In Kipling's Kim, our protagonist plays the role of a hybrid: he is Irish, but born in India. As a result, his life is divided in two by different influences. His duality allows him to fulfill the different roles required of him. Kim is a versatile boy, capable of handling several difficult tasks beyond his age. Indeed, it is obvious that he is a “two-faced man”. This theme is introduced in Kipling's poem "The Two-Sided Man", a section of which is found in the introduction to chapter eight. He underlines the duality of the character in the sentence: “And praised be Allah who gave me two / Separate sides to my head! » For Kim, it seems that each of his sides is separated into two distinct worlds, that of a chela and that of a sahib. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay The world Kim lives in is the one created with the Lama. After joining the Lama's journey, he is sucked into the spiritual world. In the poem, there is a reference to the "side" of the spiritual, as it says: "'Wesley's followers, Calvin's flock, / White or yellow or bronze, / Shaman, Ju-ju or Angekok, / Minister, Mukamuk, Bonze." This implies that all areas of spiritual life are good, creating equality reflected in Kim's ethnicity. Although he is Irish, he is on the same level as any Indian . He fits the role of Indian, which helps him in carrying out his duties as a chela. As a chela of the Lama, he is responsible for helping the old man in his basic needs and he strives to. guide him to the river he seeks. They manage together, often with the bare minimum. The poem also refers to it: "I would go without shirt or shoe, / Without tobacco or bread." orphaned and living on the streets allowed him to cope with such conditions and thrive. His experience, that of an Indian street rat, proves useful. This helps him provide for the Lama, as well as interact with people. He knows the customs of the natives and takes advantage of them; also, his contacts are valuable throughout the novel. Although it didn't help the Lama, being the son of a soldier helped him get an education and St. Xavier's School. All of his interactions with the Lama and the indigenous people can be grouped into one section, which is his life as a chela. On the other hand, Kim is also a sahib, or white. This aspect of Kim is obviously strongly linked to colonialism. As the British Empire has a strong presence in India, Kim's whiteness reflects the role of the British army in the novel. As Kim is recruited as a spy by Colonel Creighton, he falls into the world of the British. Everything British is separate from everything Indian. His white origin helps him accomplish his tasks as a spy. He's smart, for starters, and his whiteness affects how people receive him. He enters a world where Indians were generally not accepted. He fits comfortably into Colonel Creighton's world. It even seems that Kim takes him as a father figure and role model. Indeed, it seems that Creighton plays a more important role, as a father figure, than Mahbub Ali. But it was Mahbub Ali who told Kim: “Once a sahib, always a sahib.” There is a certain permanence to Kim's condition. He cannot change his skin color, nor his heritage. He will always be a sahib for the natives. Even if he saw Mahbub Ali as a role model, he is from another world. Ultimately, they will always be on the other side of the spectrum. Even his Indian friends are separated from him, regardless of his wishes. Once its whiteness is established, it prevents any interaction.