Rudyard Kipling's "The White Man's Burden."



Rudyard Kipling's "The White Man's Burden"

Rudyard Kipling's "The White Man's Burden" is a satrical poem about imperialism, first calling the white man to accept it, then the "opressed man" to accept it. The first stanza of the poem begins by called to white men telling them to send out their best people to capture and control the "oppressed." The second stanza continues to call of the first stanza to appear morally good but act to oppress the "oppressed" and force them to force for your benefit. The third stanza finishes the call to the white man by claiming that through this imperialistic society all of your physical problems will be solved. The next few stanzas call to the "opressed" to accept their state. The fourth stanza begins this call by describing the poor conditions and limitations of the "oppressed." The fifth stanza continues describing the oppression of the "oppressed" by telling the "oppressed" to accept their unfair jobs and the hatred from their oppressors. The sixth stanza closes the call to the oppressed telling them that, despite all present claims, their burden will wiegh them down past hope, and will withhold their "freedom." The final stanza calls to all people to "Have done with childish days--" The emphasis of the final stanza is that the years ahead of imperialism will be harsh for all people and will show the character of individuals.

Being written after slavery was abolished (written 1899), this poem seems to refer back to slavery as the consequence of imperialism.  For Kipling imperialism leads to slavery, the very evil which Americans had just finished defeating. In the first stanza the slaves are the foreign "captives" which the white men are told to collect and "serve." In the second stanza the white man is told "To seek another's profit, And work another's gain" or in other words to abuse and enslave other people into providing you a profit. The end will therefore lead to the prosperity of the white man (stanza 3) and the enslavement of the "oppressed" man. The fourth, fifth, and sixth stanzas will emphasis how the "oppressed" will be treated, as slaves. They will work as slaves, be hated as slaves, and be oppressed as slaves. The only difference between slavery and imperialism for the oppressed is the name.

If the main action of the middle class is to oppress the lower class for their own benefit, and if this action of oppression can be compared to slavery, then by default could the middle class be called an unjust class?