"Gunga Din" is a poem written by Rudyard Kipling in 1890. It tells the story of a low-caste Indian water-bearer named Gunga Din, who heroically saves the life of a British soldier during a battle in India. Despite his bravery, however, Gunga Din is ultimately treated with disdain and disrespect by the very soldiers he risked his life to save.
The poem is written in the first person from the perspective of one of the British soldiers, and it begins with a depiction of Gunga Din as a lowly and subservient figure. He is described as a "slimy worm" and a "poor beggar," and the speaker shows little regard for his worth as a human being.
Despite this initial portrayal, the poem takes a dramatic turn when Gunga Din bravely enters the fray of battle to save the life of the injured British soldier. He is shot and wounded, but he continues to carry water to the wounded, showing great bravery and selflessness.
However, even as Gunga Din is dying, the speaker of the poem remains callous and dismissive towards him, saying "You're a better man than I am, Gunga Din." This line has become one of the most famous lines in the poem and has often been interpreted as a sign of the speaker's deep admiration for Gunga Din's bravery and selflessness.
Despite its heroic portrayal of Gunga Din, the poem has also been criticized for its depiction of the British soldiers as superior to the Indian characters and for its romanticization of the British Empire's colonization of India. It is a reminder of the complex and often problematic history of British imperialism, and it highlights the ways in which people from colonized countries were often treated with contempt and disrespect, even as they were expected to serve and sacrifice for their colonizers.
In conclusion, "Gunga Din" is a poem that tells the story of a brave and selfless Indian water-bearer who saves the life of a British soldier during a battle in India. It is a poignant reminder of the bravery and sacrifices made by people from colonized countries, even as they were often treated with disdain and disrespect by their colonizers.
Gunga Din by Rudyard Kipling
Gunga Din, grinning and grunting, was the first to find him. One of the things was the Boer War. His father was a scholar and an artist in India. The narrator ends up really praising the slave, Gunga Din www. He was always fifty paces or so right behind them ready to bring water if they needed it. It makes you think more deeply about the words, and it really makes it unique in poetry. He is really a better man than most of them out there.
At the close of the poem the narrator suggests both Din and the soldiers are doomed to hell. If we charged or broke or cut, You could bet your bloomin' nut, 'E'd be waitin' fifty paces right flank rear. A bhishti is the traditional water-carrier of South Asia, including India; they usually carry their water in a goatskin bag. To me, line 83-85 make Din take a Godly figure, saving people after forgiving them with his life. He lifted up the soldier's head and staunched his wound and gave him the only water he had, even though it was green and slimy. Buy Study Guide Summary The poem is told by a British soldier; he is expressing admiration for a native water-bearer who loses his life not long after he saves the soldier's. The man was always around doing his job and suffering alongside the soldiers.
In the process, a lost bullet hit Din, but he still managed to get the narrator to a safe zone. He will get a swig in Hell from the native, and, he concludes, Gunga Din is a better man than he. His parents were both English and had moved to India before his birth Rao, K. Songwriter In In 1996, the animated television series Season 1, episode 6, of In 2001, Several references are made to the poem in the series In the 2011 video game The poem's last line is quoted to Richard Haig, the main character in the 2014 film In 2015, Bob Dylan's song " Gunga Din. When the cartridges ran out, You could hear the front-files shout, "Hi! Dylan's original lyrics contained the phrase "Pick up your money, pack up your tent", but when the Byrds, led by Roger McGuinn and who frequently covered Dylan's songs, recorded it, the line was transposed to "Pack up your money, pick up your tent". When the cartridges ran out, You could hear the front-files shout, "Hi! If we charged or broke or cut, You could bet your bloomin' nut, 'E'd be waitin' fifty paces right flank rear. He is a better man, because he is doing this as a good person who forgives other and saves them for the good of humanity.
This shows, at the very least, that he has taken notice of him for more than what he can provide or as an outlet for anger. The men called out "Din! So I'll meet 'im later on At the place where 'e is gone -- Where it's always double drill and no canteen; 'E'll be squattin' on the coals Givin' drink to poor damned souls, An' I'll get a swig in hell from Gunga Din! Now in Injia's sunny clime, Where I used to spend my time A-servin' of 'Er Majesty the Queen, Of all them black-faced crew The finest man I knew Was our regimental bhisti , Gunga Din. You limpin' lump o' brick-dust, Hi! Warfare has always fascinated me, and the setting for this poem was in a battle scene. This brave and much-maligned man was responsible for bringing water to the soldiers whenever they needed it. He lived over a period of 71 years. The last lines are the best-remembered of all eight-four. Gunga Din came to him, gave him water, and helped staunch his wound.
I was chokin' mad with thirst, An' the man that spied me first Was our good old grinnin', gruntin' Gunga Din. You put some juldee in it Or I'll marrow you this minute If you don't fill up my helmet, Gunga Din! They are loud and coarse, full of insults and threats. It was pretty cool in my opinion. They rely on Gunga Din for the basest sustenance, but cannot help but yell and mock, albeit in a mostly good-natured fashion. It was " Din! He helped the man with his wound. In his early years, not much was going on around him.
. The verse really is melodic as well. When you combine both of these things it really makes an impact on the poem. Get your paper price 124 experts online This was very traumatic experience for him. Though I've belted you and flayed you, By the livin' Gawd that made you, You're a better man than I am, Gunga Din! When the sweatin' troop-train lay In a sidin' through the day, Where the 'eat would make your bloomin' eyebrows crawl, We shouted "Harry By! I was chokin' mad with thirst, An' the man that spied me first Was our good old grinnin', gruntin' Gunga Din. Another thing was World War I. Gunga Din died, leaving the soldier with this memory and a changed opinion of the man and his own actions.
Rudyard Kipling: Poems “Gunga Din” Summary and Analysis
Using the traditional sense of black and white as depicting good and evil, Kipling uses Din's portrayal of blackness to contrast with his inner virtue: "'E was white, clear white, inside", which can be taken as both an insult to the members of Din's race, whose blackness signifies evil, and the narrator's fellow men for the low behavior that negates their own whiteness. The soldier muses that despite Gunga Din's dirty skin, he was white on the inside, especially when he went to tend the wounded after they had been fired upon. After Kipling did all of his studying, he moved back to India. The English soldiers take out their anger, frustrations, and fears on this man. The poem's speaker describes Gunga Din in a very racist way: the native comes from a "blackfaced crew" and is a "squidgy-nosed old idol". This was still the best drink the soldier had ever tasted. These include but are not limited to Another important technique commonly used in poetry is enjambment.
However, the British soldiers are also depicted in an unflattering light. You Lazarushian-leather Gunga Din! With 'is mussick on 'is back, 'E would skip with our attack, An' watch us till the bugles made "Retire. This was only a stepping stone so that South Africa would gain their independence for the English government. That is why they call Din, and he is there with them, but the use of Indian language appears to have racial Yet, he is all praise for him that despite his dark skin outside, Gunga Din is white and innocent at heart. Kipling uses other techniques in this poem, such as alliteration, to make these lines feel all the more connected. The perfect rhymes in these lines are disconcerting.
“Gunga Din” by Rudyard Kipling Analysis Essay Example
Scheme axbccbddeffgggaxg hhbiixjjkcxkGgxfg llammagxxnncGeoog ppgqqgbxerrgGessg jjenngxxettgggffg Poetic Form Metre 1111101 111111 1111101111 1111110 11111110 11101111111 101101 1111111 0101010001 11111 010111 110010111 11111 11111111 11001 10111111010 11111011 01011 110101 110111111 1011101 101101 1101010111 101111 001101 101111111 1101011010001001110 1101011 11111110111 11111 111010111 11110111 1110111011 1111111011 1111101 1010111 11101110111 1111111 111111 1111010111 111111101 11111001 1111010101 1111101 1111101 111110101010 11111 1010111101 1010011 1110111 10101111 111101 111101 10101111101 111111 1011111 110111111 110111 1111111 11111011101 111011 1110111 1111111 11111 10101010111 11101 111101 111101011 110101 11011 10101110101 111101 110111 111111111 1111101 1011111 1111010101 111101 111111 1110101111 1111 111011 11101011 1011111 1010111111 Closest metre Iambic tetrameter Characters 3,182 Words 575 Sentences 50 Stanzas 5 Stanza Lengths 17, 17, 17, 17, 17 Lines Amount 85 Letters per line avg 26 Words per line avg 8 Letters per stanza avg 443 Words per stanza avg 135. He contributed much in the world of literature. His strength, good nature, perseverance, and patience are ignored by the English. You squidgy-nosed old idol, Gunga Din! So I'll meet 'im later on At the place where 'e is gone -- Where it's always double drill and no canteen; 'E'll be squattin' on the coals Givin' drink to poor damned souls, An' I'll get a swig in hell from Gunga Din! Gunga Din rushed towards him, treated his wounds, and gave him some of the best water he had ever tasted. Like I have said, I really enjoyed this poem. In a revised version, Dylan rewrote the third line to read "Pack up your money pull up your tent McGuinn", so he likely needed something to rhyme with "McGuinn.