Kim by rudyard kipling - Essay Example

and does not inform of Kim’s future move, it provides closure because the redemption at the end offers a solution to all the conflict the novel raises. The ending of Kipling’s novel is very abrupt and may not seem to be coherent because the narration shifted all of a sudden from the painstaking journey in the hills, mountains and plains to an “I” voice that presents the River of the Arrows. This form of revelation seems to be supernatural and divine because there is no physical connection between the last location of the characters and the river.

The voice said: “‘The River! Take heed to the River!’ and I looked down upon all the world, which was as I had seen it before –one in time, one in place – and I saw plainly the River of the Arrow at my feet” (Kipling 264). After all the time, energy and effort spent searching, the river is finally here like in a dream. Moreover, the “I” narration at the end is also confusing because the identity of the speaker is not revealed. At times, it seems like the lama is talking, but sometimes, it looks like that Kim or any of the other characters may be the narrator.

This confusion at the end foregrounds that what happens may be a revelation that does not need further explanation because it is divine. However, despite the confusion and lack of coherence, the result is clear and shows that the lama has found his river and has been cleansed of his sins: “‘I saw the River below me – the River of the Arrow –and, descending, the waters of it closed over me; and behold I was again in the body of Teshoo Lama, but free from sin, and the hakim from Decca bore up my head in the waters of the River.

It is here! It is behind the mango-tope here – even here!’” (Kipling 264) This redemption of the lama is very important to the story and to the meaning it is trying to convey. Despite this disruptive ending, Kipling’s novel provides closure because the redemption at the end proposes a solution to the