Rudyard Kipling’s literary career began in journalism, but his prose sketches and verse brought him early fame.
Kipling was so closely associated with the expansive, confident attitude of late nineteenth century European civilization that it was inevitable that his reputation would suffer in the years during and after World War I.
Many who condemn him feel that Kipling's writing was inseparable from his social and political views, despite Kipling's considerable artistry. Critics often point to Kipling's transparently racist portrayals of Indian characters, which often supported the colonialist view that the Indians and other colonized peoples were incapable of surviving without the help of Europeans.
