Rudyard Kipling's Kim: Themes, Characters, and Analysis

Rudyard Kipling's Masterpiece: Kim

Kim is a novel (a narrative text) by Nobel Prize-winning English author Rudyard Kipling.

The original novel was published in 1900, but an adaptation of the book, especially for children, was published in 2009.

Analysis of Chapter 5 Climax

This fragment belongs to Chapter 5. It is located at the climax of the book, as this paragraph describes when the British regiment, the Mavericks, set up their camp. In this extract, we can see that while the British soldiers are setting up their tents, Kim is hidden, pointing to the flag with the great red bull on a green background.

Who is Kim?

Kim (Kimball O’Hara), or the "Little Friend of the World," is an orphan and the son of a British sergeant, living in Lahore. Since he is alone, he survives in India by begging and working for Mahbub Ali, a famous horse trader and spy for the British. He also has another friend, the Lama, a Tibetan religious figure who follows his spiritual path to reach the River of the Buddha.

The Symbol of the Red Bull

He spies on the soldiers because his father told him about the red bull on a green background. Furthermore, he points to the flag because, before he died, his father gave him three documents and told Kim that the red bull on a green background would help him. The reason for this was that his father belonged to this regiment; thus, if Kim was recognized as the son of a soldier, he would have a better life.

Moreover, he is watching the red bull because he thinks that, for the soldiers, the gold bull is more than a symbol—it is like a god.

Narrative Style and Vocabulary

The writer of this fragment uses the third-person singular to relate the story. This narrator is omniscient, meaning they know everything. He uses simple tenses, such as the simple present and simple past. The vocabulary that Rudyard Kipling uses in this part of the book is quite simple, utilizing simple tenses and generic vocabulary. However, it is true that in other chapters, he uses words typical of Indian culture.

Legacy of Rudyard Kipling

To conclude, it is important to say that Rudyard Kipling was one of the most popular and prestigious British writers in the English-speaking world. This is a consequence of books like Kim, which today remains a classic of world literature and an emblem of the final years of the Victorian Empire on the Indian subcontinent.