Question

Read this excerpt from Rudyard Kipling's poem "The White Man's Burden" and then answer the question that follows:Take up the White Man's burden —Send forth the best ye breed —Go, bind your sons to exileTo serve your captives' need;To wait, in heavy harness,On fluttered folk and wild —Your new-caught sullen peoples,Half devil and half child.Take up the White Man's burden —In patience to abide,To veil the threat of terrorAnd check the show of pride;By open speech and simple,An hundred times made plain,To seek another's profitAnd work another's gain.1According to the poem, how did the imperial powers justify the colonization of African and Asian nations?

A.The imperial powers believed that they could use African and Asian territory as military bases.

B.The imperial powers believed that they would eventually be able to bring democracy to Africa and Asia.

C.The imperial powers believed that they needed African and Asian resources to grow their economies.

D.The imperial powers believed that they were spreading a superior culture in Africa and Asia.

Answer 1

Hi there!

The answer is D, The imperial powers believed that they were spreading a superior culture in Africa and Asia.

The reason why the imperial powers believed that they were spreading a superior culture in Africa and Asia can be found in the text in phrases like Send forth the best ye breed which implies that they should send the best "breed" of people (which they consider to be white people), to be send to Africa and Asia to do services for a group of prisoners. Additionally, as we can see in the first lines of this poem, the writer capitalizes the words white man throughout the poem, giving us a clear idea of how superior they thought white men were.

Therefore, the answer to this question is option D. The imperial powers believed that they were spreading a superior culture in Africa and Asia.