The White Man's Burden

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1899

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Download PDF

Summary

Background

Poem Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Symbols & Motifs

The Long Passage of Time

The long passage of time is a recurring motif. The speaker takes the long view of the colonization process; it is going to take many years to get the task done, and many generations will come and go. The colonizers must remain steadfast throughout, not wavering from their task. The need for “Patience” (Line 7) implies a long task, as does “An hundred times made plain” (Line 14), referring to the explanations they will need to give, both to themselves and the indigenous population, about what they are doing. The laborers in the colonial enterprise will build ports and roads that they themselves will not enter, because it is the work of so many years. The magnitude and length of the task will leave them weary, but nonetheless they must hold steady, “Through all the thankless years” (Line 54). Thus a picture emerges of the endless dedication of generations of the colonizers—specifically, the United States—over the long reach of time, laboring without much reward to bring the heathen people into the light of civilization.

Childhood, Adulthood, and Paternalism

The motif of childhood appears twice in the poem, in different contexts. The speaker refers to the indigenous population as “half-child” (Line 8). Without the help of the Western colonizing power, they cannot mature into adults; even then, the implication is that they will remain children needing guidance. In contrast, by stepping up to its perceived moral duty, the United States (as the final stanza explains), is becoming an adult nation for the first time; it is putting its “childish days” (Line 50) behind and taking responsibility for the welfare of another people. The United States is thus assuming a parental role in world affairs. The motif of childhood and adulthood thus enables the speaker to present the colonial enterprise in the best possible light, as part of the natural order.

Bondage and Freedom

The motif of bondage and freedom appears in two different forms. The speaker describes the native people living in bondage, or slavery, with the colonizers leading them to freedom. (This process is also presented as a journey from darkness to light.) On the other hand, the colonizers believe they are sacrificing some of their own freedom; they are committing themselves to raising up the native population, despite longing to be free of such a difficult task. They are advised not to “call too loud on Freedom” (Line 43); duty must take precedence. Thus the speaker presents the colonizers as liberating the colonized from their benighted state, and edging them toward freedom, while the colonizers accept a loss of their own freedom to act solely in their own interests. This motif adds to the picture of the colonists as virtuous, willing to deprive themselves of something they value for others to enjoy.