The Man Who Would Be King: What does it take to be King?

The Man Who Would Be King: What does it take to be King?

In “The Man Who Would Be King” we have two men, Daniel and Peachy, who aspire to become kings. Having become bored with their adventure in India, they decided to travel to the province of Kafiristan to become kings and rule the land. They successfully get the natives to belief that Daniel Dravot is a direct descendant of Alexander the Great and make him king. Now at this point everyone believes that Dravot deserves to be king and has a fake legitimacy. But what actually constitutes kingship?  If we look back to the 15^th Century we see that it’s almost always by birthright. Well Daniel is not of noble blood so we can forget about that. Later we have those who took power and legitimacy by force. Does military power legitimize a ruler? When we look at more modern examples like Joseph Stalin and Otto Van Bismarck they had the power of hundreds of thousands of soldiers. This made the people follow what they said. Now while Daniel never had that type of military power he did have his twenty or so Henry Rifles which helped impress the locals. This further solidified the locals believe that he was fit to rule.

To be a king your followers have to believe that you are fit to rule. Whether it’s because they believe God put you in charge, they were conquered and/or their last ruler was defeated. All this ended for them once Dravot got bit and bled. This completely ruined his legitimacy. The Kafirs believed him to be almost a deity and when they saw blood they knew that it was an act. After he was captured and killed. However he died with his crown on.  From the moment Dravot became king and to the day he died, he himself believed that he was a king. Therefore was he actually a King? He sure went out like a king, but the fact that his people didn’t follow him after finding about his true is identity I what doesn’t make him a king. A king is someone who can rule his people through his proven legitimacy and fear. That’s something Daniel lost when they saw him bleed. The fear that he had was no longer there so they fought back and won. What do you guys think? Was Daniel a king? Yes or no explain your reasoning.

Thanks!

-          Frankenstein’s Monsters