When "White Man" appears right in the title, you know you'd better buckle up, Shmoopers. Some bumpy racial terrain is dead ahead. "The White Man's Burden" doesn't disappoint. The speaker pretty much sets up white males as the saviors of the rest of the world. Oddly, he doesn't even take the time to account for any other races, or distinguish one group of people from another. There is only the White Man and the rest of the world, a group of sullen peoples who are apparently in need of rescue. Um, did anyone actually bother to ask the native folks how they felt about this dynamic? (Hint: no—no they did not.)
Questions About Race
- Why do you think the white race is the only one mentioned in this poem?
- Does the speaker have any legitimate compassion for other races? What parts of the poem support your answer?
- What's more important to the speaker: being American or being white? How can you tell?
- Should this poem be banned? Why or why not?
Chew on This
This poem is a product of its time. It's only racist by today's standards, not turn-of-the-century thinking.
The racist attitudes evident in this poem help to explain why we still struggle with racism today.