The narrator makes it clear from early on in the story that Carnehan and Dravot are “loafers,” a derogatory term for poor and uneducated white British people living in India. While the narrator speaks and writes in a somewhat formal version of English, Carnehan and Dravot speak in a specific dialect that communicates their social position as loafers. Take the following passage, for example, in which Carnehan is telling the narrator about an argument that he had with Dravot over the terms of their contract:
‘The Contrack only lasted till such time as we was Kings; and Kings we have been these months past,’ says Dravot, weighing his crown in his hand. ‘You go get a wife too, Peachey — a nice, strappin’, plump girl that’ll keep you warm in the winter. They’re prettier than English girls, and we can take the pick of ‘em.'
Kipling captures the two men’s dialect in a few different ways in this passage. First, he spells “contract” as “contrack,” “strapping” as “strappin’,” and “them” as “‘em.” These subtle changes help readers to “hear” the ways that the men shorten their words as part of their more conversational and informal use of English. Their grammar is also notable, with Dravot saying “until we was kings” rather than “until we were kings.”
The spelling and grammar errors here—along with the men’s comfort objectifying and using women—all raise questions about whether Dravot and Carnehan are fit to be the rulers of a nation. Given their limited knowledge (and problematic view of women), Kipling is asking, are they really the types of men who are ready to effectively govern? It is likely that he is encouraging his readers to believe that they should not be colonizing other countries. This is due in part to Kipling’s own classism and belief that only wealthy and sophisticated people should be in charge of “civilizing” other populations.
