Hearn 1
Christopher Hearn
chrishearn@charter.net
Prof. Firtha
English 1C
Empire: Two Sides to Every Story
An empire is loosely defined as a geographically extensive group of diverse states and
ethnicities who are united and ruled by a central form of government. The term empire comes
from the Latin term imperium, which basically means rule, authority, command, control, power,
etc. Empires have formed since the beginning of civilization, as the result of man’s incessant
need for more control and power. In the past, when I have heard the word empire, it is typically
accompanied by visions of glory and invincibility, pride and nationalism. That was, of course
until this class, which has led me to a far different vantage point on the matter.
Now that we have the bookish definition of the term empire, what does it mean in the real
world, to the inhabitants of that empire? To both the proud members, and the unwilling
participants? Well, to answer that in a fair and just manner, it is only proper to consider both
viewpoints, and throughout the course of this essay, I will attempt to do just that. On one hand,
we will consider the proud patriots who advocated “from sea to shining sea”, and embraced the
concept of Manifest Destiny with every part of their being. On the other, we will examine the
perspective of the dislocated locals, the American Indians who were displaced time after time as
the proud white settlers fulfilled their “destiny”.
Rudyard Kipling was a famous English author, born in Bombay, India on December 30th,
1865. His notable achievements included the title of “highest paid author in the world” for a
time, and also being the recipient of the Nobel Prize for literature. Kipling’s imperialistic views
were instilled in him from a young age, as a result of his family’s background and his own
ambitions. His mother and father joined a multitude of their fellow countrymen and immigrated
Hearn 2
to India with hopes of starting a new life on a new continent and helping the British government
exert control and order over their rapidly expanding empire. Kipling’s early life was filled with
ups and downs, struggling to fit in, and eventually finding and a passion for writing which would
last a lifetime. Throughout his young life, he moved around quite a bit, living in India, England,
and eventually, America. During his first stint in America, he would end up falling in love with
both the country and his future wife at the same time. As a resident of the British Empire for
most of his life in some way or another, Kipling was naturally the poster child to be an advocate
of the concept of empire. As to whether or not he really was, one may never know.
Kipling’s upbringing within the British Empire (which, to this day stands as the largest
empire the world has ever witnessed) entitles him to a certain credibility regarding the workings
of and pros and cons of living in an empire. As such, a worthy consideration of his deliberations
