Joseph Rudyard Kipling was a blessed child born to be an English writer and a Nobel Prize winner to John Lockwood Kipling: an artist, a scholar and a capable writer, and to Alice Macdonald. Kipling was a man who wrote novels, poems, and short stories, mostly set in India and Burma (now known as Myanmar) during the time of British rule. He was born on December 30, 1865 in Mumbai, India. His first name Joseph which was never used as it was his father’s father name, except for his baptism in the cathedral. His second name Rudyard was named after the place, Rudyard River where his father and mother first met. As a child of a rich family, he never got the tender love and playing time with “mother” like most middle or low class children would. Instead he was bought up by an ayah. As being raised by native servants meant affection and intimacy, and that intimacy meant, above all, that he learned their language, Hindustani (Rudyard Kipling 19).
He was sent to England for better education at the age of six to a foster home. There he received unkind treatment which he later expressed in the short story “Baa Baa Black Sheep” in the novel The Light That Failed. At the age of 13, Kipling entered Services College: an institution specialized in training for entry into military academies. Unfortunately his poor eyesight and other factors shredded his hopes for a military career. He returned to India at the age of sixteen. In 1882 he started working as a journalist in Lahore for the Civil and Military Gazette: a local newspaper where he wrote and edited short stories. Gazette was an excellent way of building up the knowledge of India that was going to make him as a writer (Rudyard Kipling 42). In 1887 he was promoted to the staff of the Allahabad paper, Pioneer: a sister paper with much higher standard then the Gazette as an assistant editor.
India and Kipling had been made for each other. She gave him what no other English writer was ever to experience in comparable fullness and intensity; ……….. As her mark was set on him for life: with the exception of some travel pieces, seven or eight stories and a few dozen poems all his best work reflects or remembers India (Rudyard Kipling 52). This statement shows us that he had a passion for India: all the colors and sounds and smells made an impression on him that was distinctive as well as deep (Rudyard Kipling 20). Almost every novel he wrote, short stories or poems were all connected to the life he spent in India. He loved his child hood days he spent in India “give me the first six years of a child’s life and you can have the rest” (Something of myself). His novels described the setting (India) very well especially, its beauty as a country, the culture and the distinct features it has as a diverse country.
Kipling was an imperialist. He believed it was right and proper for Britain to “own” India and rule the people (). He accepted the Empire as it stood and he approved the annexation of Upper Burma (Rudyard Kipling 52). He was one of the few people who approved the right of British to rule India. He wrote books and poem supporting the fact that British has the right to rule. Famous poem was “the white man’s burden” and a popular novel named “KIM”. It is a novel that embodies his attitude towards British rule in India which these days are wholly unacceptable and unpalatable (). Even though he resided in India and was an Anglo-Indian he still supported British. Though he considerable colonial experience in India as well as sympathy for Asians, his writing clearly reflects the British and imperial attitude (Rudyard Kipling 67). Enough comments were made about the novel KIM such as “a master work of imperialism ….. Rich and absolutely fascinating. But nevertheless profoundly embarrassing novel (Edward, www.english-literature.com).
Kipling is the man who is remembered for his celebration of British imperialism and heroism in India and Burma (Rudyard Kipling, 53). He is the man who is still remembered by everyone including kids by reading his wonderful work of writings written for us. Common examples are Jungle book, KIM, famous short stories such as Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, the Naulahka are to name a few. His love for India was incomparable to any Anglo-Indian, it shown in almost every novel which had a setting of India. Kipling should be as thankful to India as India should be thankful for him. Kipling introduced a new type of story and brought out the knowledge of India more to other people around the world by having it included in his stories. He made a difference in the world of writing by producing great novels such as Barrack-Room Ballads, etc. Kipling’s life and work are extraordinary unlike those of any other English writer (Rudyard Kipling 1). He was the first Englishman to receive the Nobel Prize for literature. Kipling is man who left marks in the world of today by using his ability to remind about him and his works constantly.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Book
Amis, Kingsley Rudyard Kipling and his world. Great Britain, 1975
Handout given my Mr.Quan for Imperialism.
Websites
