Rudyard Kipling’s Poem If: an Inspirational Letter to All Adolescents
Have you ever felt that you were not good enough? Have you ever felt that you were not being treated equally? Rudyard Kipling, an English journalist, short-story writer, poet, and novelist, felt exactly how many adolescents feel nowadays about not being good enough or treated equally. In today’s society, the competition for being the best in the class or even the best in sports has increased tremendously, and it is not going down from here. Kipling made it clear in one of his poems that he wrote in 1895, “If”, that all kids should be treated equally, and no one should be forgotten or left behind. Kipling wrote the poem “If”, to let others know they are not going through anything alone.
Rudyard Kipling wrote “If”, as if he was talking to his son, John Kipling. John Kipling joined the Irish guards to follow his father, and later on went missing. Throughout the poem, Rudyard Kipling gives advice as if he was talking to his hard working son, John. Kipling wants John to know that there will always be a place for him in this world, even though he might not think so. Throughout the poem, Rudyard Kipling speaks in second person in hopes that the reader will see themselves in the place of his son. Kipling puts the poem in a second person point of view to hopefully get through to at least one reader, so therefore he knows someone is trying to improve their life based off this poem. Rudyard thinks if the reader takes and uses the conditions, such as placing yourself out there to impact today’s society, he says it will make the reader’s life a better place to be apart of.
In Kipling’s poem “If”, he makes many claims that can help his readers view the world differently, especially my own. In the second stanza, as if Kipling was talking to his son, he states “If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken, And stoop and build’em up with worn-out tools”. This quote is stating that Kipling’s son spoken truth can often be manipulated to conceal the real truth. This often happens when someone is trying to go against someone else and they take the words of the original quote and twist in order to favor themselves. Even though the original quote was never meant to be manipulated, it was very distant on what the quote was meant to be. The quote from the poem has really shaped my views on what I might say and how it can be manipulated by someone else. Even though I might have the intention of saying one thing, it might come across in a different way in someone else’s mind. I personally, have said some things in my lifetime that I believe in, and others might not agree with therefore they take what I said and use it against me later in life. Ever since I read this poem I always try and think of how someone else’s mind might react to what I might be saying and how they could manipulate what I said and how it can be used against me.
As Kipling was writing his poem he always had the mindset that he always wanted the best for his son, but he never thought that John would not be here the day he is writing this. As Kipling states in the third stanza, “If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew/To serve your turn long after they are gone, /And so hold on when there is nothing in you/Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’ he was recalling that even if you push yourself after being exhausted and worn out, you will have nothing else besides the Will to “Hold on!” to. Throughout this quote Kipling states “…nerve and sinew…”which refers to the body and soul, because as Kipling said in his quote if there is nothing left inside of you at least hold on to your Will, because your Will is the mental faculty by which one deliberately chooses or decides upon a course of action so if you still think it, you can still believe in it. In the quote they are referring to your nerve and sinew, because if the only thing you can hold onto is your will, then what is the whole point of holding onto you nerve and sinew if you have your Will. This quote has really shaped my views on the world and my life, because I always lived by the saying, if something does not go your way, God always has a plan. The quote from the poem makes the saying I live by even more true, because if you do not have anything in you to continue anymore, then what will make you drive to continue and see what your future has in store for you.This quote has shaped my life today, because if I do not have the mentality to keep going after quitting multiple times,I would not be here today.
Rudyard Kipling has an excellent point of view as he wrote, “If”. During this poem he had explained the purpose on why many adolescents should try to find their place in this world. He has stated that when you speak, you should always think before you speak, because you do not want your words to be manipulated into something you never intended on saying. Kipling has also stated that in some parts of your life, when you feel there is nothing left sometimes the only thing you can do is to hold onto your Will, because your Will will always be there when needed. In conclusion, how will what you change in your life depend on someone else’s mind and how they will think of you? Will it improve your relationships? Or will it hurt the relationships you already have?
