What are some examples of the specific difficulties Kipling faces in taking up "The White Man's Burden"?

The difficulties your question refers to are the complications of Imperialism, which Kipling argues is the responsibility of the sophisticated European-descended peoples to civilize the native peoples of the areas they are colonizing. Kipling, a British citizen born in India, is addressing the United States, and in describing his own country’s experience in their empire-building, lets them know what to expect as they seek to expand their territory.
To identify what is truly difficult about imperialism, you’ll need to look closely at Kipling’s word choice. In just the first stanza, you can see the evidence of this burden: exile (line 3) and heavy harness (line 5). Those individuals who will facilitate the building of an empire must live abroad under heavy “toil” (line 28). They must be far from the comforts of home and family to complete their mission, which will not be an easy one. There is no guarantee their goals will be met, either, as you could see in lines 23 and 24:

“Watch Sloth and heathen Folly
Bring all your hope to nought.”

The best illustration of the white man’s difficulties in imperialism can be found in the fifth stanza, where Kipling argues that they will be blamed, hated, and fought by the same population they are attempted to help. Finally, they’ll be pressured by their peers in what we would know as the “first world” countries--line 56: “the judgment of your peers!” These are only a few of the difficulties Kipling describes in “The White Man’s Burden.” Look closely at his diction to discover others.


Rudyard Kipling's poem "The White Man's Burden" is about why the United States should begin to emulate the imperialist and colonialist tendencies of other Western countries, such as England and France. In the poem, Kipling cites several things that he considers the white man's burden and uses them as evidence for why the United States should conquer non-white people and choose an imperialist foreign strategy.
One of the difficulties he mentions is the judgement of others. Kipling states:

Take up the White Man's burden—And reap his old reward:The blame of those ye better,The hate of those ye guard.

Kipling was explaining that, even though he believed conquering and guiding other people was the right thing to do, they might not see it that way. In the end, they might hate the conquerors for it, as had happened time and time again.
Another difficulty Kipling showcases is the possibility of failure. He says, "Fill full the mouth of Famine / And bid the sickness cease" but then warns that "Watch sloth and heathen Folly / Bring all your hopes to nought." His point is that no matter what they do, it's possible that what Kipling sees as the natural impulses of other cultures will make it impossible for them to succeed. He claims that, even though the colonizers are working to help better the colonized, it's possible that the improvements they tried to achieve won't come to pass.
Kipling also says the colonizers will have to send their best people—their grown children—to be the ones to help other cultures become what Kipling saw as civilized. He says that the sons will be in "exile / to serve your captives' needs." He means the conquering country will have to give talent and the lives of some of its smartest, strongest citizens to help make the non-white people more civilized.
https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/mod/Kipling.asp

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