Begin reading at: "They found the lama where he had dropped."
- "...once a Sahib is always a Sahib...." This interpretation of Kim's heritage makes sense coming from imperialistic England; since we're dealing a bit with politics right now, how might an American approach Kim differently?
- "Kimball, I suppose you want to be a soldier? . . . "...and you should be grateful that we're going to help you." Explain Bennett's forceful and indignant perspective here.
- From his current perspective, which would Kim have preferred: the brief, though likely severe, beating and releasing if he'd been solely judged a native beggar, or his current predicament of, essentially, kidnapping and enslavery to a British school? What has this situation done to his attitude toward his father's prophecy?
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| not exactly Kim's destination.... (wikipedia) |
1. Looked up "Sahib." Apparently it means "Owner" or "Proprietor". I think that you're right that it's a cultural difference. I mean, I'm sure that we do have different racial expectations in America, but I don't think it's nearly as bad or explicit as it was in imperial England. Clearly, the expectation is, "He's white, so therefore he's perfectible. All these others are worthless."
ReplyDelete2. A soldier's probably the only honorable profession that a boy who hasn't received a proper education his entire childhood could have been expected to attain at the time.
3. Interesting question. I think that he prefers this, as long as he can escape because it's more adventurous. The prophecy is certainly in question right now. This is an interesting plot device to add interest, even if this chapter continues the lack of continuity in the plot--see what I did there?
3. Uh, slick.... :)
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