The Hidden Truth of Imperialism

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In George Orwell's analytically essay, Shooting an Elephant, Orwell reflects on the five years he spent working as a police officer for the Indian Imperial Police in Burma, India. While writing about a serious issue in his essay, George takes a less formal approach to this particular piece of writing; reflecting on past events in a form of a personal memoir. It is within his memoir, Orwell explores the cruelty of the human race and the actions people, including himself, take to prevent further ridicule and abuse. George Orwell utilizes an extreme humanist perspective against imperialism, using his own traumatizing experiences in India to support his claim regarding the 'natural' cruelty humans seem to inherit when feeling oppressed.
Orwell is able to effectively express his argument of the subliminal, but drastic impact that imperialism can have on a suppressed nation. Orwell achieves this by giving his readers many examples of the inhumane treatment he endured while in India. As an Imperial officer working for the British Imperial Empire, Orwell is deeply resented by all of the Burmese people in Lower Burma that are under his rule and protection. However, George states in his essay that instead of protecting the people of Burma he spent a vast majority of his time struggling not to be ridiculed or abused by the locals. George Orwell openly expresses his own frustration to his situation in his memoir; his obvious dislike "for the empire [he] served" (Orwell 282) and its imperialism oppression and his blatant "rage against evil-spirited little beasts" (282) who reciprocated his hatred because of his employment as a British officer in their home. However, it is because of Orwell's inability to choose between his British identity an...

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...upporting imperialism and the motivations behind their actions. Orwell, by admitting that his motive for killing the innocent beast was brought on by his own will to avoid humiliation at the hands of the locals means that Orwell is able to recognize the. With Orwell the oppression of the British on the Burmese people caused direct harm to Orwell. It is because of this cruelty found in humans that Orwell places emphasis in his essay on the unjustified violence inflicted on the elephant, who wrongly received judgement from the imperialistic response of Orwell to combat his own inner demons with the locals.

Works Cited

Davis, Roger, Laura K. Davis, Kay L. Stewart, and Chris J. Bullock. Essay Writing for Canadian Students with Readings. 7th ed.. Toronto: Pearson Canada Inc, 2013. Print.

Orwell, George. “Shooting an Elephant." New Writing [London] 1936, n. pag. Print.

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