Kim has an exciting plot filled with suspenseful incident. Kim's fortune depends on the prophesy that he will find protection from a red bull on a green field, but he does not discover what this means until well into the book. Similarly, the River of the Arrow that the lama seeks remains a mystery until the very end when he realizes that the river is a spiritual one, only found when one has reached perfection. Kim's future is also in suspense until the very end. It takes all of his experience to help him understand that he is British and Christian but will follow the example and values of both Mahbub Ali, a Moslem, and his lama, a Buddhist.

Kipling uses the theme of initiation in developing Kim's growth, for Kim is gradually introduced to various forces in his world in order to grow into a...