Employing a familiar voice, Rudyard Kipling mimics the character of a British officer in colonial India describing his regiment's “water boy”, Gunga Din. With a reflective, though lighthearted tone, the officer guides the reader through his change of heart towards Gunga Din. He writes the poem as a tribute to this selfless man. The monologue's diction first paints the officer as an uneducated, ignorant young man. Gunga Din the ragged native, on the other hand, tirelessly fills the officer's mouths with water, and receives no thanks, only more demands and complaints. He owes nothing to the officers and appears more composed and courageous, yet he is subjected to them.
Similarly, the officer's spelling is phonetic and idiomatic, contributing to this central irony of the piece. Kipling includes dialogue from the other officers to reveal the biting, pompous attitudes towards Gunga Din. On the battlefield, Gunga Din continues to out perform his superiors. The officer writes that Gunga Din “didn’t seem to know the use o’ fear.” When the ammunition runs dry and the men lose hope, the “heathen” Gunga Din refills their supply. He continually refreshes the regiment’s chance of victory, though each victory is against his own people.
The officer's ignorance and selfishness vanishes when Gunga Din sacrifices himself to save the unworthy officer. Realizing Gunga Din’s true superiority, the officer writes, “An’ for all ’is dirty ’ide/’E was white, clear white, inside/When ’e went to tend the wounded under fire!” Like the “green” and “crawlin’” water the officer sips, Gunga Din’s worth comes neither from his appearance nor education, but from his ability to save a life. Reflecting on Gunga Din’s death, the officer finally understands Gunga Din’s worth writing, “Though I’ve belted you and flayed you,/By the livin’ Gawd that made you,/You’re a better man than I am, Gunga Din!”
