Cultural Stereotypes and Bias Towards the Indians in Writing of Rudyard Kipling Cover Image

Kulturowe stereotypy i uprzedzenia wobec Indusów w twórczości Rudyarda Kiplinga
Cultural Stereotypes and Bias Towards the Indians in Writing of Rudyard Kipling

Author(s): Antonina Łuszczykiewicz
Subject(s): Literary Texts
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Komisji Edukacji Narodowej w Krakowie
Keywords: colonialism; cultural stereotypes; cultural studies; imperailism; Victorian literature; Rudyard Kipling; George Orwell; prejudice; xenophobia

Summary/Abstract: The aim of this paper is to charactirize and dispute the cultural stereotypes and prejudices against the Indians depicted in the writings of Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936), one of the most popular British novelists of the Victorian era. The starting point for these reflections is George Orwell's essays in which he describes Kipling as a racist and imperialist as well as a morally insensitive and aesthetically disgusting figure. To verify this view the present author undertakes an analysis of the cultural stereotypes and prejudices embedded in the selected novels by Kipling. In reconsidering Kipling's works, she traces the connections between his own world-view and the negative reception of Indians within the Anglo-Indian community by which he was largely shaped. The paper concludes by supporting Orwell's criticism and demonstrating how Kipling reinforced the stereotypes of an Indian, thus reflecting the cultural cliche widespread among the exenophobic and conservative Anglo-Indians in the 19th century.

  • Issue Year: II/2012
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 199-221
  • Page Count: 22
  • Language: Polish