I have always thought of myself as adept with most cultures. However, my experience in Empire Writing at the Virginia Military Institute has opened my eyes to the vastness that is culture. Before one takes this class, one must come in with an open mind. With a closed mind, a student will fall into the same trap that too many people do. Often, people fail to recognize that there are enormous differences in perspectives of the world, and that is okay. From my chair in the class, I believe that the root of the class, is that each culture has their own paradigm. A paradigm that is positive and unwavering. A paradigm that has caused clashes between cultures since the beginning of time, and the same clash that was evident in the British rule over India. This idea of a paradigm was something I had no idea about prior to taking this class.
To further elaborate my increased understanding of culture, post taking the class, I was asked the first day, “what makes any culture distinct”? At the time, I had no response to this question. However, I understand now that each culture has such a different perspective of the world. A different paradigm. In class, we discussed how from one side of the country to another, there are vast differences in culture. For example, I went to Colorado over spring break, and I was blown away by the differences in culture. My southern politeness to them was sucking up. In Kim, we see the distinction of cultures clearly. Kim was raised in a boundless culture, then shoved into one of strictness and rules. The consequences were severe, as I elaborated further in my article “The Boundaries that Separate Cultures are Invisible yet Tough to Break Through.” To bring this to point, on both sides of any cultural conflict, both sides have a differing perspective that they mutually view as the right one. An understanding of each other’s differing paradigms rarely happens.
At the beginning of the class I realized that the British Empire felt superior to the Indians. However, my understanding of this idea has been greatly expanded. The British knew only what they knew, and understood their way to be the right way. As enforced by “The White Man’s Burden” by Rudyard Kipling, the British felt like it was their obligation to westernize the Indian culture. In Kim, the British wanted to westernize Kim because if they didn’t he wouldn’t be of any use. Kim’s skills were originally created in Indian culture. In my opinion, he became more useless following the British attempt to westernize him. In A Passage to India, the British group is convinced that Adela Quested was raped. Their only basis behind such an assertion, though not clearly stated in the book, is that they are the superior group. To them, the Indians are wild animals.
The thing about paradigms, is that they are extremely difficult to shift. I dove deeper into this idea in my essay, “Truth is Subjective, Sometimes.” Similarly, people are very stubborn in understanding other cultures. I’ve realized after taking this class, that many conflicts and wars could have been disseminated if both sides were more willing to understand, shift, or compromise in opposing cultures. I think back to Kim, and I fully believe that if the British understood Kim for who he is, the downfall of Kim would never have happened. In A Passage to India, if the British understood that the Indians were intelligent, civilized, and equally as capable in life, then the conflicts would have been very minimized. This goes for the British rule over India in general. This understanding, or shifting of cultures, is extremely difficult. As the world continues to become more and more globalized, this idea of understanding differing cultures must be addressed. Unfortunately, due to the nature of paradigms, and the current evidence in the world so far, I believe the clash of cultures will only get worse.
