We and They Analysis

Father and Mother, and Me,
Sister and Auntie say
All the people like us are We,
And every one else is They.
And They live over the sea,
While We live over the way,
But-would you believe it? --They look upon We
As only a sort of They!

We eat pork and beef
With cow-horn-handled knives.
They who gobble Their rice off a leaf,
Are horrified out of Their lives;
While they who live up a tree,
And feast on grubs and clay,
(Isn't it scandalous? ) look upon We
As a simply disgusting They!

We shoot birds with a gun.
They stick lions with spears.
Their full-dress is un-.
We dress up to Our ears.
They like Their friends for tea.
We like Our friends to stay;
And, after all that, They look upon We
As an utterly ignorant They!

We eat kitcheny food.
We have doors that latch.
They drink milk or blood,
Under an open thatch.
We have Doctors to fee.
They have Wizards to pay.
And (impudent heathen!) They look upon We
As a quite impossible They!

All good people agree,
And all good people say,
All nice people, like Us, are We
And every one else is They:
But if you cross over the sea,
Instead of over the way,
You may end by (think of it!) looking on We
As only a sort of They!

.: :.

"We and They" dramatizes how we are just as foreign to other people as they are to us. If we find what others do shocking, they're equally likely to be shocked at our own strange customs. There is no absolute definition of what is "normal"; it's all what you're accustomed to. We have to keep in mind that everyone is normal in their own eyes or we will not be able to understand them and interact with them. They don't think we're normal either.

| Posted on 2009-10-31 | by a guest

.: :.

Kipling's poem foreshadows identity, post-modern and post colonial studies, illustrating perfectly the binary logic underlying western rationality.Its multi perpectival tapestry is woven tightly with a weft and warp of geographical, psychical, cultural, social, economical and political threads. It may be subjected to myriad theoretical analyses. Indeed,from the very first line identifying the nuclear family as a patriarchal unit the poem tempts any theoretical junkie to dip their toe in Kipling's sea and wallow in the poem's limitless potential for enjoyable border trangressions.

| Posted on 2009-06-19 | by a guest

.: :.

We and They is a controversal poem which identifies the division between cultures, for example, the two different lifestyles led by these two families is highlighted the impression of an Indian trible and a British/American family comes to mind.
The poet talks about how they are looked upon by the other tribe but eventually we discover that the poet is equally as judgemental about the other tribe as they are him.
Many differences are drawn out, these include;
Diet, medical and religion.
The ancient other family are more spiritual than the poet and this also shows that they probably have more faith and don't take advantage of things.

Posted by miscilanious editor

| Posted on 2005-10-07 | by Approved Guest