white privilege. McIntosh then outlines 26 different ways in which she benefits from white privilege each day. McIntosh calls white privilege an “invisible knapsack” because most people are taught recognize it and do not…

    • 281 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    To reflect, it was stated at the Berlin Conference that the nations would improve the moral and material well-being of Africans. Now this belief was very prominent, as it was a principal agreed upon by a majority of the European nations. Such weight this belief carried, that it even manifested into European journalism. For instance, according to Rudyard Kipling, an English journalist, “Your new-caught, sullen peoples, Half-devil and half child… Take up the White Man’s burden- The savage wars of peace- Fill the mouth of Famine And bid the sickness cease.” Comprehensively, when Kipling used the lines new caught, sullen peoples, he’s referring to Africans, more specifically, slaves. Thus when he referred to them as half-devil and half child, he meant that Africans were children who needed to be taught by the white man, or Europeans. Hence, why it is the “White Man’s burden,” as Europeans believed it was their moral duty to colonize or help Africa and its people. Briefly put, the European nations’ promise to improve the moral well-being of Africans was very potent, proving to be a powerful motivator for European…

    • 952 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Imperialism or Social Darwinism is shown through the literature “White Man’s Burden” by Rudyard Kipling, a poem form 1899. In this piece of literature when it says “white man’s burden” it…

    • 715 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    White Mans Burden

    • 827 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Believed to be the “most civilized” and modern colony, Britain felt the need to lend a helping hand out to all the other barbaric nations. They believed it was their responsibility to govern and impart their culture among these savage individuals. In the 19th Century these British colonies set out on a mission, founded upon love and the urge to make this world a better place, soon morphed into something incredibly wrong. Economic exploitation became Britain’s source of income, and Social Darwinism became their motto. Defining the uncivilized people as “Half devil and half child” we are enlightened with the harsh reality that the White man’s burden was based upon euro centrism. They are clearly stating “because you don’t follow my religion, you are half devil”, “because you don’t have the same way of life, because you don’t comprehend the things we comprehend, your minds are immature, they are childish, you are an individual with a child’s brain trapped in an adult body.” Through economic exploitation, Britain enslaved people, to their religion, culture and way of life. When the British Empire came to these unexplored lands and found China, they began to divide the empire into many different sections. They took control over the citizens, and introduced them to a product in which they would become hooked. Opium a strong drug, that causes hallucinations to the user, equivalent to heroin, was given to the Chinese. When they received this drug, it gained popularity quickly across the country, which pleased the British. They users soon became so addicted; the European’s raised the price and became very wealthy. When the Chinese government soon realized what this drug was doing to the country and the people, they banned the drug. Europe became furious, and they broke out into war. The country that Europe supposedly was there to help, was now the country they were giving any effort to kill; all because they were not going to allow the people to waste away their lives to…

    • 827 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    She has written this poem describing the British colonization days when the British oppressed the Indians. They force them to learn the English language though in India various languages were spoken. She is annoyed at this attitude of the British. She also explains how British tried to change the identities of the people of India with a scythe. She claims that the future generation will love this strange language like they love their mother tongue. According to her language had been used as a weapon to target its victims in a figurative sense.…

    • 1010 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays