In \"The Literature of East Asia and the Pacific Rim,\" Michael Harris quotes: \

Question

In "The Literature of East Asia and the Pacific Rim," Michael Harris quotes: "'Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet.'" With this famous line, British writer Rudyard Kipling has captured the idea that the East and West are so radically different that their people can't possibly understand one another. Do you agree or disagree with Kipling's statement? Write an essay in which you defend your opinion. Use relevant examples from at least two or three of the selections you read. Be sure to include the title of each selection you cite as evidence.

Explanation / Answer

I know this famous line "East is east and west is west and never the twain shall meet" from Rudyard Kipling I think shows his love for British Colonialism in this case I believe in India and it suggests that the people of the east i.e. India and the people of Britain are mutually exclusive and can never reconcile their differences and also the assumption is that the white colonialists are superior to the Indian masses of people. He may have been right that the Indian people would not accept British colonialism i.e that they could not reconcile with it and therefore struggled against it to eventually achieve independence but he certainly was not right that they had to submit to British colonialism and that they were inferior human beings.   In the poem of which this stanza is the opening, Kipling illustrates this fact by setting a Pathan bandit named Kamal and the unnamed son of a colonel of British Guides against each other, but in the end they become friends out of mutual respect for each other’s toughness and determination. People from India, while tending – as do most immigrants anywhere – to form, live and marry within their own communities, at least in the initial generations, very often integrate into the societies in which they find themselves. Indeed Canada has quite a number of such immigrants, or their offspring, serving as MPs in Ottawa. Pretty much, any country or region in Asia formerly ruled by Europeans, and with remnants of that age, qualify as best examples of the East meeting the West. Formerly a Portuguese colony in the Indian Subcontinent, now a state of India. Westerners flock to Goa’s beaches due to its openness to pleasure-seeking visitors. Goa has a rich history, some of which tourists do not see on display because of the predominance of attraction such as beaches and nightclubs.The Hindu temple of Shanta Durga temple in Goa is a great example of the East meeting the West. Not only for immigration, but thousands of eastern people come to the US and stay temporarily but for a considerable amount of time for educational purposes. For many, these stays are their first experience abroad. So,even though the cultures are different but definitely the connection is present due mass immigrations and globalizations across the world.

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