Nicholas Carpenter
ERH205WX Reflective Essay, 4 May 2020
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A significant practice to understand in British culture is imperialism. Beginning in the 16th century Britain began efforts to secure overseas colonies, and the British Empire survived well into the 20th century before evolving into the British Commonwealth, a free association of independent states (British Empire). It seems to me one of the greatest ironies in world history that an island nation would also become one of the most powerful empires: “By the end of the 19th century, the British Empire comprised nearly one-quarter of the world’s land surface and more than one-quarter of its total population” (British Empire). Three literary works we studied this semester which discuss imperialism are Shakespeare’s Henry V, Kipling’s The Man Who Would Be King, and Orwell’s Shooting an Elephant.
Shakespeare’s play The Life of King Henry the Fifth is set in pre-imperial Britain and France; however, it still discusses territorial expansion. King Henry V laid claim to Aquitaine, Normandy, Touraine, Maine, and some areas in France never held by England (Ross). Shakespeare’s portrayal shows Henry asking his advisors and Church officials if he can rightfully claim these lands, which they wholeheartedly affirm. The Archbishop of Canterbury in Act I Scene 2 lays out the argument for Henry’s right to France based on royal lineage and law. After the Battle of Agincourt, one of Britain’s greatest military exploits, Henry resolves to marry Katharine of France. In Act V Scene 2 Katharine asks how she can ever love an enemy of France; Henry replies “in loving me, you should love / the friend of France; for I love France so well that / I will not part with a village of it; I will have it / all mine […]” Thus Shakespeare portrays this chapter of British history as the benevolent union of two kingdoms on opposing sides of the English Channel. The play ends with a somber note on the reign of King Henry VI, who “lost France and made his England bleed.” A cultural concern in the play is war and whether or not the cause of the war is just. In Act IV Scene 1, soldier Michael Williams says, “But if the cause be not good, the king himself hath / a heavy reckoning to make, when all those legs and / arms and heads, chopped off in battle, shall join / together at the latter day and cry all ‘We died at / such a place;’ […]” This scene reflects differing opinions in British society on the just war.
Rudyard Kipling’s short story The Man Who Would Be King gives an important critique of British imperialism. Kipling layers his story with irony in such a way that it shows the right way to handle being an imperial power. A pair of loafers, Peachey and Dravot, become kings of Kafiristan in search of power and wealth. Dravot’s greed and arrogance become increasingly apparent the longer he remains in power. He tries to play God and his actions backfire on him, leading to his death. Paul Fussell interprets the story to be a warning to the British on their behavior as imperialists. Should the British act like Dravot, with greed, self indulgence, and oppression, they may expect to meet his fate and be thrown off by the native people. Instead, they should act with selflessness under their obligations as leaders. Kipling’s short story also reflects a sense of British cultural superiority. Right up until Dravot is killed and Peachey exiled, the pair always feels that Kafiristan and its people and resources are theirs for the taking. They believe they have a right to Kafiristan because they are ambitious men who know how to drill soldiers. This theme relates to Kipling’s critique of imperialism. Ambition and military power are not the only two conditions needed to be good leaders.
George Orwell writes the short story Shooting an Elephant at the end of the British Empire. In the story, an elephant breaks free of its chains and begins rampaging through a town in Burma. The narrator is a policeman who finds the elephant after it has killed a man. The elephant’s rampage appears to be over and the narrator has no desire to kill the elephant, yet feels that he must do so. He had previously borrowed an elephant rifle just in case he needed it for self defense, which the natives had interpreted as intent to shoot the animal. He shoots the elephant to avoid becoming a laughingstock for the massive crowd of natives standing behind him. Orwell’s story shows the uncomfortable relationship between the British colonial authorities and the natives. The natives see the British as oppressors, and the British see the natives as a nuisance; there is a relationship of mutual contempt imposed by imperialism. Orwell wisely observes that the natives hold the real power, and the imperial authorities become puppets in their efforts to continually impress the natives.
In class we have seen varying interpretations of imperialism from British authors. In Henry V we see efforts to expand British territory predicated on the King’s claims to French territory and his inherent right to declare war. In The Man Who Would Be King we observe Kipling’s ideas on the obligation that imperial rulers have to their subjects, and that trying to play God or greedily exploit the people will backfire. Lastly, in Shooting an Elephant we see the “dirty work” of the British Empire, and Orwell’s view that imperialism creates oppressive conditions. Imperialism is a significant practice to understand in regards to British culture because of how long the British Empire lasted and the effects it had on Britain and the world. I find the theme of imperialism to be personally interesting for the same reason. Even the United States began as an assortment of British colonies, and being from Norfolk I remember taking field trips in elementary school to old colonial settlements like Jamestown and Williamsburg.
Works Cited
“British Empire: Historical State, United Kingdom.” britannica.com/place/British-Empire, last updated 6 April 2020, accessed 27 April 2020.
Fussell Jr, Paul. “Irony, Freemasonry, and Humane Ethics in Kipling’s ‘The Man Who Would Be King.'” ELH, Vol 25, No 3, Sep 1958, pages 216-233. John Hopkins University Press.
Kipling, Rudyard. The Man Who Would Be King. Penguin Classics, Cambridge 2013.
Orwell, George. Shooting an Elephant.
Ross, C. D. “Henry V: King of England” britannica.com/biography/Henry-V-king-of-England, Accessed 27 April 2020.
Shakespeare, William. The Life of King Henry V. shakespeare.mit.edu/henryv/full.html. Accessed 3 May 2020.