Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Kim, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Mentorship and Parenthood
Race, Identity, and Colonialism
Connection vs. Detachment
Misogyny
Summary
Analysis
Kim and the lama arrive at the railway station, which the lama pronounces as the “work of devils.” Kim buys one ticket to Umballa and one to Amritzar, catching the ticket clerk’s attempt to scam him in the process, and together he and the lama board a third-class carriage. In the carriage, they meet a variety of people, including a Sikh artisan, the wife of a wealthy cultivator, an Amritzar courtesan, a Hindu moneylender, and a Dogra soldier. Conversation ensues, including a religious spat between two Sikhs, and Kim uses his status as chela to charm the courtesan into buying him a ticket.
This scene highlights the lama’s otherworldly naivete, seeing the railway as the “work of devils,” and easily falling prey to the clerk’s ticketing scam. Kim, by contrast, proves himself to be exceedingly crafty, exposing the clerk’s scam and using his worldly, coercive charm to beg food from the passengers on the train. This underscores Kim’s utility to the lama, using his worldliness to protect and provide for him.
Themes
The ticket collector attempts to kick Kim off the train for his Amritzar ticket, but Kim protests, bursting into tears and claiming the lama is his “father and mother.” When this fails, Kim charms the Amritzar courtesan into giving him money for a proper ticket. The train takes off and the lama engages with the other passengers, asking about the rivers near Benares and telling them about the Buddha. The passengers, used to the rantings of holy men, listen patiently, but grow more interested when the lama tells them of his quest for the River of the Arrow.
Here, Kim reveals his craftiness and knack for role-playing, shamelessly exploiting his relationship with the lama to win the sympathy and aid of the Amritzar courtesan in his conflict with the ticket-collector. This illustrates the mutually beneficial nature of Kim and the lama’s relationship. While the lama enjoys the protection Kim provides him, Kim enjoys the perks of his newfound status as chela.
Themes
The lama worries that the train has taken them past the River, but Kim reassures him. The lama inquires after Kim’s own Search, the prophecy about the Red Bull, but Kim dismisses it, claiming it was only a tale. The cultivator’s wife overhears, however, and inquires about the Red Bull, sparking a discussion about dreams and the powers of yogis. The lama explains to the company that Kim was “sent” to him the day before, claiming he is not “of this world.” The woman is impressed, and when they arrive at Umballa, she offers Kim and the lama lodging. They accept, and Kim leaves to deliver Mahbub’s message.
Kim continues to reap the benefits of the lama’s status. Because the lama is a holy figure, his beliefs in Kim’s otherworldliness are taken seriously by the passengers in the train. Though Kim is fully aware of his humble, human origins, he does not hesitate to take advantage of the situation, playing into the lama’s stories to earn them lodging with two of the train’s passengers. Again, Kim and the lama prove to be an effective team, oblivious though the lama may be to Kim’s machinations.
Themes
Following Mahbub’s directions, Kim finds the Englishman’s house and sneaks into the garden. When the Englishman emerges, Kim calls out Mahbub’s name, watching for the Englishman’s reaction to confirm his identity. Kim delivers the message about the “pedigree of the white stallion,” tossing the note onto the garden path. The man stealthily picks up the note and drops a rupee for Kim. Kim does not leave, however, but stays to spy, overhearing a conversation concerning the deployment of 8,000 troops as “punishment.” To get more information, Kim pretends to be a kitchen aide and discovers one of the guests that night to be the Commander-in-Chief and the other to be Creighton.
Kim proves his natural talents in reconnaissance and espionage. Not only does he successfully deliver Mahbub’s message to the Englishman in Umballa, but he takes the personal initiative to disguise himself as a kitchen aide and spy on the Englishman. In doing so, Kim exhibits not only his characteristic curiosity and mischievousness—after all, this was not part of his assigned mission—but also an impressive knack for disguises and deception. Kim’s experience passing as both white and Indian has seemingly taught him the art of role-playing.
Themes
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Kim returns to the lodging. The lama wakes from his nap and everyone eats dinner together, after which a Sarsut Brahmin—a priest—stops by. The lama delights everyone with his stories, telling how he used to cast horoscopes and forgetting his rule about not looking at women. Kim asks the priest about his own prophecy, and the priest, using magic, divines that the Red Bull will come to him in three days. The next morning, Kim and the lama depart, equipped with new supplies. The lama laments that their hosts could not be “freed from the Wheel of things,” to which Kim retorts that then only “evil people” would be left on earth.
Kim and the lama’s exchange underscores their divergent worldviews. While the lama espouses material detachment, criticizing people like their hosts for being too materially minded, Kim seems to take a less high-minded approach, appreciating the immediate pleasures that the material world can offer. His criticism of the lama exemplifies this, pointing out that, were all good people freed from the material world, then it would be filled with “evil” people. In doing so, Kim pushes the lama’s ideology to its theoretical limits, highlighting the lama’s hypocrisy: without generous people like their hosts, people like him and Kim would not be able to survive.
Themes
