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John Flory
U Po Kyin, an obese man in his mid-50s, is the Subdivisional Magistrate of Kyauktada, the fictional town in Upper Burma where the novel takes place. When U Po Kyin was a child, he witnessed the British annexation of Upper Burma and decided “to become a parasite upon” the British. Having worked his way up through government service, he uses his official position to enrich himself with bribes. Although U Po Kyin already has wealth and status when the novel begins, his true ambition is to gain membership into Kyauktada’s all-white European Club for the prestige it would give him. When the government begins pressuring European Clubs in Burma to induct a token non-white member, U Po Kyin begins a slander campaign against local doctor and jail superintendent Dr. Veraswami, whom he perceives as his competition for membership. When British timber merchant John Flory nominates Dr. Veraswami for membership in the Club, U Po Kyin pays Flory’s Burmese ex-mistress Ma Hla May to create a public scene about Flory, destroying Flory’s social position and precipitating his suicide. Afterward, U Po Kyin is elected to the Club, but though he goes on to an illustrious career, he dies of apoplexy before he can put into action his plan to fund Buddhist pagodas to make up for his sins. As such, his wife Ma Kin fears he is either in a hell of some sort or reincarnated as vermin.
U Po Kyin Quotes in Burmese Days
The Burmese Days quotes below are all either spoken by U Po Kyin or refer to U Po Kyin. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 1 Quotes
“But Flory will desert his friend quickly enough when the trouble begins. These people have no feeling of loyalty towards a native.”
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Chapter 6 Quotes
With Indians there must be no loyalty, no real friendship. […] What shall it profit a man if he save his own soul and lose the whole world?
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Chapter 12 Quotes
The European Club, that remote, mysterious temple, that holy of holies far harder of entry than Nirvana! Po Kyin, the naked gutter-boy of Mandalay, the thieving clerk and obscure official, would enter that sacred place, call Europeans ‘old chap,’ drink whisky and soda and knock white balls to and fro on the green table!
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Chapter 20 Quotes
U Po Kyin’s version (he had a way of being essentially right even when he was wrong in detail) was that Elizabeth had been Flory’s concubine and had deserted him for Verrall because Verrall paid her more.
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U Po Kyin Character Timeline in Burmese Days
The timeline below shows where the character U Po Kyin appears in Burmese Days. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
One hot morning in April, U Po Kyin , a fat man aged 56, sits on his veranda and thinks about his life....
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U Po Kyin summons a servant and asks whether anyone wants to see him. The servant rattles off...
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After U Po Kyin praises the apprentice clerk who ghostwrote the article, Ko Ba Sein asks whether the article...
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...that Dr. Veraswami has a friend among the British, a timber merchant named Mr. Flory. U Po Kyin isn’t worried: the British aren’t loyal to their non-white friends, and Flory is a “coward.”...
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U Po Kyin ’s wife Ma Kin serves him breakfast. Afterward, she criticizes him for doing evil, asking...
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Chapter 3
When Flory asks whether Veraswami has any personal news, Veraswami gravely reveals that Subdivisional Magistrate U Po Kyin is plotting against him to destroy his reputation and career. Flory wants to ask whether...
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...he can’t do anything more. As Flory leaves, Veraswami warns him to be cautious of U Po Kyin , too—U Po Kyin might attack Flory for being Veraswami’s friend. Flory doesn’t take the...
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Chapter 6
...raping female patients at the hospital. Flory immediately concludes that the letter was dictated by U Po Kyin . He considers showing it to Veraswami, but the British are allowed to “love” native...
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Chapter 8
...stage set up in the middle of the road with a large crowd around it. U Po Kyin , sitting in the crowd’s center, invites them to come sit with him. Secretly, Elizabeth...
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In Burmese, U Po Kyin orders a boy to bring out the best dancer in honor of Flory and Elizabeth....
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Chapter 9
...next two weeks, the whole non-white population of Kyauktada takes sides in the fight between U Po Kyin and Dr. Veraswami—though the former has many more allies than the latter. Also, a man...
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Chapter 12
Pacing his living room, U Po Kyin brags to his wife Ma Kin about his anonymous letters smearing Dr. Veraswami. Indeed, the...
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U Po Kyin ’s anonymous letters to the other Europeans have also been successful: he has scared off...
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U Po Kyin then brags to his wife Ma Kin of his plan’s climax: he has fomented a...
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Chapter 13
...and reveals to him the new trouble that’s brewing: Veraswami’s friends have told him that U Po Kyin is behind the growing peasant rebellion and plans to blame Veraswami for it.
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...election to the club would solve all his problems—but he warns Flory to beware of U Po Kyin ’s subtle and dangerous attacks. Then he explains to Flory that he would never presume...
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Chapter 19
...prisoner who was so good at curing skins is Nga Shwe O, who escaped with U Po Kyin ’s assistance, so there was no one at the jail who knew how to do...
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Chapter 20
...a letter from Dr. Veraswami a few days later. In the letter, Veraswami explains that U Po Kyin brought Maxwell and the police to put down the rebellion, though there were only seven...
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...of the house. At the same time, some further rebellion is brewing about which even U Po Kyin knows nothing.
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Chapter 22
...personally grieved by Maxwell’s death, it enrages them that a white man has been murdered. U Po Kyin , meanwhile, is delighted because the murder will make the Europeans take the “rebellion” more...
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...and tells Flory he was attempting to curb the crowd. Then, out of the darkness, U Po Kyin approaches and tries to claim that he and Flory routed the crowd together. When Flory,...
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Chapter 23
...Flory visits Dr. Veraswami, who exults that Flory’s quick actions in stopping the riot prevented U Po Kyin from taking credit and bolster Veraswami’s prestige as Flory’s friend. Flory admits that the other...
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U Po Kyin , furious that the riot has undermined his plans, writes more anonymous letters slandering Dr....
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Chapter 24
U Po Kyin has struck: he is the one who coached Ma Hla May. When the clergyman finishes...
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Chapter 25
...Elizabeth: suicide is common among Europeans in Burma. Veraswami is left without European protection, and U Po Kyin succeeds in getting him demoted and transferred to a less prestigious hospital in a worse...
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...May ends up a sex worker in Mandalay; her clients underpay her and beat her. U Po Kyin is elected to the European Club, receives a promotion, eventually becomes Deputy Commissioner, and enriches...
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