Classic Literature Considered
Kipling, 1793-1794; “The Widow at Windsor,” 1819; “Recessional,” 1820;“The White Man’s Burden,” 1821
1. Chamberlain: His views on the English Empire can be summed up in the fourth paragraph of his speech. In it, he rationalizes the presence of the English abroad in their colonies by the “kinship” that has now be established between the countries. They share common blood despite different parentage or ancestry; now they love each other. Moreover, he states, our rule over these territories can only be justified if we can show that it adds to the happiness and prosperity of the people, and I maintain that our rule does, and has, brought security and peace and comparative prosperity to countries that never knew these blessings before.” These non-English countries need England and the benefits of higher civilization they bring them.
Hobson: He seems to take a more realistic yet stark, oppressive approach to the subject of Imperialism. He states, “As one nation after another enters the machine economy and adopts advanced industrial methods, it becomes more difficult for its manufacturers, merchants, and financiers to dispose profitably of their economic resources, and they are tempted more and more to use their Governments in order to secure for their particular use some distant undeveloped country by annexation and protection.” Clearly, exploitation and bureaucracy go hand-in-hand with Imperialism because of the economic dependency that evolves between the parent country and the adopted child country. Parents want things for their children that sometimes children do not want and resist, incurring punishment and negative reinforcement.
2. How do the readings on empire (perhaps in particular the ones you summarized) affect the way you think about some of the texts we have read? List some specific connections. As with any historical or cultural writings, they provide depth and nuance to the readings that might have been lost without them. Too often, people read and assume that how life/culture is for them is how it is/was for everyone else. Reading primary source documents, especially non-fiction ones, helps understand the potential rationality, response, or reaction to what was going on in that particular society. Thus, the movie, Avatar, presents certain assumptions and judgments that might not have been present or realized 125 years ago.
3. I think “The White Man’s Burden” aptly demonstrates the stereotypical assumptions of Imperialism. In the first stanza, it talks about the goal(s) and charge of the superior English concerning the indigenous people they have encountered abroad. The English are the “best. . . breed” who are on foreign soil to help the non-English who are in captivity, are fluttered and wild, and “Half-devil and half-child. Later on, the poem states that the Englishmen are abroad to “Fill full the mouth of Famine And bid the sickness cease.” Yet, despite these supposedly good intentions, Kipling warns that “The silent, sullen peoples Shall weigh your gods and you.” If they are there to help the indigenous peoples, then they need to do just that and “Have done with childish days.”
Kipling has seen this first hand whilst in England. He has seen soldiers doing good things and bad things. He has got his fingers dirty and rubbed elbows with the natives so he understands their plight as well. This is manifested in a lot of his poetry, although some people still find his depictions racist and superior.