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"The Mark of the Beast": Rudyard Kipling's apocalyptic vision of empire.

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From: Studies in Short Fiction
Date: 19960622
Author:Battles, Paul

Rudyard Kipling was more a critic of than apologist for imperialism, as shown by his short story "The Mark of the Beast." The Indian deity Hanuman confronts an Englishman mocking an idol and begins to metamorphose the man into an animal. The story's title alludes to the Antichrist in the Book of Revelation, suggesting the colonial rulers must eventually pay for desecrating Indian beliefs.

The past decade has finally laid to rest the stereotype of Kipling the jingoistic poet of Empire. With few exceptions, recent critics of Kipling's work have commented on the ambiguity and ...

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