Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in My Boy Jack, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Bravery, Duty, and Honor
Parental Expectations
Patriotism and the British Empire
Loss and Resilience
Summary
Analysis
Four days after Jack charged enemy lines, Rudyard receives a telegram from the army. Instead of opening it right away, he continues to work on a poem that features the refrain “When the English began to hate.” Carrie comes into the drawing room and tries to get him to hurry, since they’re due at a social engagement, but then she sees the telegram. As much as she’d like to, though, she can’t get Rudyard to stop working on the poem. He even reads it aloud to her and asks her for any advice. She proposes a word change and suggests that the refrain might be a little too “harsh,” but he disagrees. When she leaves, he opens the telegram and yells out in dismay.
The poem Rudyard works on in this section is called “The Beginnings.” Kipling published it (in real life) in 1917. It explores the anti-German sentiments circulating in England during World War I and even—to a certain extent—investigates Kipling’s own hatred of Germany at the time. Carrie’s suggestion that the refrain, “When the English began to hate,” is too “harsh” reveals her more levelheaded approach to the war. Whereas Rudyard can’t stand the idea of Germany threatening England, Carrie is mainly concerned with Jack’s safety, which is why she’s eager for Rudyard to read the telegram. Rudyard, though, continues to focus on his poem, demonstrating his tendency to distract himself from true emotion by thinking abstractly about war-related matters.
Themes
Carrie rushes back in, and Rudyard informs her that Jack is missing. He’s not dead, Rudyard stresses—just missing in action. He could have gotten lost and might turn up at any moment. Carrie pays this no mind, instead demanding to know why Rudyard urged Jack into the army. He was always pressuring the boy, and now the family will suffer because of this.
In the emotion of the moment, Carrie finally speaks straightforwardly about how Rudyard pressured Jack into the army. She doesn’t hide her resentment, no longer caring if she upsets Rudyard by speaking out against his idealistic beliefs—beliefs that have clearly put Jack in harm’s way, since they’re what helped drive him to join the army.
Themes
Rudyard can’t believe that Carrie blames him for what has happened to Jack, reminding her that every young man in England joined the army. How could he have stopped Jack from enlisting, when that’s exactly what everyone else was doing? And even if Rudyard could have stopped Jack, he wouldn’t have wanted to: it would have been deeply dishonorable if Jack hadn’t contributed to the war effort. Carrie recognizes that this aligns with Rudyard’s ideals, but she doubts that he actually believes this when it comes to his own son.
Rudyard appears unwilling to reevaluate the role he played in getting Jack into the army. This makes sense, since it’s much easier to tell himself that Jack actively wanted to serve his country than it is to own up to the pressure he put on his son. As such, he relies on his normal platitudes about the importance and honor of fighting for England. This time, though, Carrie doesn’t just sit there and let him speak abstractly about his high-minded ideals. Instead, she directly questions whether Rudyard genuinely believes what he says, implying that it’s one thing to talk about these patriotic notions, but another thing entirely to stand by those ideas when they lead to hardship and grief.
Themes
Rudyard protests, insisting that, if Jack died on the battlefield, it would be the “finest moment in his young life.” As his parent, Rudyard wouldn’t want to deprive Jack of this. Still, Carrie doesn’t think Rudyard truly believes this, telling him that there’s “no need” for him to say such a thing to her.
Rudyard responds to Carrie’s accusation by doubling down on his romanticization of bravery. He claims to be so committed to the idea of sacrifice that he views Jack’s possible death in battle as something to be proud of. Carrie, however, sees this as just one big performance, refusing to believe that Rudyard could ever actually think his own son’s death is anything but horrific and sad. He is, after all, only human. In this way, Carrie’s accusations feel like attempts to give Rudyard permission to grieve Jack’s disappearance, showing him that it’s all right to let go of his romanticized ideals in this devastating moment.
Themes
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Elsie enters and tries to hurry her parents along. She has gifts for the family to give out at the party they’re supposed to attend. But then she sees the telegram and asks if Jack is dead. Rudyard quickly tells her that he’s only missing. She quietly starts wrapping one of the presents, eventually saying that Jack will surely survive. She then asks her parents to wrap the other two gifts. The family wraps in silence, until Elsie finally asks Rudyard why he let Jack go to war. Infuriated, Rudyard says there couldn’t possibly be a sacrifice too large when it comes to winning this war.
Like her mother, Elsie resents Rudyard for encouraging Jack to go to war. Once again, though, Rudyard clings to his idealistic beliefs, trying to convince his family that England’s safety is, in the long run, more important than Jack’s life—a tough point to make! Indeed, his repetition of the point suggests that he hasn’t entirely convinced himself, let alone his family.
Themes
Elsie doesn’t want to hear Rudyard’s ideas about sacrifice and duty. She tells him that the real reason Jack went to war was to escape the family. Jack couldn’t bear the overwhelming love and expectations that Rudyard heaped on him. She then asks her father if this is an honorable reason to go to war. Is it a worthy sacrifice? Having asked this, she breaks down, sobbing uncontrollably as her parents stare dumbfoundedly at her.
Elsie finally reveals that Jack went to war to escape Rudyard’s overbearing ways. But it’s unlikely this will change how Rudyard views the situation; he cares so much about trying to turn Jack into a brave, honorable man that he has little incentive to second-guess Jack’s intentions for joining the army. In his mind, Jack enlisted to protect his country. Any other interpretation would threaten to unravel Rudyard’s entire worldview. Rather than pursuing this idea, then, Rudyard just stares at Elsie as she cries, unable to go any further with this conversation because doing so would mean examining his flaws as a father.
Themes
