"Gunga Din" by Rudyard Kipling: Analysis
The purpose of this paper is to introduce, discuss, and analyze the poem "Gunga Din" by Rudyard Kipling. Specifically it will discuss the representation of the man as well as stereotyping by the author. "Gunga Din" is one of Rudyard Kipling's most well-known and beloved poems, although today it might seem tainted with prejudice and racial slurs. At the time it was written, at the turn of the twentieth century, it was a step forward in ethnic literature, and brought the plight of the subjugated Indian people to light. Prejudice cannot exist without stereotyping and misunderstanding, and this poem contains both. Nevertheless, it is still a classic representative of the ideals and morals of another time.Throughout this classic poem, the author represents Gunga Din as a dark-skinned Indian servant, not worthy of even a uniform, who tirelessly serves the British troops without question or complaint. In the 1890s and beyond, this attitude about colonial subjects permeated imperialist nations such as Great Britain, and it abounds in this classic poem. Din is a stereotypical Indian manservant, who should be content to serve those "better" than him, and receive beatings and tongue-lashings without complaint, and he does all of thi
This is the highest form of praise an officer can think to give a lowly Indian water boy, and this attitude represents the attitude of colonial powers such as Great Britain, who actually felt they were doing countries like India a favor by subjugating and colonizing them, turning the people into second-class citizens only fit to serve the British. Thus, Kipling writes of the prevailing attitudes of the time, popularized in literature and journalism. This was exactly what the English expected of their colonial subjects, and Kipling gave them just what they were looking for in this poem that celebrates the superiority of one race over another. It did not matter, because the colonial nations around the world viewed their conquered subjects the same way - as second-class citizens who were too ignorant to desire basic rights and human dignity. What sets Kipling's work apart is the symbolism at the end of the story, when Din gives his life to save one of the soldier's and the soldier recognizes Din for what he is, regardless of his race. Matin notes, "Kipling would no more have questioned [the alleged differences between the races], and the right of the white European to rule, than he would have argued with the Himalayas" (Matin 317). / It was 'Din! Din! Din! / 'You 'eathen, where the mischief 'ave you been? 'You put some juldee in it / 'Or I'll marrow you this minute" (Kipling 443). Throughout the poem, the soldiers abuse Din physically and mentally, and yet, he never protests or fights back. One critic writes of the racist officer who pays Gunga Din a "compliment" by referring to him as "white" inside, the highest complement he seems to be able to achieve. British attitudes of the time helped create this standard of behavior. The question is, could the British people give up their stereotypical attitudes and champion a hero like Gunga Din as well? It seems they did, because despite the stereotypical view of an Indian native who serves the British, the poem has become one of the classics in world literature. In conclusion, "Gunga Din" is a stereotypical poem of the 1890s when it was written, and today it seems horribly racist and prejudiced. Michael Matin writes, "In short, implied of this officer is what the Cockney narrator explicitly asserts of the title character of 'Gunga Din,' a poem that, like Kim, touts the virtues of an Indian loyal to the British cause under the test of battle: 'for all 'is dirty 'ide / 'E was white, clear white, inside'" (Matin 317). Critic Matin continues, [T]he British imperialism that Kipling championed was largely a product of the rapid acquisition of colonial territory--particularly in the Scramble for Africa--during the pre-World War I decades" (Matin 317).
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