Times of Imperialism. Generally, as a human being, one makes unintentional choices that have long-lasting effects. In "Shooting an Elephant," by George Orwell, the author narrates an experience of his life when he has to choose the lesser of two evils. The story takes place during the five miserable years Orwell spends in Burma as a British police officer. Although Orwell repudiates his circumstance in life he has to kill an elephant, an invaluable work animal, to save his honor. The despondent young officer Orwell lives in mental isolation. Also, Orwell feels repugnance to the British imperialism and the Burmese as well as his job. In his essay, Orwell uses the rifle, Orwell himself, and the elephant as symbols to represent several …show more content…
The use of guns is to control the natives. In this suburb in Burma, only the British own and possess the guns, “The Burmese population has no weapon” (324) thus, is this which enable the British to appear as demi-gods toward the Burmese and rule over them. Also, the rifle represents the brute force which is at the disposition of the colonial British ruler. “I took my rifle…much too small to kill an elephant, but I thought the noise might be useful in terrorem” (324). This illustrates the dominance of the British Empire over the Burmese. The narrator uses the rifle for self-defense, “I had merely sent for the rifle to defend myself if is necessary” (326). When he kills the elephant it functions as a tool for violence. In addition, the rifle represents those people who easily follow the majority beliefs, but when the Burmese exhort Orwell to kill the elephant it deviates to a weapon “like a mad dog” (330). Then, the change of the rifle is not voluntary- it is rather dependent on circumstances, “I sent an orderly to a friend’s house nearby to borrow an elephant rifle” (325). Thus, Orwell shows how peer pressure occurs and proves relevance by stating how the Burmese pushed him into shooting the elephant. This is the result that peer pressure occurs. Additionally, Orwell warns of the repercussions of yielding to majority power by demonstrating the tragic fate of the rifle. The elephant is killed by …show more content…
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.
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.
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
Although shooting the, now seemingly calm, “mad elephant” is morally wrong to George Orwell, in his narration of Shooting an Elephant, he has to do so as he is a representative, or more so a pawn, of the British authority in the occupied country of Burma. Being such, he wages a war with his inner self to seek which decision needs to be carried out. With two outcomes in mind, one being that he will be seen as a fool if he does not shoot the elephant and the other being an authority of the law by truly showing it and protecting the villagers, he has an epiphany. With such an authority, the law and someone’s moral conscience diverge. He then realizes what must be done and shoots the elephant to protect the imperialistic authority. As the excitement
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.
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.
“Shooting an Elephant” highlights the act of Imperialism by the British on the country of Burma. Burma had an unstable government, this is what prompted Britain to try to colonize the country (British Colonialism in Burma par 1). After a series of Anglo-Burmese wars that lasted a total of six years, Britain had finally colonized Burma and ruled them from 1924 to 1948. Britain took over country for resources of tin, lumber and opium, but also they had already taken over nearby India and felt the need to take over Burma not only for their resources but also because their unstable government made it easy to take over (Making of Modern Burma pg 17).
Orwell speaks of how he is so against imperialism, but gives in to the natives by shooting the elephant to prove he is strong and to avoid humiliation. He implies that he does not want to be thought of as British, but he does not want to be thought the fool either. Orwell makes his decision to shoot the elephant appear to be reasonable but underneath it all he questions his actions just as he questions those of the British. He despised both the British Empire as well as the Burmese natives, making everything more complicated and complex. In his essy he shows us that the elephant represents imperialism; therefore, the slow destruction of the elephant must represent the slow demise of British Imperialism.
Throughout "Shooting an Elephant" by George Orwell, he addresses his internal battle with the issues of morality and immorality. He writes of several situations that show his immoral doings. When George Orwell signed up for a five-year position as a British officer in Burma he was unaware of the moral struggle that he was going to face. Likewise, he has an internal clash between his moral conscious and his immoral actions. Therefore, Orwell becomes a puppet to the will of the Burmese by abandoning his thoughts of moral righteousness. This conflicts with the moral issue of relying upon other's morals, rather than one's own conscience.
...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 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 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.
In George Orwell’s essay, “Shooting an Elephant,” Orwell faces a very serious conundrum. An elephant has gotten loose, and has killed an Indian man. Orwell has an elephant rifle, and people start to eagerly follow him as he makes his way into a field where the elephant is peacefully grazing. The elephant seems not to be disturbing anyone at the moment, so Orwell is hesitant to shoot it. George Orwell realizes that everyone is watching him, and becomes vert self-conscious. “I was hated by large numbers of people.” All of the natives obviously want him to shoot the elephant. He killed a man. His meat would feed many people for weeks. He knows that it would be wrong to kill the elephant. The owner of the elephant would lose his most valuable possession. Elephants were used for all kinds of labor, especially agriculture. Killing a Burmese guy’s elephant would be like setting a farmer’s tractor on fire. Even though he really doesn’t want to kill the elephant, he lets the peer pressure get to him, and he shoots it. He fires five slugs from the elephant rifle and unloads his own smaller rifle into the elephant’s heart and throat. The elephant takes more than a half of an hour to die, and it’s very painful. The peer pressure was too strong for him. George Orwell could have avoided shooting the elephant by using a few different techniques.
The use of guns is to control the natives. In this suburb in Burma, only the British own and possess the guns, “The Burmese population has no weapon” (324) thus, is this which enable the British to appear as demi-gods toward the Burmese and rule over them. Also, the rifle represents the brute force which is at the disposition of the colonial British ruler. “I took my rifle…much too small to kill an elephant, but I thought the noise might be useful in terrorem” (324). This illustrates the dominance of the British Empire over the Burmese. The narrator uses the rifle for self-defense, “I had merely sent for the rifle to defend myself if is necessary” (326). When he kills the elephant it functions as a tool for violence. In addition, the rifle represents those people who easily follow the majority beliefs, but when the Burmese exhort Orwell to kill the elephant it deviates to a weapon “like a mad dog” (330). Then, the change of the rifle is not voluntary- it is rather dependent on circumstances, “I sent an orderly to a friend’s house nearby to borrow an elephant rifle” (325). Thus, Orwell shows how peer pressure occurs and proves relevance by stating how the Burmese pushed him into shooting the elephant. This is the result that peer pressure occurs. Additionally, Orwell warns of the repercussions of yielding to majority power by demonstrating the tragic fate of the rifle. The elephant is killed by
"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.