So 'ere's to you, Fuzzy-Wuzzy, at your 'ome in the Soudan; You're a pore benighted 'eathen but a first-class fightin' man.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Kipling toasts an African soldier, praising his fighting skill while noting his religious difference and colonial status.
- In plain terms
- This Fuzzy-Wuzzy fighter is great at fighting, even though he is not Christian.
- What can you take from it?
- Respect can be given to enemies for their skill even when other differences exist.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Can you respect an enemy without agreeing with them?
- How does colonialism affect respect?
Another view
The respect is undercut by colonial condescension and religious prejudice.
More from Rudyard Kipling
For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' 'Chuck him out, the brute!' But it's 'Saviour of 'is country' when the guns begin to shoot.
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Permalink to quote #26 We aren't no thin red 'eroes, nor we aren't no blackguards too, But single men in barricks, most remarkable like you; An' if sometimes our conduck isn't all yo…
Permalink to quote #23
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