" White " Tintin's burden

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The Character of Tintin, the world famous reporter created by Herge can be thought of as depicting the character of the "benevolent coloniser".In most of his comics Tintin travels to those parts of the world that can be broadly termed as "Non-West".Therefore West means Western part of Europe and Northern Part of America.Yhe rest of the world (which also includes Eastern Europe and South America)is generally termed as Non-West.It is especially here that Tintin arrives bearing the White mans burden to solve problems which people in these countries are incapable of solving.Tintin is often very subtly depicted as an enlightened messenger of the West not only in the Orient but to exotic locales like the moon.This can best be understood in the light of four episodes -Tintin in Congo,Cigars of the Pharaoh,King Ottokar's Sceptre and Calculas Affair.