My Boy Jack

by

David Haig

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Themes and Colors
Bravery, Duty, and Honor Theme Icon
Parental Expectations Theme Icon
Patriotism and the British Empire Theme Icon
Loss and Resilience Theme Icon
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

My Boy Jack is about the famous British author Rudyard Kipling and his belief that all young men have a responsibility to defend their country. This is why Rudyard wants his son Jack to fight in World War I. In fact, he obsesses over the importance of sacrifice and bravery so much that he ignores the very real possibility that Jack might die in combat. Of course, he’s aware that Jack might die, but he…

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Parental Expectations

In My Boy Jack, Rudyard lets his high expectations as a parent overshadow what his son actually wants out of life. Rudyard wants Jack to become a courageous and respected military official, and this blinds him to the fact that Jack resents him for exerting so much parental pressure. Part of the reason it’s hard for Rudyard to see this dynamic is that Jack legitimately wants to join the army, which makes it seem…

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Patriotism and the British Empire

My Boy Jack explore the real-life famous writer Rudyard Kipling’s belief in the virtue and superiority of the British Empire. The play’s portrayal of his patriotism is consistent with Kipling’s actual views in real life, since he believed that England’s colonial practices benefited not just England itself, but also the many countries it colonized. Rudyard cares so deeply in My Boy Jack about the threat of World War I because he worries that the…

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Loss and Resilience

My Boy Jack acknowledges and explores Rudyard’s grief over losing Jack—even if the play also portrays him in a negative light for prioritizing honor and duty over his own son’s life. Both he and his wife, Carrie, are already familiar with what it’s like to lose a child, since one of their daughters, Josephine, died at the age of seven. In many ways, the memory of Josephine haunts the entire family: Jack…

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