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
As they travel, Kim amuses Mahbub with the story of his escape from school, with Mahbub reflecting that the “fruit is ripe already.” After scolding him for his escape, Mahbub offers Kim information about Colonel Creighton and his plans for him, with the caveat that such information will put his life in Kim’s hands. Kim playfully claims to already have had such power, referencing several times at which Mahbub’s life was “forfeit” to him, such as when he witnessed the thief looking for Mahbub’s secret note. Mahbub is impressed by Kim’s clever hypothesizing, and asks for more information, not for pay, but love, acknowledging their lives are in “each other’s hand.”
Kim and Mahbub reveal a newfound mutual trust, agreeing to share sensitive information with one another. Though such sharing is at first predicated upon mutually assured destruction, with each claiming to hold life-threatening information over the other’s head, such rhetoric is quickly replaced by sincere admissions of mutual affection and trust. This signals a new era in Kim and Mahbub’s relationship, with each recognizing the other as a genuine confidant and friend.
Themes
Kim recounts what he witnessed at Colonel Creighton’s house, and his subsequent false prophesying. Mahbub scolds him, and Kim acknowledges his mistake, claiming to have grown since then. Kim further acknowledges Mahbub’s wisdom in handing him over to Creighton, but asks Mahbub’s help convincing Creighton to let him “go among” his “people” during school breaks—his people being “this great and beautiful land.” Mahbub grudgingly agrees, and sends Kim to sleep with his men down the road. Unlike many white boys, Kim finds the lodging among the horses appealing, and reflects on the rapid pace of his maturation. As he is falling asleep, however, Kim overhears a conversation between two assassins lying in wait to kill Mahbub.
Here, Mahbub proves his merit as mentor, chiding Kim for his flippant treatment of sensitive information. To his credit, however, Kim readily accepts his mistake, exhibiting a newfound maturity. Leaving the egoism of his youth behind him, Kim appears to recognize the responsibility he now bears as an actor in the Great Game. Still, despite his employment under the British, Kim makes clear his unwavering allegiance to his native identity, calling the Indian people “my people” and seeking Mahbub’s assistance in letting him “go among” them during school break.
Themes
Feigning a bad dream, Kim slips away from camp to lie in watch along the incoming road. When Mahbub arrives, Kim warns him of the two assassins, and Mahbub cleverly reports them to the nearby police station, manipulating the white police into believing the men are there to steal grain. The men are captured, and Mahbub returns to camp, calling Kim to his tent to recount the fight between the police and the two men. Mahbub’s men quickly break camp and begin traveling along the Kalka road.
Kim displays his characteristic quick thinking here, discreetly warning Mahbub of the trap lying in wait for him at camp. Such initiative and tact speak to Kim’s natural talents in espionage, proving his value in the Great Game, even in an unofficial capacity. Mahbub shows similar shrewdness, exploiting sahib police into doing his dirty work for him. Such tight collaboration underscores Kim and Mahbub’s newfound trust and foreshadows their successful partnership as chainmen later in the story.
Themes
Stopping beneath a tree, Mahbub tells Kim of his experience with white men. He explains how he once thought them foolish, but now realizes, like all men, they are foolish in some things and wise in others. Mahbub ruminates on Kim’s dual identity as both a white man and an “unbeliever,” advising him to play to his identities when needed. Ultimately, Mahbub concludes that faiths are like horses: “Each has merit in its own country.” Kim claims that the lama sees things differently and asserts that if he does not get to see him, he will stop going to school. Kim extorts Mahbub, earning eight annas for sharing the assassin’s identity.
Mahbub details the evolution of his prejudice against “white men,” eventually concluding they are no different than anyone else, suggesting that they are smart in some ways, and foolish in others. This underscores Mahbub’s simultaneously open-minded, yet ultimately essentialist view on race. While he does not believe any race is inherently better in every way, neither does he promote equality on all fronts: each race “has merit in its own country,” suggesting certain fundamental differences.
Themes
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Kim delights in the rest of their journey, reveling in the picturesque landscape and various adventures to be had along the way. Arriving in Simla, a city of rumors and gossip, Mahbub tells Kim he has been ordered to spend the rest of his break in Lurgan Sahib’s house in the city, a great honor. Kim asks if Lurgan Sahib is one of “us,” and Mahbub mocks him, pointing out that he is a Pathan and Kim a sahib. Before leaving, he warns Kim that the man is said to perform magic, telling him that “here begins the Great Game.”
Here, Mahbub challenges Kim’s assumption of shared identity, pointing out that he is a “Pathan” and Kim is a “Sahib.” This rigid vision of racial identity contradicts with Kim’s relatively fluid one, where racial identity is a nuanced balance of upbringing, language, and skin color. Though he does not explicitly say so, it seems as though Mahbub is reminding Kim that race, while perhaps constructed, is not without consequences: after all, Kim’s recent opportunities are largely a product of his whiteness.
Themes
