Important Themes In Rudyyard Kipling's Kim

“Critical Analysis of Important themes in Rudyard Kipling’s Kim”
R. Kipling wrote this novel in 1901. During this year India was facing a campaign against British Government and all over the country there was struggle going on to democrat the country. The political, cultural and economical conditions affected the writers most during the time. Kipling in his novel KIM has tried to highlight the political, economic, cultural situation of the people at that time period. In this project the major focus is on the important themes highlighted by Kipling and .i.e. Loyalty and Racism. In the novel KIM, Loyalty is highlighted in the relationship of Lama, Mahbub Ali, Creighton, Lurgan, the Kulu women and the Babu with Kim.
Kim had been an orphan who

Kim has been loyal to all the persons who made a remark in his life but it is often seen that his level of loyalty depended upon the person he is meeting with and the purpose for he is meeting. The very first moment of his loyalty is tested when he is given the job to deliver a white stallion pedigree to an English man by Mahbub Ali and he is to serve Lama till his search for the river of Arrow is not over. Mahbub Ali also seems to doubt Kim once but then he clears his doubts for he thinks Kim as the only soul in the world who had never told him a lie. The next, when Kim is to buy ticket to Umballa, he caught the Babu cheating, for he gave him a wrong ticket. It clearly showed that people in authority use to make fool of poor people or those who were illiterate. It shows that people had mistrust on the authority and that one has to be very careful while dealing with the governmental officers. Also here lay the obedient Kim as he would have ran away with the money that Lama and Mahbub Ali gave him but he didn’t. He kept a small share of one anna per rupee as his commission and rest paid back to Lama. Kim’s loyalty is again proven right when Kim tell Lama he will go and return in a while and Lama asks him “Thou wilt return? Thou will surely return? and Thou will return in this very same

Throughout the novel one can easily find the traces of racism. As the story begins with the introduction of half-cast women who had taken care of Kim and Kim as ‘a poor white of the very poorest’, Kipling has marked every character with his cast, religion, colour and most importantly their work such as the Akali is described in full details about him- “a wild-eyed, wild-haired Sikh devotee in the blue-checked clothes of his faith, with polished-steel quoits glistening on the cone of his tall turban, stalked past,…”, even the way Kim comes to Lama for the first time, he is curious to know about the cast and the place from where the Lama came and even Mahbub Ali also react the same when he hears of Lama. Kipling tried to signify the importance of cast system during that time. People were honoured if they belonged to a well established cast like that of Whites, Dogras, Hindu or Mussalman for it is visible when Kipling mentions the way the merry-makers call each other to make prayer. Kipling has very cleverly pointed the ways people used to practice racism. This is evident when Lama wakes up from his nap and is noticed by a ‘Hindu urchin in a dirty turban Isabella-coloured clothes’, also when Kim and Lama arrive at the Mess-tent and overhear the talks of officers and Lama points them saying ‘The talk of white men is wholly lacking in dignity’ and Kim replies ‘Never speak to a white man till he is fed’.