The White Man’s Burden

1. How is the black man described? a. The black people are described as being inferior. According to Rudyard Kipling line 8 they are”Half-devil and half-child”. He describes the black man as somebody who should be glad to be able to serve the white people and at the same time escape famine. “The White Man’s Burden” also makes it possible to prevent sickness (line 22). The black man ought not to have any aspirations (line 26). In the last stanza Rudyard Kipling says if the black man had tried to be a free man he would prefer to go back to slavery (stanza 4). 2. What must the white man do? b. The white man has to educate the blacks and suppress them because they are not able to handle their own lives. The white man has to look after the blacks. 3. What is the White Man’s Burden? c. The White Man’s Burden refers according to Rudyard Kipling to the very important job that the whites carry for the blacks. For example they teach them how to become real people like themselves. However, you can also interpret the phrase “The White Man’s Burden” as a burden of work that the black man carries out for him. 4. Analyse the illustration: d. The illustration shows a white man carrying a black man. In background there is a house which is situated on a hill. You also see a dead man in the foreground. To the left there is a ship. I reckon that the illustration should be understood literally. This is because it is closely related to the text; “The White man’s Burden”. In the first stanza of the poem Rudyard Kipling describes how the newly caught slaves are “Half devil and half child” (Line 8) he has very big lips and he is wearing a