We and They Kipling

Worksheet Part 1

Name: ______________________

Vocabulary: Write a short definition for each word

gobble (line 11) _______________________________________________________________
grubs (line 14) ________________________________________________________________
clay (line 14) _________________________________________________________________
scandalous (line 15) ______________________________________________________________
simply (line 16) _________________________________________________________________
disgusting (line 16) ___________________________________________________________
spears (line 18) ________________________________________________________________
utterly (line 24) ________________________________________________________________
ignorant (line 24) ______________________________________________________________
latch (line 26) __________________________________________________________________
thatch (line 28) _________________________________________________________________
impudent heathen (line 31) _________________________________________________________
quite (line 32) _________________________________________________________________
intolerance ___________________________________________________________________
2. Write a short paragraph (or 5 sentences), using at least 5 of the above
words.
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
LOTS - Answer briefly.
1. In the first stanza, the speaker finds it unbelievable that
___________________________________.
2. According to the poem, it is human nature to ___________________________________.
3. The poem tells us that people are often ___________________ of that which is different.

Questions to think about and discuss:

1. . What is your opinion of the authors conclusion?
2. What makes us look at people who do things differently as disgusting or primitive
or ignorant? Why dont we just look at them as different?
3. Looking at todays society, do you think ignorance or intolerance of others is the
greater problem?
4. Do you think that if you went to live abroad, a time would come when you would look

upon Israelis as They?

We and They Kipling

Worksheet Part 2

Name: ______________________

Analysis
1. What is the difference between We and They in the poem?
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
2. Explain line 21: "They like their friends for tea."
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
3. What is significant about the poets use of capital letters?
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
4. What does "We and They" have to do with the upside down world map
your teacher showed you? Explain, and quote from the poem to
demonstrate the connection.
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
5. What can happen to change the way someone looks at others ?
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
6. What is the author telling us about ignorance ? About intolerance ? What is the
difference between the two ?
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________

Bridging Text and Context

Rudyard Kipling was born in India in 1865 to British parents. His father was head of an art school in
Bombay (Mumbai.) When he was six years old, it was decided that Kipling would be educated in
England. He was placed a foster home in England and sent to school. This was said to be a very
unhappy time for the young boy. In 1878, Kipling entered boarding school. He returned to India in
1882 where he rejoined his parents and worked as a journalist and an editor. He also began to produce
stories and satirical verses and by the time he returned to England in 1889, he had earned quite a
reputation as a writer.
By the last decade of the nineteenth century, Kipling was a hugely successful writer. In 1894, his
childrens book Jungle Book appeared. Kim was Kiplings first major novel, in which he described the
complex life of the Indian people as seen through the eyes of Kim, a poor orphan boy.
Kipling was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1907. He died in 1936 in London and is buried
in the Poet's Corner at Westminster Abbey.
How do you think Kipling felt about the We and They in his poem? Write a short paragraph.

According to your teacher's instructions, read and discuss one or more of the following
questions.
1. What can happen to change the way someone looks at others?
2. What is the author telling us about ignorance? About intolerance? What is the difference between
the two?
2. What is your opinion of the authors conclusion?
More.
1 How do you look at people who are not members of your groups?
2. Can fierce pride in being a member of a particular group and pride in being different from others
ever be a good thing?
3. What makes us look at people who do things differently as disgusting or primitive or
ignorant? Why dont we just look at them as different?
4. Looking at todays society, do you think ignorance or intolerance of others is the greater problem?
5. Do you think that if you went to live abroad, a time would come when you would look upon Israelis
as They?

FOR THE TEACHER We and They

(Based on the unit in A Cool Collection 2 by Linda Taharlev ECB 2001)
Background Notes
1. About the Author
Rudyard Kipling was born in India in 1865 to British parents. His father was head of an art school in
Bombay (Mumbai.) When he was six years old, it was decided that Kipling would be educated in
England. He was placed a foster home in England and sent to school. This was said to be a very
unhappy time for the young boy. In 1878, Kipling entered boarding school. He returned to India in
1882 where he rejoined his parents and worked as a journalist and an editor. He also began to produce
stories and satirical verses and by the time he returned to England in 1889, he had earned quite a
reputation as a writer.
By the last decade of the nineteenth century, Kipling was a hugely successful writer and was
considered by to be the successor of Charles Dickens. In 1894, his childrens book Jungle Book
appeared. A second Jungle Book was published in 1895. Both became childrens classics all over the
world, as did his Just So Stories (1902). Kim was Kiplings first major novel, in which he described the
complex life of the Indian people as seen through the eyes of Kim, a poor orphan boy.
Kipling was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1907. He died in 1936 in London and is buried
in Poet's Corner at Westminster Abbey.
3. Other works by Kipling
> The poem If, one of Kiplings best-loved poems. http://www.kipling.org.uk/poems_if.htm
> Kipling's autobiographical short story, Baa Baa Black Sheep.
http://www.readbookonline.net/readOnLine/40879/ and notes on the story
http://www.kipling.org.uk/rg_baabaa1.htm
Answer Key
Worksheet Part 1
Vocabulary (add words they asked about. )

Paragraph: You may suggest they write a funny story. You can focus on any grammatical / literary
form you feel relevant (past progressive, first person narrator etc.)
LOTS (Suggestions for answers. Accept anything that makes sense.)
1, they look at us as they
2. believe that all nice people are like us (lines 33-36)
3. intolerant (This might be a new vocab. word. Show use of prefix, and word family to tolerate,
tolerant)

Worksheet Part 2
Analysis (Suggestions for answers. Accept anything that makes sense.)
1. 1st stanza : a b a b a b a b
2nd stanza : c d c d a b a b 3rd, 4th follows this template
5th stanza exactly like 1st.
In ALL the stanzas, the last 4 lines have the same rhymes, and the last two the same words (we /
they). This connects the different stanzas, focuses on the symmetry between we and they, and creates a
framework for the whole poem.
2. "for tea" = to come for tea, to eat them for tea (as in cannibals.) This is an example of a pun or
"double entendre." (In England, "tea" means a light evening meal, not just the drink..)
3. By capitalizing these words, the poet emphasizes the division between we and they. As if We
and They are names of countries, peoples.
4. "Point of View" Lines 58, 37-40 or others.
Bridging Text and Content
The first and last stanza of "The Balled of East and West" (1889) is
0h, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet,
Till Earth and Sky stand presently at God's great Judgment Seat;
But there is neither East nor West, Border, nor Breed, nor Birth,
When two strong men stand face to face, though they come from the ends of the earth!
This poem is often misquoted (quoting only the first two lines.) The poem is about an English
officer and an Afghan horse-thief, Kamal, who discover friendship by respecting one anothers
courage and chivalry. The poem can be found at http://www.kipling.org.uk/rg_eastwest1.htm
Read and discuss (Can be done orally or not done at all, or in groups .)
1. If one gets to really know They and becomes one of them, he may look at those he once
considered We in a totally different light.
3. Encourage discussion around the contrast between ignorance (not realizing that people can be
different) and intolerance (the claim that anyone who is different is inferior).
4. Encourage discussion and debate.
More things (on worksheet part 2) - Can be done orally or not done at all, or in groups
Post Reading
Read and discuss "The Untouchable"
Class assignment:
1.Write a fable (universal place, time, characters; has a lesson) on the theme of "The Untouchable" or
"We and They." Write 120 words.
OR
2. Write a 16 line (at least) poem about the differences between people. Pay attention to rhyming.
In a weaker class, do not teach "The Untouchable".
Post reading assignment any of the following:
Writing ideas (Do not appear on students' worksheet)
1. Imagine you are a They and live across the sea. Write an essay describing Israeli
society from the outside looking in.
2. Imagine that a group of Theys has come to our country and you have been given the job of
introducing them to our habits and customs. Write a speech in which you welcome them and give a
brief overview of how We live.
3. Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper, discussing the question of tolerance in our
society. Refer to the theme of the poem in your letter.