My Boy Jack is set during and in the years leading up to World War I. Named after Rudyard Kipling’s 1916 poem of the same name, the play dramatizes the poet’s real-life struggle after his son, John, goes missing in the Battle of Loos on the Western Front in France. The play depicts Kipling's unswerving determination to get John enlisted in the army, despite his son’s terrible eyesight. Kipling’s deep-rooted patriotism and the belief that all young men owe a debt of honor to their country leads to a family rift as his wife, Carrie, and daughter, Elsie, struggle to comprehend Kipling’s reasoning. After John goes missing, Rudyard and his wife, Carrie, spend the next two years trying to retrace what happened to their son. Finally, they discover his tragic fate in the face of enemy machine guns. With his son’s death lying heavily on his conscience, Kipling is forced to question his beliefs.
My Boy Jack guide sections
