Rudyard Kipling

Kim Rudyard Kipling

Rudyard Kipling's novel Kim takes place in British India in the late nineteenth century. Kim, a thirteen-year-old, was raised by the keeper of an opium den in Lahore. Of Irish descent, Kim has the ability to blend into different cultures. Because of his affinity for language, he is known as " Friend of All the World." He soon meets a Buddhist lama from Tibet, who has come to seek Enlightenment at the Holy River. Kim decides he will accompany him to help him find the river-- its location is a mystery to all. He tells his friend Mahbub Ali that he is going, and Ali gives him papers to bring to an Englishman in Umballa. On the night of their departure, Kim sees two strangers poking through Ali&rsquo's things and knows that there is danger.

On the train ride to Umballa, Kim and the Tibetan meet people from all walks of life, who celebrate an array of customs and speak many languages. When they arrive, Kim finds the Englishman, a colonel, and delivers the papers from Ali. It is only then that he learns there is a war brewing and suspects the papers are directly related. On the outskirts of Umballa, Kim and the lama meet an older Indian soldier who fought for the British years before. Kim pretends to foretell war, but the man asks for more information, which Kim provides. The soldier joins Kim and the lama, and the trio travel to the Grand Trunk Road.

There, Kim is captured by an English regiment. When they discover that he is Irish and that his father, Kimball O' Hara, fought with them, they refuse to let him travel with the lama. The lama leaves to resume his search for the Holy River. Kim is left with a drummer boy, who verbally and physically abuses him. Despite this, Kim manages to get a letter to Mahbub Ali. Father Victor, who travels with the regiment, reveals a letter that says the lama will pay for Kim&rsquo's education at St. Xavier&rsquo's, a Catholic school for white men. Ali arrives and tries to convince Kim that going to St. Xavier&rsquo's is what is best for him. Colonel Creighton arrives next; he wants to eventually employ Kim as a spy.