The essay investigates Rudyard Kipling's novel Kim (1901) with particular attention to the historical background of the so-called Great Game, the cold war between Russians and English. This perspective challenges current readings of the novel, according to which Kim relinquishes his Indian identity in order to become a sahib. Kim undergoes a parallel education in Western practice and Eastern values, which allows him to become a far completer man than any of the characters deployed by the novel. Buddhism plays a key role, as it represents the metaphor of collective and private spirituality rather than a cultural stereotype, thus resembling the intelligence activity, which, in this case, is considered as a tool to access an alternative and hidden truth.
Beyond East and West. The meaning and significance of Kim’s Great Game / A. Vescovi. - In: ALTRE MODERNITÀ. - ISSN 2035-7680. - 2014:11(2014), pp. 10-20. [10.13130/2035-7680/4040]
Beyond East and West. The meaning and significance of Kim’s Great Game
A. Vescovi
2014
Abstract
The essay investigates Rudyard Kipling's novel Kim (1901) with particular attention to the historical background of the so-called Great Game, the cold war between Russians and English. This perspective challenges current readings of the novel, according to which Kim relinquishes his Indian identity in order to become a sahib. Kim undergoes a parallel education in Western practice and Eastern values, which allows him to become a far completer man than any of the characters deployed by the novel. Buddhism plays a key role, as it represents the metaphor of collective and private spirituality rather than a cultural stereotype, thus resembling the intelligence activity, which, in this case, is considered as a tool to access an alternative and hidden truth.File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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