It's time to pay the price, white men. At least, that's one way to sum up the speaker's argument in "The White Man's Burden." He's certainly not selling this work as anything that will be fun, or rewarding, or even remotely pleasant. Instead, he's demanding that white men endure pretty much constant hardship, or even death. For him, though, it's totes worth it. Not only will these white men become strong and mature Men in the process, they'll also be "saving" a group of people in the process (saving them from a perfectly happy and functional life before the white men showed up, that is).
Questions About Sacrifice
- Why do you think the poem focuses so much on the hardships that the white men will have to endure?
- What reasons does the speaker put forward to suggest that this sacrifice is worth making?
- Who do you think is the true beneficiary of the sacrifices described in the poem: the native local people or the white men? What parts of the poem support your answer?
Chew on This
The sacrifices that the speaker describes are the only redeeming parts of the poem.
The juice just ain't worth the squeeze. The sexism-racism combo that the speaker dishes out totally undermines his encouragement to sacrifice for others.