The Danger of Arrogance
The story is about a man, Daniel Dravot, whose arrogance drove him to first build an empire and then to destroy it. The same self-importance that caused him to decide that he could become a local ruler in Kafiristan led him to grossly overextend himself. He allowed and encouraged the local men to believe that he and his friend Peachey were not men but gods possessing immense secrets.
Once he accepted the status and obligations of a god, Daniel Dravot refused to act like one. He insisted on marrying a young local woman, against her will and over the objections of the entire community. According to local beliefs, it was an abomination for gods and mortals to intermarry.
Peachey reminded Daniel of the contract he had signed, and how he was to avoid women and alcohol until they were well settled. It seemed to Peachey that, with the ongoing threat of war and with his and Daniel's kingship resting on the false belief that they were not men but gods, they had not yet achieved their goal. He therefore advised Dan not to marry.
Determined to get his way, and convinced that he was above the rules that applied even to gods, Daniel proceeded with the wedding, only to have his bride bite him hard enough to draw blood. The sight of the blood convinced the local people, who were already angry, that Dravot was not a god but a mortal man.
Dan has several opportunities to avoid disaster: had he not pretended to be a god in the first place, and had he not insisted on ignoring the customs that governed even gods, he would have still been a ruler but perhaps not an overlord. But his pride and arrogance would not have allowed him to make such a decision.
The Obligation of Friendship
Early in the story, Dan and Peachey sign a contract that obligate them to do three things: to become kings in Kafiristan, to avoid alcohol, women, and other things that may distract them from that goal until the goal is achieved, and for each to render aid if the other is in trouble.
Although the two men initially work as a team, it gradually becomes clear that Dan is the leader and Peachey is at best an assistant, who finds it impossible to learn the local language and who is unable to be an effective administrator. Dan's growing ambition leads him to leave Peachey behind drilling troops while he goes in search of more territory and a larger empire. This disappoints Peachey, however when Dan comes back covered in glory, with the locals worshipping Dan as a god, he helps Dan to perpetuate the scheme.
Since a local cult has formed around the basics of Freemasonry, and since Dan and Peachey happen to be Master Masons, they take advantage of their higher level of initiation by bestowing bogus third degrees on some of the tribal leaders in order to ensure their ongoing support. Peachey helps Dan despite his moral reservations.
Peachey does his very best to keep Dan from making what he believes to be a serious mistake in marrying a young local woman, but Dan ignores him. As a result, the people of Kafiristan realize that they have been duped, and that Dan and Peachey are not gods. Old tribal rivalries instantly erupt, and although Dan and Peachey attempt to escape they are soon surrounded. Peachey and Billy have a chance to escape, because the person the villagers really want to execute is Dan, but because of the contract Peachey elects to stay. So does Billy, who considers himself a friend and ally. The angry villagers kill Billy and Dan and crucify Peachey, who survives but is crippled.
Peachey, who begins to lose his sanity, is fed and cared for in the temple until he is recovered to the extent possible. At that point, the villagers give him Dan's head in a bag, crown and all. It takes him a year to walk back to India, but every step of the waay he hallucinates his friend Dan walking ahead of him, encouraging him, keeping the mountains from falling on him, and never letting go of his hand. Peachey likewise never lets go of Dan's head.
Racial Superiority
Much of Rudyard Kipling's work contains racist language about the superiority of white people, and English people in particular, however the message is almost always delivered in a way so ironic as to undermine the message.
In The Man Who Would Be King, the two main characters, who are English, believe that they have the right and in fact the duty to go to Kafiristan and set themselves up as kings. To this, they trust to two things: first, their presumed cultural and ethnic superiority, and second, lots of guns and ammunition. Their behavior once they arrive is deceptive, brutal, insensitive, and ultimately self destructive. They display the exact opposite of superiority. Although they succeed in becoming rulers for a short time due to the advantage created by the advanced modern weapons they bring, their near-total ignorance of the local culture leads them to be rejected and easily overthown by the very people they purport to govern.
In Kafiristan, when Peachey and Dan want to compliment somebody, they refer to them as being "quite English". They ally with the tribe of the palest, hairiest people they can find and congratulate themselves on how very European they appear to be. In the process, they convince themselves that people who look English will most likely act English as well, or at least defer to higher ranking Englishmen who coincidentally appear to have all the lost Masonic secrets the local men crave. In this, they are wrong. The locals worship them as gods, which makes it far easier for Dan to consolidate his empire, especially since it plays into his notion of superiority. However, when the people of Kafiristan find out that Dan is not a god, they take revenge in a decidedly un-European fashion. At this point, Dan and Peachey note that the locals have become quite English in terms of their marksmanship and their use of the rifles and musketry supplied by the would-be kings.
