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A review by lindseympeterson
The Man Who Would Be King by Rudyard Kipling
3.0
I always enjoy Kipling, in spite of his imperialism, or maybe because of it. His portraits of expats whose only real home is the colony the live in, despite their not belonging there resonate with me for some reason. They don't fit where they are, in part because they set themselves as separate as possible in order to not go native, and in part, because they're afraid of being rejected or the natives turning on them.
In The Man Who Would Be King, that's just what happens when a white gets too close to the natives. When he decides to take a wife, the natives over whom he is ruling, turn against him, realizing that he is not a god, and chase him and his companion out, killing one and nearly killing the other. Their experience seems to be a warning by Kipling against getting too close to the indigenous. Yes, the colonists have a responsibility towards the natives, to educate, domesticate and civilize the natives as much as their nature will let them, but colonists always must remember that they are 'sahib' and must stay apart. By getting too close, you make yourself as one of them, and cease to be special. If you cease to be special, they will recognize you for what you are, an intruder and a conqueror who needs to be overthrown, rather than a demi-god to be obeyed and worshipped.
In The Man Who Would Be King, that's just what happens when a white gets too close to the natives. When he decides to take a wife, the natives over whom he is ruling, turn against him, realizing that he is not a god, and chase him and his companion out, killing one and nearly killing the other. Their experience seems to be a warning by Kipling against getting too close to the indigenous. Yes, the colonists have a responsibility towards the natives, to educate, domesticate and civilize the natives as much as their nature will let them, but colonists always must remember that they are 'sahib' and must stay apart. By getting too close, you make yourself as one of them, and cease to be special. If you cease to be special, they will recognize you for what you are, an intruder and a conqueror who needs to be overthrown, rather than a demi-god to be obeyed and worshipped.