Teaching Kim

Instructions for You

Objective: We don't like it one bit, but Kipling definitely believed white folks to be superior to those of other nationalities and ethnicities. Kim taps into some of these beliefs as the theme of race is explored and attitudes about Indians are revealed—and it ain't pretty.

For this activity, your students will really dig into race and racism in Kipling's work by going a bit of a comparative study between Kim and the "White Man's Burden." The poem will give students more insight into the theme of race and why Kipling writes the way he does… or so we hope. It will definitely make everyone cringe.

After reading the poem, student will create charts comparing and contrasting attitudes between the two pieces of literature. They'll also write a quick, one page response.

We recommend doing this activity after you've completed the book, and anticipate it taking two hours or less. That said, much of it can be done for homework if you're pressed for time.

Materials Needed: Paper and writing utensils; copies of "The White Man's Burden" and Kim

Step 1: Read "The White Man's Burden" with your class, then get a discussion going about the poem. Here are some questions you can pose to your students:

• What is the white man's burden?
• Why is this a burden? Who or what places the burden on the white man?
• According to the poem, what are non-white people like? What specific words are used to describe them, and what do they tell us about Kipling's attitude toward non-white folks?
• What are white folks like? What specific words are used to describe them, and what do they tell us about Kipling's beliefs about white people?

Step 2: Now, have students create a t-chart on their paper, labeling one side Kim and the other side "The White Man's Burden." Let them know they'll be comparing attitudes about race between these two pieces of literature.

Step 3: With their t-charts all set up, it's time to jot down quotes dealing with race from both works. "The White Man's Burden" should be pretty easy since it's a poem, so have students start there, writing down examples of white/non-white attitudes in the poem before doing the same thing for the novel. They should shoot for about five examples from each piece of literature.

Step 4: Now that your students have gathered some evidence, they need to get writing. In about a page, students should answer this question:

• Does Kipling's writing convey a racist attitude? Prove your stance through the use of textual evidence from both texts.

Step 5: Once students are all set with their papers—and feeling like they're super solid—they should turn them in along with their charts.

Instructions for Your Students

Objective: As you've probably already noticed, there's a lot of what's called paternalism in Kim. It's a form of racism that "requires" white folks to "take care" of other non-white people (in this case, Indians), to save them from their heathen ways and guide them onto the right path. It might not be overtly mean-spirited, but in its "helping," it becomes offensive—like, big time. The underlying message is that other people don't know enough to take care of things themselves. Ugh.

If this all has you cringing (as well it should), then brace yourself, because this activity is all about racism, all the time. You're going to explore the theme of race by comparing two Kipling works with each other and then writing a totally kick butt—and totally short—essay. So bust out your monocle and start peering academically at your book; this should be a wild ride.

Step 1: First up, read and discuss "The White Man's Burden." As your class does this together, keep the following questions in mind:

• What is the white man's burden?
• Why is this a burden? Who places the burden on the white man?
• What are non-white people like? What specific words are used to describe them and what do they tell us about Kipling's attitude toward non-white folks?
• What are white folks like? What specific words are used to describe them and what do they tell us about Kipling's beliefs about white people?

Step 2: Now, create a t-chart on your paper, labeling one side Kim and the other side "The White Man's Burden." You'll be comparing attitudes about race between these two pieces of literature, so fingers crossed you've done some close reading.

Step 3: With your t-chart all set up, it's time to jot down quotes dealing with race from both works. "The White Man's Burden" should be pretty easy since it's a poem, so start there, writing down examples of white/non-white attitudes in the poem before doing the same thing for the novel. Shoot for about five examples from each piece of literature.

Step 4: Now that you've have gathered some evidence, it's time to get writing. In about a page, answer this question:

• Does Kipling's writing convey a racist attitude? Prove your stance through the use of textual evidence from both texts.

Step 5: Once you're feeling good about your little paper, hand it over to your teacher, along with your t-chart.