The underlying message of the poem "The White Man's Burden" by Rudyard Kipling is that Europeans believed they were "civilizing" - or advancing - non-white, non-Christian populations of the world. The poem conveys a paternalistic view, suggesting that it is the duty of Western powers to bring civilization to what they perceived as "sullen" and "wild" peoples. This perspective reflects the common justification for imperialism during that era, where colonizers viewed themselves as having a moral obligation to govern and uplift colonized societies.
Below is a stanza from the poem The White Man's Burden by Rudyard Kipling:
Take up the White Man's burden--
Send forth the best ye breed--
Go bind your sons to exile
To serve your captives' need;
To wait in heavy harness,
On fluttered folk and wild--
Your new-caught, sullen peoples,
Half-devil and half-child.
This poem may have been written to support American colonization of the Philippines. Based on your knowledge of imperialism, what is the underlying message of the poem?
Group of answer choices
The burden of imperialism fell on the colonized people, such as the Zulu tribe of southern Africa.
Europeans acknowledged that imperialism was only beneficial to Europeans.
Europeans believed they were "civilizing" - or advancing - non-white, non-Christian populations of the world.
Non-white, non-Christian people looked like devils to Europeans.
1 answer
6 answers