04. CE 201 - IF by Rudyard Kipling

Описание:    • HPU 2nd Year English Compulsory Course  
RUDYARD KIPLING (1865 - 1936)
First British writer to win the Nobel Prize in 1907.
Born in Bombay and educated in England, before returning to India and working as a journalist until 1889.
Detached European outsider who saw India from the inside, as shown in his notable works, such as Plain Tales from the Hills (1888), Jungle Book (1894) and Kim (1901).
Often in the guide of children's books, he reflected on deeper historical, national and racial identities.
Was a supporter of Colonialism and British expansion, as evinced by his now-notorious poem, The White Man's Burden.

IF (1909)
Timeless and universal life-advice from a father to a son.
To strive for honesty, patience, modesty, detachment, etc. and to find the right balance between pride and humility, thought and action, etc.
Philosophical advice on how to become a true and complete human being -- easy to put in words but difficult to execute.
Thus, the emphasis on IF: For if you can do these things, you'll be able to lead a happy, productive and worthwhile human life.

" If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And--which is more--you'll be a Man, my son! "