The Army of a Dream

""The Army of a Dream""
The cover of a 1905 print of The Army of a Dream
Author Rudyard Kipling
Country USA
Language English
Publisher Morning Post
Publication date 1904

"The Army of a Dream" is a speculative fiction short story written by Rudyard Kipling, published in the Morning Post in June 1904.[1] It models an alternate way of organizing the military, along lines of responsibility and competence instead of heredity and privilege, as he had seen that the British Military was at that time.

Plot

Using indirect exposition, Kipling conveys to the reader that the narrator is experiencing the story as a dream. The story itself involves a military man taking the narrator around and showing off his military unit, the Tynesiders. It is revealed that in their society, military service is voluntary, but almost universal, because only those who have served may vote, along with a number of other incentives. Unlike military forces common through much of history, those of the story are not authoritarian or what one might otherwise call "militaristic", but are a sort of citizen militia composed of competent men focused on dealing with any threat to their community and nation.

Influence

Rudyard Kipling was, in general, a major influence on one of the 20th century's most influential writers, Robert A. Heinlein. In his seminal work Starship Troopers, Heinlein models a similar society, where one is not a citizen unless one becomes a veteran of government service. While this does not have to be in combat forces but is actually more like being a civil servant,[2] that novel follows characters in the mobile infantry, and is in fact the origin of the mech trope that has pervaded science fiction since.[3] Also foreshadowed is Heinlein's fondness for the competent hero, a character who — though usually bearing normal human flaws — is rugged and self-responsible, able to do most things at least on a fundamental level and functioning with a high level of confidence and self-actualization.

References

  1. ↑ "The Army of a Dream". www.kiplingsociety.co.uk. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  2. ↑ Booth, Howard J. (1 September 2011). "The Cambridge Companion to Rudyard Kipling". Cambridge University Press. Retrieved 3 September 2018 – via Google Books.
  3. ↑ Sandison, Alan (30 April 2016). "Histories of the Future: Studies in Fact, Fantasy and Science Fiction". Springer. Retrieved 3 September 2018 – via Google Books.
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