The White Man's Burden

by Rudyard Kipling

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The White Man's Burden

The phrase "Watch sloth and heathen folly bring all your hopes to nought" in the third stanza of "The White Man's Burden" means that the Americans' efforts to help their new subjects will be futile....

1 educator answer

The White Man's Burden

The political cartoon depicts Uncle Sam and John Bull carrying baskets of Africans, Asians, and Middle Easterners over mountains labeled with words like "Oppression" and "Ignorance," heading toward...

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The White Man's Burden

In the poem "The White Man's Burden," the poet invites the readers to "send forth the best ye breed." By this, he means that the readers should send the best men in their families and countries to...

1 educator answer

The White Man's Burden

"The White Man's Burden" portrays imperialism as a noble endeavor, suggesting that it is the duty of Western powers to civilize and uplift non-Western societies. However, it also depicts the...

6 educator answers

The White Man's Burden

In Kipling's poem "The White Man's Burden," "exile" signifies the self-imposed separation of Western colonizers from their homeland to fulfill their perceived duty of civilizing non-Western...

2 educator answers

The White Man's Burden

Rudyard Kipling's poem "The White Man's Burden" presents imperialism as a moral obligation of predominantly white nations to civilize non-white populations. Written during the late 19th century, it...

16 educator answers

The White Man's Burden

Kipling is referring to the Filipinos newly annexed by the United States in the first stanza. The poem, titled in full "The White Man's Burden: The United States and the Philippine Islands," is...

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The White Man's Burden

The writing on the bottom of the "white man's burden" Pear's soap advertisement means that the product is a part of bringing the benefits of Western civilization to supposedly inferior peoples. The...

5 educator answers

The White Man's Burden

In "The White Man's Burden," Rudyard Kipling portrays colonial subjects as inferior, lazy, and ungrateful, depicting them as "half-devil and half-child," emphasizing their perceived cultural and...

8 educator answers

The White Man's Burden

In "The White Man's Burden," Kipling uses "Cold, edged with dear-bought wisdom" to describe the dispassionate, logical approach to colonialism gained through years of hard, practical experience. This...

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The White Man's Burden

Kipling describes the "rewards" of taking up the white man's burden as blame and hate from the colonized people, who are ungrateful for the colonizers' efforts to civilize and protect them. He...

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The White Man's Burden

Kipling's positive argument for Western imperialism in "The White Man's Burden" is that it benefits indigenous peoples, who are portrayed as needing guidance from their racial and cultural superiors....

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The White Man's Burden

Some examples of the specific difficulties Kipling's speaker say the imperialists will face in taking up "the white man's burden" include hard work helping childlike and hostile natives who won't...

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The White Man's Burden

Kipling refers to the native people of the Philippines as "half devil and half child" in his poem, addressing Americans. This reflects the colonial mindset of the time, portraying indigenous peoples...

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The White Man's Burden

The intended audience of "The White Man's Burden" is primarily the imperialist powers, particularly the United States, as it was becoming an imperial power by annexing the Philippines. Rudyard...

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The White Man's Burden

As a citizen of an imperializing nation, reactions to "The White Man's Burden" could vary. Some might feel inspired to help "developing" nations, possibly through colonial work or religious missions,...

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The White Man's Burden

Rudyard Kipling's poem "The White Man's Burden" portrays Europeans as superior, self-sacrificing figures tasked with civilizing non-white peoples, whom he describes derogatorily as "half-devil and...

4 educator answers

The White Man's Burden

In "The White Man's Burden," Rudyard Kipling addresses themes of imperialism and colonialism, suggesting it is the duty of Western powers to civilize non-Western societies. The poem portrays this...

2 educator answers

The White Man's Burden

The poem "The White Man's Burden" is highly criticized for its overt racial prejudice and promotion of imperialism. Written by Rudyard Kipling in 1899, it encourages American colonization of the...

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The White Man's Burden

Kipling suggests that Westerners bring civilization benefits to non-Europeans, such as improved health, food security, and infrastructure like ports and roads. He portrays these efforts as a moral...

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The White Man's Burden

In Rudyard Kipling's poem, the "White Man's Burden" of the title is the responsibility that the white man supposedly has to colonize, educate, and police the inhabitants of the Philippine Islands, as...

2 educator answers

The White Man's Burden

The author suggests that imperialist nations aid the imperialized by addressing their physical and spiritual needs. Kipling argues that imperialists serve the needs of their captives by improving...

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The White Man's Burden

In "The White Man's Burden," colonial subjects repay their imperial masters through resentment and destruction. Kipling suggests that despite efforts to "civilize" them, the subjects will ruin the...

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The White Man's Burden

"The White Man's Burden" explicitly recommends that the United States take on the role of imperialist, asserting a duty to conquer and aid "inferior" peoples. Implicitly, Kipling advises that...

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The White Man's Burden

The third verse of Kipling's "The White Man's Burden" warns of the challenges faced by colonizers, portraying colonialism as a benevolent mission to civilize and improve the lives of colonized...

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The White Man's Burden

“The White Man’s Burden” emphasizes the supposed moral obligation of white people to educate and spread their culture to the people they colonize as the primary reason for imperialism.

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The White Man's Burden

"The White Man's Burden" directly references imperialism through its call for the U.S. to "civilize" the Philippines, urging readers to "send your sons to exile/to serve your captives' need." Kipling...

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The White Man's Burden

Colonial discourse, as seen in Kipling's "The White Man's Burden," portrays indigenous peoples as "wild" and "half-devil, half-child" to justify colonization. This depiction supports the imperialist...

2 educator answers

The White Man's Burden

The idea of "The White Man's Burden" was not really meant to help people in impoverished areas of the world. We know this because it is well documented that native peoples were subjected to poverty,...

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The White Man's Burden

Rudyard Kipling's poem "The White Man's Burden" suggests that imperialism imposes a "burden" on colonizers, as they bring "civilization" to supposedly inferior peoples. Kipling uses condescending and...

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The White Man's Burden

In Kipling's "The White Man's Burden," the empire suffers more than the colony it is invading.

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The White Man's Burden

The title "The White Man's Burden" signifies the perceived duty of Western powers, particularly the British, to govern and impart their culture to non-Western societies. This concept reflects both...

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The White Man's Burden

Modern readers sometimes interpret the poem as racist, though other interpretations are possible. The term "burden" may refer to the following: In addition to these interpretations, some historians...

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The White Man's Burden

In "The White Man's Burden," Rudyard Kipling promotes the imperialist perspective, reflecting the belief in the moral righteousness of Western imperialism. The poem is often interpreted as advocating...

1 educator answer

The White Man's Burden

In "The White Man's Burden," Kipling highlights the high costs and minimal benefits of colonization for the colonizers. He describes colonization as hard, thankless work, often met with resistance...

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The White Man's Burden

Rudyard Kipling himself provided a thesis statement for "The White Man's Burden" when he wrote to his friend Theodore Roosevelt, who had recently become governor of New York, in 1898: Now, go in...

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The White Man's Burden

In "The White Man's Burden," Kipling describes the British role in the colonies as one of service and sacrifice. They work hard to meet the needs of the colonized, seeking others' profit rather than...

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