George Orwell Imperialism

George Orwell, born in India, now a British writer is known for his essays and novels. George Orwell wrote the essay “Shooting an Elephant” to express the time he went through in Burma as a British officer during the imperialism time period. Orwell represents the evil of imperialism, and the impact it had on the Burmese and the British Empire through symbolism such as the rifle, the elephant, and Orwell himself.

First Orwell uses the rifle to symbolize power and strength. One way the rifle represents power is by the noise of the shots. Orwell states, “I thought the noise might be useful in terrorem” (324). When the Burmese hear the shots, they stop in their steps because they know the British are around. The Burmese know the British will harm them if they don’t do what the British want, because the British have all the power. Another way the rifle is represented by power is by the British Empire.

The British Empire is losing its power when Orwell does what the Burmese wants by shooting the elephant. Orwell says, “the whole population of the quarter flocked out of the houses and followed me” (325). Shooting the elephant was not Orwell’s plan, but whenever everyone started to follow him, he felt the pressure and now he has to shoot him. By doing this, he shows that he isn’t following the British Empire much anymore. The rifle also symbolizes strength by the three shots fired at the elephant. The first shot only knocked the elephant to his knees. This symbolizes that the Burmese will not give up when someone shoots them down. Orwell shoots the elephant again, but this time the elephant stands up. This shows that the Burmese will stand stronger when they get shot at again. When Orwell shoots the elephant again, he finally falls to his knees, but is not dead. Orwell says, “that was the shot that did it for him…it was obvious the elephant would never rise again, but he was not dead” (329). No matter how many times imperialism shot at the Burmese, they got strong because they had everything to lose. They may fall but they will never give up.
One of the best symbols Orwell used is the elephant.

The elephant represents the innocence, slow death, and the colonized people. All of these things show how imperialism changes everything around them, and sometimes it takes people a while to realize it. Innocence shows that imperialism hides things, and that it’s hard to realize what is going on. Orwell is so young that he doesn’t realize the negative impact the British had on the Burmese. Orwell says, “I as young and ill-educated” (323). The slow death represents that everything around them is dying, including the people who enforce imperialism on others. The slow death symbolizes the ideals of the British Empire are slowly dying. Orwell says, “I did not even know that the British Empire is dying” (323). Imperialism had major effects on the colonized people of Burma. They are no longer allowed to do what they use to do before the British came in. Now they have to follow the British ideals and not their own. Soon they will get tired of being pushed around and rebel against the British Empire, and fight for their

freedom.
Lastly but not least, Orwell uses himself to symbolize the evil of imperialism. Orwell shows himself as evil for showing himself as weak. Even though he was born into it, Orwell does not want to be a Burmese because of the way they are being treated. Orwell says, “I had already made up my mind that imperialism was an evil thing and the sooner I checked up my job and got out of it the better.” (323) However Orwell shows his goodness to show the evil of imperialism. He expresses how much he wants to help the Burmese and set them free, but he doesn’t want to treat like them because he feels for them. Orwell says, “all for the Burmese and all against their oppressors, the British.” (323)
Imperialism is a policy of extending a country's power and influence through diplomacy or military force. Orwell uses three symbols to represent the evil of imperialism, and how it destroys the creators of it. Also, he shows the guilt he has for abandoning his culture, but he also shows the loyalty he has for wanting to help them. Also the loyalty he has for the British, he tries to stay with their ideals as long as he can.