Kims Novel Review - Book Report/Review Example

Number] Number] Kim’s Novel Review Kim is a picaresque novel penned by Rudyard Kipling that was first published in the McClures Magazine in October 1901, It was again published in the Cassells Magazine in November 1901 and the same year it was also published in book form by MacMillan & Co. Ltd. The novel has been regarded as a great source of information to get insight to several issues and incidents that occurred at the backdrop of The Great Game, Russian and British conflict in Central Asia and Second Afghan War. It provides great detailed description and reflection of the cultures, daily lives, political rituals and religions of people of India and other areas of the Asian Continent. It is one of Rudyard Kipling’s most famous works whose protagonist is also coincidentally named Kim, begins with a saddened prospect of a child who is orphaned (Hopkirk‎ 13). Left to face poverty, Kim begins to work to earn his living in the city of Lahore, placed in the early 19th century. Living in the subcontinent, he is a white child born to an Irish father and a mother but nobody pays any heed to this fact or no one simply recognizes his heritage since he fits in so well with the crowd. Nobody is able to recognize that he is a not Indian because of his burnt skin that is like any other child in the city. This is, however, not a story about a young boy fighting his unprecedented fate and making a living legend out of it. The depths go much deeper and Kipling has, arguably knowingly, shown many sides to a single story and bringing in subjects that have absolutely nothing to do with a ‘spy story’. The story is basically of matters such as the ‘British Imperialism’ and how the British Raj ruled with their native ways (Katja‎ 3). It also consists of certain previous orthodox elements such as ‘The Great Game.’ This name concerns with the ongoing competition that was fast pacing between the British and the Russians during the 1800s. Kipling has very aptly put in a subjective along with making the book very entertaining, giving the reader diversification when other sides to the story arrive, making it more homely and less political. Kim knows his city very well and possesses the ability to find and remember every dark alley and corner of it. His potential and talent do not go unnoticed by a Colonel Creighton who trains the him into becoming a British Spy once they find out that Kim is not Indian but actually a white boy. Kim is thoroughly intrigued and since this job comes as a natural instinct for him as he loves to find hidden things and has a thrill for adventure, he takes it up by the blessings of the only person he considers somewhat like family; the Tibetan Lama. The Lama is his friend and is also the benefactor behind his education. The Lama provides the balance of Kim’s spiritual teachings in contrast to his spying educations. Kim is extremely adventurous and although he did not possess the fortune to having parents who were alive or someone to look after his well being, he managed quite fine on his own. In fact, life took him exactly where he wanted to go. Almost everyone Kim encounters and knows there onward has something to do with the intelligence, whether the Russian, the British or even the Indian. Like Mahbub Ali who was a simple horse trader but a true spy. He also gave Kim his first job in the nights of Lahore when he was just a small child (Hopkirk‎ 21). Kipling’s own experience in India is very well portrayed throughout the book with vivid descriptions and a thorough knowledge of the British Rule at that time. His prejudice against them is also very clear through the few vague and subtle themes of the book, portraying the rich culture and their undermining over another culture’s rule. The characters in the story are also believed to be inspired by real individuals during his time (Havholm‎ 82). He also shows the harsh side to being a spy when his protagonist Kim comes across injured spies who are left to die because of the greater good. He realizes what it takes to be a good spy, to know that death can be at any moment (Kipling 5). More astonishingly to Kim, he is surprised to see that even the spies understand the importance of their deaths rather than being left alive. The nature behind this secretive occupation defines the author’s want of a more humane network. Kipling has also made Kim a compassionate spy, showing the good in him from time to time and his innocence towards specific actions. However, in one part the conversation also provides an insight into the author’s belief of how to deal with the evils of the world. But all in all, the miserable time and deaths spent because of the Great Game is shown in a critical view. Kim’s journey enfolds further when he is given his first mission. He succeeds by taking information from the Russian spies who are trying to decrease the power of the British in India. His mission becomes personal though when the Lama is held by the Russians. A battle takes place between the different sides and although Kim’s party emerges victorious, his beloved Lama dies during it. Here, he is again struck by the harsh aspects of his job and the spiritual way he had been taught. The ending is very vague and the reader is left clueless as to what is Kim’s decision for his future plans but to a certain extent it is believed that he follows both paths. But in the end, The Lama discusses with him about the River of Life and not of the Great Game of which he has become a part of. Since the Lama was the one person he respected the most, it is more probable that he left his ways in espionage and followed his teacher. Rudyard Kipling’s Kim has become a source of many ideologies in today’s time. The meaning behind what happens in the book has nothing to do with a children’s spying story. It is more of a political book which is engagingly written, so much so that it could be taken to be a purely entertainment fictional novel though some background information about the writer and some factual occurrences highlight immensely the true events which might have led Kipling to write ‘Kim’. It shows British Imperialism and the ruling power trying to control their abode by setting spies. It shows the customs of heritage when Kim is further trusted to be a spy because of his newfound background as a white boy; Kim has no loyalty towards his being ‘white’ though and is mainly in the job for the fun of it (Havholm‎ 82). It also shows the dynamics of the relationship between the Russians and the British at that time, each trying to outdo each other thus boldly writing about the time popularly known as ‘The Great Game’ (Allen‎ 16). The trivial characters that come and go in Kim’s life are not of great importance and they are perhaps the entertaining part of the otherwise spy tale. A manifestation of many meaning, the author has managed to condemn them all into a single book which upholds political agendas, cultural differences and spiritual features all in one (Katja‎ 5). To think of Kim as just a literature spy book would be wrong. Beautifully written with ounces of truth to every tale, Kipling has made it obvious that his book not be taken as a simple story by entailing the quote in it: “There is no sin as great as ignorance. Remember this.” Work Cited Allen, Richard. Literature and Nation: Britain and India 1800-1990. London: Routledge 2000. Print. Havholm, Peter. Politics and awe in Rudyard Kipling’s fiction.UK: Ashgate publishing Limited, 2008, Print. Hopkirk, Peter. Quest for Kim: In search for Kipling’s Great Game. Michigan‎: The University of Michigan Press, 1996. Print. Katja Klass, The Imperial Message in Rudyard Kipling’s novel Kim, US: Grin, 2010. Print. Kipling, Rudyard. Kim, Oxford: Oxford Word Classics, 2008. Print. Read More