Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Literary analysis of Orwell’s “shooting an elephant”
George Orwell on imperialism
Literary analysis of Orwell’s “shooting an elephant”
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Literary analysis of Orwell’s “shooting an elephant”
Shooting the Elephant In George Orwell’s essay, Shooting an Elephant, he recounts one of his experiences as a sub-divisional police officer in lower Burma in which he is faced with the decision whether or not to shoot an elephant. Orwell’s feelings, actions, and reason show the real power of imperialism and how he was a coward by shooting the elephant. His experience was when Europe was highly imperialistic. Orwell describes imperialism as “an evil thing” (Orwell) and claims to be “all for the Burmese and all against their oppressors, the British.”(Orwell) When he was notified that an elephant was ravaging the bazar he, out of curiosity, answered to the call of help and went to investigate. On his way to the location of the elephant he was made aware that the elephant was not wild. When he finds the elephant it is no longer running rampant …show more content…
In that moment he changed his mind because “the people expected it of me and I had got to do it.” (Orwell) earlier in his essay he claimed to be against imperialism yet he fell to the pressures of it. The crowed can symbolize imperialism and the elephant represents the nations effected by it. Although he was the one with a weapon and seemingly with the power he went against his own decision and shot the elephant. The elephant does not die fast. After the third shot it finally falls “but in falling he seemed for a moment to rise”. The refusal to die by the elephant represents the strength of the nations under Britain’s rule. George Orwell published his account of shooting the elephant to show how he was a coward and fell to the pressure of imperialism. Despite knowing what he ought to do and “did not in the least want to shoot him” (Orwell) he shoots him in order to not be laughed
While he was obtaining a rifle and following the elephant, more people continued to trail behind him, eventually growing to become a crowd of more than two-thousand. Knowing that the force behind him was much greater than his own, it was distracting him and knew “…even then I was not thinking particularly of my own skin, only of the watchful yellow faces behind”. The pressure from his military duty was eating away at him as well, thinking to himself “the crowd would laugh at me. And my whole life, every white man’s life in the east, was one long struggle not to be laughed at”. Afterwards, the old soldiers believed he did the right thing because he was doing his duty by resolving a casualty; the young soldiers thought "it was a damn shame to shoot an elephant for killing a coolie" because the elephant had already calmed down and the owner was not present. Relying on optimism, Orwell in the end was content with the casualty and saw his actions legally justified because of
When he finial find the elephant Orwell say “I knew with perfect certainty that I ought not to shoot him.” But when he lays his eyes on the crowd he changes his stance to “but I did not want to shoot the elephant.”(Orwell 199). He felt guilty for shooting the elephant when he describe that the elephant worth more alive than dead, but despite the many reason not to shoot the elephant, he took a shot. Orwell describes “when I pulled the trigger I did not hear the bang or feel the kick …I fired again into the same spot…I fired a third time. That was the shot that did it for him.”(199) the shooting of the elephant represent the Burma people trying to stay alive and over powering by the
Orwell shot the elephant not to save the people in the village but for his own benefits. Fearing what the people might think if he did not shoot it. In paragraph nine he weighs the options of shooting it or not. Reasoning if he did not shoot it and got trampled they would laugh at his defeat. Thankful that the coolie man got killed so he could shoot the elephant. The guilt would be easier to deal with since someone was killed. Shooting the elephant was not necessary, when he thinks about the owner who would be coming and how the elephant’s terror had ended already the only thing Orwell was thinking about was the people laughing.
The essay “Shooting an Elephant,” was written by George Orwell. Orwell was a British author best known for his essays and novels. In “Shooting an Elephant,” the title essay of his 1950 collection, Orwell is a British Police Officer in Lower Burma. After an elephant comes rampaging through the village in must, killing an Indian man, Orwell is looked upon to take care of the problem. The intense scene causes Orwell to make a crucial decision, reflecting on the vicious imperialism with the military in Burma during this time. The author portrays his feelings through the theme of the narrative with feelings such as, guilt, hate, and pressured.
George Orwell’s essay, “Shooting an Elephant,” was written as an attack on British imperialism and totalitarianism. Orwell recounts an experience of shooting an escaped elephant from his time as a policeman in Burma during the British Raj, utilizing a remorseful, reflective tone. He observes that “When the white man turns tyrant it is his own freedom that he destroys” (14), and that “He wears a mask, and his face grows to fit it” (14). Orwell is not only correct in his assertion that totalitarianism is harmful, he further explains how it is detrimental to all those that are umbrellaed under it.
In this story ,Orwell is taking part in imperialism by proving his power and dignity to the natives presenting imperialism metaphorically through the use of animals. He is using the elephant as a symbol of imperialism representing power as an untamed animal that has control over the village. He uses a large and very powerful animal to represent a significant metaphor for imperialism.. In doing so he leads to the understanding that the power behind imperialism is only as strong as its dominant rulers. Orwell?s moral values are challenged in many different ways, ironically enough while he too was the oppressor. He is faced with a very important decision of whether or not he should shoot the elephant. If he does so, he will be a hero to his people. In turn, he would be giving in to the imperial force behind the elephant that he finds so unjust and evil. If he lets the elephant go free and unharmed the natives will laugh at him and make him feel inferior for not being able to protect the...
...he elephant, and the elephant, who painfully dies, focuses the reader's attention on the suffering that imperialism causes for both parties. If the shooting was justified, Orwell's argument would have been immensely weakened.
In “Shooting an Elephant” writer George Orwell illustrates the terrible episode that explains more than just the action of “shooting an elephant.” Orwell describes the scene of the killing of an elephant in Burma and reveals a number of emotions he experienced during the short, but traumatic event. Effectively, the writer uses many literary techniques to plant emotions and create tension in this scene, leading to an ironic presentation of imperialism. With each of the realistic descriptions of the observing multitude and the concrete appeal of the narrator’s pathos, Orwell thrives in persuading the audience that imperialism not only has a destructive impact on those being governed under the imperialists’ oppressive power, but also corrupts
The author’s main point was when Orwell was faced with a conflict of whether he should shoot the elephant. He could have chosen to shoot the elephant and please the crowd or he could have chosen not to shoot the elephant, despite the crowd’s jeering effects. I don’t agree that the Orwell should have shot the elephant, because the elephant didn’t know all that he was doing was wrong, because he is an animal, who has no free will. The only reason Orwell shot it was so he didn’t look a fool. He quotes at the end of the essay after he shot the elephant, “And afterwards I often wondered whether anyone understood that I had done it solely to avoid looking a fool”
I often wondered whether any of the others grasped that I had done it solely to avoid looking a fool." So ends George Orwell's poignant reminiscence of an incident representing the imperialist British in Burma. Unlike Soyinka, who wrote about colonialism from the African's point of view, Orwell, like Joseph Conrad in Heart of Darkness, presents the moral dilemmas of the imperialist. Orwell served with the Imperialist Police in Burma while it was still part of the British Commonwealth and Empire. His service from 1922 to 1927 burdened himwith a sense of guilt about British colonialism as well a need to make some personal expiation for it (Norton 2259). "Shooting an Elephant" chronicles an incident in which Orwell confronts a moral dilemma and abandons his morals to escape the mockery of the native Burmans. He repeatedly shoots and kills an elephant which had ravaged a bazaar and scared many Burmans even though "As soon as I saw the elephant I knew with perfect certainty that I ought not to shoot him" (6).
Shooting an Elephant is an essay written by George Orwell to have people understand him better as to why he made the decision to shoot an elephant. After reading this essay, some might think that Orwell is a coward for not actually doing what his conscience told him to do. This is completely accurate. He does something that he himself knows is wrong, which is shooting the elephant. Now let’s look at the whole picture here first. For example: What caused this to happen? What was the motive behind it? Did he have motive at all? If not, why did he shoot the elephant? This entire tragedy could have been prevented if specific people’s morals were in the right places.
...o the wrong spot cause the poor animal to die "very slowly and in great agony." In spite of Orwell putting "shot after shot into his heart and down his throat," the elephant lives thirty minutes after its "tortured gasps" force Orwell to leave. Many years later, Orwell still seems bothered by the fact that pride, not necessity, caused him to destroy the animal.
One day he receives a call from an officer on the other side of town reporting that an elephant in heat had broken free and that assistance was required. Young Orwell grabs his winchester rifle, knowing that it wouldn't be powerful enough to kill the elephant, and heads for the other side of town. Upon reaching the quarter where the elephant had last been seen, he finds the fresh corpse of an Indian man. Within minutes villagers gather around the body and tell Orwell the elephant went into the rice fields below them. Orwell sends an Indian officer to fetch an elephant gun from a friend, although he doesn’t plan on killing the elephant.
The quest for power is one which has been etched into the minds of men throughout history. However, it can be said that true power is not a result of one’s actions but comes from the following one’s own beliefs without being influenced by others. This principle sets up the story for Shooting an Elephant by George Orwell. The protagonist, Orwell himself, is a sub divisional police officer in Burma, a British colony. Orwell must try to find and use his inner power when he is faced with the decision of whether or not to kill an elephant which has ravaged the Burman’s homes. The state of power established through the imperialistic backdrop show that Orwell, as a colonist, should be in control. As well, the perspective and ideas given by Orwell show his true character and lessen the overall power set up for him. Lastly, the symbols shown are representations of traditional forms of power, but take on different implications in the story. In Shooting an Elephant, George Orwell uses setting, characterization and symbols to show that true power comes from following the dictates of one’s conscience.
"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.