Thrown Away
Encyclopedia
Thrown Away is a short story by British author Rudyard Kipling
. It was published in the first Indian edition of Plain Tales from the Hills
(1888), and in subsequent editions of that collection.
Thrown Away tells of an unnamed 'Boy', a product of the English "sheltered life system" that Kipling abhors. Having been protected from all unpleasantness, he has not been toughened and has not learned "the proper proportions of things". The Boy is sent to India
, not having met his parents' expectations at Sandhurst
, and becomes a subaltern in an Indian regiment. "This Boy — the tale is as old as the hills — came out and took all things seriously": he quarrels, and remembers disagreements; he gambles; he flirts, and is too serious; he loses money and health; he is reprimanded by his Colonel. When, finally, he is insulted (thoughtlessly) by a woman, he contemplates, and then asks for shooting leave, to go after Big Game where only partridge are to be found. He takes a revolver.
A Major (also nameless) who has taken an interest in the Boy returns from his own leave, and fearing the worst presses the narrator to go with him to visit the Boy. ("'Can you lie?'", the Major asks; "'You know best,' I answered. 'It's my profession'" says the journalist Kipling, ever self-deprecating.) After a furious drive, they find the Boy dead, by suicide — as the Major had feared. They bury him, concocting a story of cholera
. They bury the Boy discreetly. They discover letters that the Boy has written to the Colonel, to the Boy's mother, and to a girl in England. They are moved to tears by reading the letters, but they burn them, and concoct a letter to the Boy's mother, telling the lie about cholera, and others about his great promise etc., which earns her undying gratitude - "the obligation she would be under to us as long as she lived." "All things considered, she was under an obligation, but not exactly as she meant." The Major reveals the cause of his concern — he too had despaired when he was young, and he sympathised with the Boy.
Kipling is at pains to suggest the "White Man's burden" - that India, in this case, makes high demands on the rulers. The story also has keen psychological observations (the conspirators' combined laughter and choking fits as they prepare their lies) and telling narrative detail. For example, although they are tired, the Major and the narrator remember to "put away [the Boy's] revolver with the proper amount of cartridges in the pouch" in his room (emphasis added).
Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English poet, short-story writer, and novelist chiefly remembered for his celebration of British imperialism, tales and poems of British soldiers in India, and his tales for children. Kipling received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature...
. It was published in the first Indian edition of Plain Tales from the Hills
Plain Tales from the Hills
Plain Tales from the Hills is the first collection of short stories by Rudyard Kipling. Out of its 40 stories, "eight-and-twenty", according to Kipling's Preface, were initially published in the Civil and Military Gazette in Lahore, Punjab, British India, between November 1886 and June 1887...
(1888), and in subsequent editions of that collection.
Thrown Away tells of an unnamed 'Boy', a product of the English "sheltered life system" that Kipling abhors. Having been protected from all unpleasantness, he has not been toughened and has not learned "the proper proportions of things". The Boy is sent to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, not having met his parents' expectations at Sandhurst
Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst , commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is a British Army officer initial training centre located in Sandhurst, Berkshire, England...
, and becomes a subaltern in an Indian regiment. "This Boy — the tale is as old as the hills — came out and took all things seriously": he quarrels, and remembers disagreements; he gambles; he flirts, and is too serious; he loses money and health; he is reprimanded by his Colonel. When, finally, he is insulted (thoughtlessly) by a woman, he contemplates, and then asks for shooting leave, to go after Big Game where only partridge are to be found. He takes a revolver.
A Major (also nameless) who has taken an interest in the Boy returns from his own leave, and fearing the worst presses the narrator to go with him to visit the Boy. ("'Can you lie?'", the Major asks; "'You know best,' I answered. 'It's my profession'" says the journalist Kipling, ever self-deprecating.) After a furious drive, they find the Boy dead, by suicide — as the Major had feared. They bury him, concocting a story of cholera
Cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...
. They bury the Boy discreetly. They discover letters that the Boy has written to the Colonel, to the Boy's mother, and to a girl in England. They are moved to tears by reading the letters, but they burn them, and concoct a letter to the Boy's mother, telling the lie about cholera, and others about his great promise etc., which earns her undying gratitude - "the obligation she would be under to us as long as she lived." "All things considered, she was under an obligation, but not exactly as she meant." The Major reveals the cause of his concern — he too had despaired when he was young, and he sympathised with the Boy.
Kipling is at pains to suggest the "White Man's burden" - that India, in this case, makes high demands on the rulers. The story also has keen psychological observations (the conspirators' combined laughter and choking fits as they prepare their lies) and telling narrative detail. For example, although they are tired, the Major and the narrator remember to "put away [the Boy's] revolver with the proper amount of cartridges in the pouch" in his room (emphasis added).
- All quotations in this article have been taken from the Uniform Edition of Plain Tales from the HillsPlain Tales from the HillsPlain Tales from the Hills is the first collection of short stories by Rudyard Kipling. Out of its 40 stories, "eight-and-twenty", according to Kipling's Preface, were initially published in the Civil and Military Gazette in Lahore, Punjab, British India, between November 1886 and June 1887...
published by Macmillan & Co., Limited in London in 1899. The text is that of the third edition (1890), and the author of the article has used his own copy of the 1923 reprint. Further comment, including page-by-page notes, can be found here on the Kipling Society's website.