The Multiplicity of Colonial Literature: Using the Portrayal of the Indian Population to Promote Democratic Values and Vocabulary Development in Upper Secondary School

Abstract: This essay explores the ways colonial short stories by Rudyard Kipling can be used in many different aspects of language teaching in upper secondary school.The analysis takes inspiration from Edward Said’s Orientalism, where he discusses and argues for the prevalence of the phenomenon of Orientalism in the zeitgeist of Western society during the age of European occupation and colonization. Additionally, the essay aims at showing the value of using the selected short stories as a means of teaching students a certain vocabulary that is necessary for identifying how Kipling’s portrayal of the Indian population frames them as vastly different from their British colonizers. Lastly, the essay suggests how teachers can use these attitudes and descriptions as valuable material for facilitating the inculcation of those democratic values that Skolverket expects schools to advocate.The analysis reveals several of the attitudes that Said highlighted, such as depictions that both implicitly and explicitly portray the Indian population as backward, uncivilized, and nonconforming to the values and attitudes that were ascribed to the colonizers at the time. There is also a large degree of an alleged racial, cultural, and religious superiority present in the stories. These attitudes could be employed as a basis for promoting discussions surrounding democratic values. The analysis also includes methods for explicit vocabulary development, suggesting how teachers can apply these to enable successful learning and development of new words and their connotations. Certain selected words are discussed thoroughly, since they display useful information regarding the portrayal of the Indian population, and some are discussed briefly to aid certain arguments.