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Analysis of the shooting an elephant
Colonialism in essay form
Colonialism in post colonialism literature
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Recommended: Analysis of the shooting an elephant
In “Shooting an Elephant,” George Orwell’s protagonist, the police officer, behaves in ways that contradict his views on colonialism and his position in society.
The police officer confesses how his divided values torment him. Between his hatred of Britain’s colonization of the East and his desire “to drive a bayonet into a Buddhist priest’s guts” he fails to feel secure about himself or his life in Burma. In the terminology of Critical Theory Today, the police officer suffers from a “cultural identity crisis” and, as a result, feels “unhomed.”
Throughout the text, the police officer describes the Burmese’s hatred for him and their fondness of publicly humiliating him. This treatment from the Burmese agitates the police officer because he believes he supports “the Burmese and [was] all against their oppressors, the British.” His conflicted statements vent aggression towards both the British and the Burmese.
Although the Burmese people will not accept the police officer, he describes how his views do not align with Eurocentric beliefs. He is burdened by his necessary duties as a police officer and by his hatred for his home country. He revealed, “Feelings like these are the normal by-products of imperialism; ask any Anglo-Indian official.” The officer makes it apparent that this internal conflict affects other Europeans in Burma. The officer seems to grasp that colonialism has impacted both those colonizing and those colonized. He recognizes the combination of British and Burmese cultures that has occurred thus far. For example, he refers to other police officers as “Anglo-Indian.” Nevertheless, he is unable to grasp the long-lasting impact that colonization has had on himself.
The hardships of being a European in Burma are d...
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...ast; a story always sounds clear enough at a distance, but the nearer you get to the scene of events the vaguer it becomes.” I pre-maturely assumed the police officer would not be troubled by his line of work or by the maltreatment of the Burmese. As the story progresses the police officer expresses his flip-flopping advocacy for the Burmese and the British. I felt a strong sense of uncertainty that was accompanied by the vagueness Orwell described.
I believe that Orwell purposely delineates this vagueness. He is able to parallel it with the sense of uncertainty that the text exemplifies about colonialism. The blind spots left within the text by Orwell are comparable to the police officer that “could get nothing into perspective.” Overall, Orwell produced a conflicted text that is “clear enough at a distance” but becomes far more ambiguous upon further analysis.
The British police officer in Shooting an Elephant had never been respected by the Burman natives a day in his life. He was regularly mocked and cheated, even by the religious students of Burma, simply because he was one of the many enforcers of their imposed oppressor’s government. When the elephant went on a “must”, he found himself in an interesting position. The very natives who had always jeered and spat at him were cheering him on. Suddenly, he is faced with the choice between his personal morality and the ever so f...
This is an important example of the foolishness of writers that do not understand the metaphors, similes, and symbolic expressions to help the reader understand their ideas in the writing. I also agree that writers do not use words “precisely”, which can confuse the reader. Many writers are not fully aware of the meaning of the words they choose, which Orwell breaks down in the writings he is analyzing. Clarity in the writing process is conveyed with great accuracy by Orwell to make this second point.
Every day, each individual will look back on decisions he or she have made and mature from those experiences. Though it takes time to realize these choices, the morals and knowledge obtained from them are priceless. In George Orwell’s nonfictional essay, “Shooting an Elephant”, a young Orwell was stationed in Burma for the British imperial forces, tasked to deal with an elephant who destroyed various parts of the village Moulmein while its owner was away. Backed by second thoughts and a crowd of thousands, he finds himself shooting the elephant and reflecting that it was not justified; however, it was a choice pushed by his duty and the people. Written with a fusion of his young and old self’s outlook on shooting the elephant, Orwell’s essay is a sensational read that captivates his audience and leaves them questioning his decision.
In 1922, Orwell began working as the assistant superintendent of police in Myaungmya, Burma, and this is where his hatred toward imperialism and its tyrannical rule over the underdogs in society developed. He felt guilty torturing and flogging unwilling subjects. The community had taken too much power over the individual, and the imperialist society commanded Orwell to enforce this injustice: “I was stuck between my hatred of the empire I served and my rage against the evil-spirited little beasts who tried to make my job impossible. With one part of my mind I thought of the British Raj as an unbreakable tyranny…with another part I thought the greatest joy in the world would be to drive a bayonet into a Buddhist priest’s guts. Feelings like these are normal by-products of imperialism” (qtd. in Lewis 41). Obviously, imperialism had affected Orwell to the point where he developed animosity towards the Burmese. As a policeman doing “the dirty work of the Empire” (qtd. in Lewis 41), Orwell acquired a hatred for imperialism, a belief that is focused on dominion over other individuals.
George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant” is a short story that not only shows cultural divides and how they affect our actions, but also how that cultural prejudice may also affect other parties, even if, in this story, that other party may only be an elephant. Orwell shows the play for power between the Burmese and the narrator, a white British police-officer. It shows the severe prejudice between the British who had claimed Burma, and the Burmese who held a deep resentment of the British occupation. Three messages, or three themes, from Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant” are prejudice, cultural divide, and power.
One feeling that is carried out through the end of the narrative is guilt. Orwell despised his job as he stated, “I was all for the Burmese and all against their oppressors, the British.” (323) In a job like Orwell’s at the time, he got to see the dirty work of the empire at close quarters. As Orwell states, “The wretched prisoners huddling in the stinking cages of the lock-ups, the grey, cowed faces of the long-term convicts, the scarred buttocks of the men who had been flogged with bamboos-all these oppressed me with an intolerable sense of
We understand that the author’s purpose is to show how degraded he feels by the events that took place that morning in Burma.
A police officer in the British Raj, the supposedly 'unbreakable'; ruling force, was afraid. With his gun aimed at a elephant's head, he was faced with the decision to pull the trigger. That officer was George Orwell, and he writes about his experience in his short story, 'Shooting an Elephant';. To save face, he shrugged it off as his desire to 'avoid looking the fool'; (George Orwell, 283). In truth, the atmosphere of fear and pressure overwhelmed him. His inner struggle over the guilt of being involved in the subjugation of a people added to this strain, and he made a decision he would later regret enough to write this story.
Over time, Westerners came in contact with the natives. In the book Burmese Days by George Orwell, the author tells the story of the Western dominance in Burma. During the early 20th Century, the British Westerners gained control of Burman civilizations. A group of about ten British individuals maintain control of over 2,000 natives. Each character has different reasons and methods for wanting control. The locals accepted European dominance because the Europeans had strategies to legitimize their dominance. The local Burmese people viewed the Europeans in different ways. Elizabeth, Mr. and Mrs. Lakersteen, Dr. Veraswami, U Po Kyin, and Ma Hla May all have specialized reasons for maintaining
He employs the possibility that the colonizers can easily forget that the colonizedthe Burmeseare human. The callous effect that colonization has on the natives is evident in the imprisonment of the Burmese. The narrator states, “the wretched prisoners huddling in the stinking cages of the lockups, the grey, cowed faces of the long-term convicts, the scarred buttocks of the men who had been bogged with bamboos” (Orwell 276). The narrator learns to play the role of a stereotypical colonizer which results in the line between his role and his personal identity being blurred. Powerless to resist the commands of colonialism, the police officer obeys what the British tells him to do leading to a shift in his sense of reality.
George Orwell was a sub-divisional police officer in Lower Burma under the control of the British Empire. He did not like his job. He was bullied and hated by large numbers of people. As a police officer he states; “I was an obvious target and was baited whenever it seemed safe to do so” (Orwell 237). The feelings he had toward his job were
The character, himself, is part of the British rule and is supposed to have all of the power. The Burmese, though, dangle the power in front of him. He is weak and unsure of himself, stating that he “wears a mask, and his face grows to fit it” (60). The character is not able to stand up for what he believes in -- that is, not shooting the elephant. There is a back and forth struggle in his mind about whether or not the elephant needs to be killed. Orwell’s character is fully aware that it is wrong and immoral to shoot an innocent creature, but eventually secedes to the demands of the Burmese, attempting to prove his cooperation and loyalty to those watching. In a way, the Burmese represent the pressures of society. Because of this, the audience can sympathize with the main character. There are always times when we, the readers, are unsure of ourselves, but we eventually make a decision. Whether we make the decision for ourselves or are assisted by others, in the end, we must take responsibility for our own actions. In a broader sense, Orwell’s character represents the internal conflict that everyone faces: should we conform to society or should we be our own
The state of power established through the imperialistic backdrop show that Orwell should have control over the Burmese. Orwell is a British colonial officer in Burma, which is under the control of the British, and because of this he should have authority and control over the Burmans. The presence of the empire is established when Orwell explains that, “with one part of my mind I thought of the British Raj as an unbreakable tyranny...upon the will of the prostrate people; with another part I thought that the greatest joy in the world would be to drive a bayonet into a Buddhist priest’s gut.” (144) This ideal imperialistic circumstance, where ...
Like the elephant, the empire is dominant. The elephant, an enormous being in the animal kingdom, represents the British Empire in its magnitude. The size represents power as it is assumed that the two are insuppressible. Also, the elephant and the British empire, both share hideousness in the effect it causes in Burma. To create a comparison between the elephant and the empire, the author describes the elephant as wild and terrorizing when the “elephant was ravaging the bazaar” (324); thus, it symbolizes the British Empire is restraining the economy of the Burmese. When the elephant kills the Indian laborer, it represents the British oppressing the Burmese. On the other hand, the elephant is a symbol of colonialism. Like the natives of Burma who have been colonized and who abuse Orwell, the elephant has a destructive behavior by being provoked and oppressed “it had been chained up” (324). Despite the fact of its aggressive behavior and the Burmese’ more astute rebelliousness could be undeniably good things, they are doing their best given the oppressive conditions, both the Burmese and the elephant have to endure. Also, the elephant symbolizes the economy of the oppressor, as well as the oppressed. This animal is a “working elephant” (326) in Burma, and for the colonial power. The Burmese are also working animals because they are hard workers and involuntarily are following the rules of the British empire.
"Shooting an Elephant" is perhaps one of the most anthologized essays in the English language. It is a splendid essay and a terrific model for a theme of narration. The point of the story happens very much in our normal life, in fact everyday. People do crazy and sometimes illegal moves to get a certain group or person to finally give them respect. George Orwell describes an internal conflict between his personal morals and his duty to his country to the white man's reputation. The author's purpose is to explain the audience (who is both English and Burmese) about the kind of life he is living in Burma, about the conditions, circumstances he is facing and to tell the British Empire what he think about their imperialism and his growing displeasure for the imperial domination of British Empire.