Literature is the reflection of society and the lives in it. Whatever the influence has been, mankind has embraced it by literature . It has been a regularly used instrument to portray pain, discontent, love, hatred and any form of human emotion. That is why when 20th century witnessed several international wars including two World Wars, it would have been impossible for the literature to all have themes of joy. Death, violence, civil wars and continuous inventions of more and more fatal mass killing weapons have brought human civilization to the brink of annihilation. Naturally all of these have caused frustrations and disappointment. For these reasons literature in 20th century is often deemed the age of anxiety.
The culture of the 20th
…show more content…
“His anti-imperialist convictions were derived from his experiences as a police officer in Burma from 1922 to 1927. Once there, doing "the dirty work of empire," he became increasingly aware of the great evil in which he was participating” (Imperialism 1). This experience is shown in the short story Shooting an Elephant, Orwell narrates the incidents and his actions. The course of events which take place in the story are not that remarkable, although with the skill of the author’s writing it succeeds in bringing out the troubles of imperialism and powerful white men. Orwell shows that those who are content in their cozy royal homes should face the truth about the ways they are making their own existences worthless. In order to retain authority, they have lost control over their personal measures. Their obsession to rule and repress the natives of the countries backfired. Without their knowledge they had also come to the same helpless state as the natives, because they no longer owned their own decisions. “When the white man turns tyrant it is his own freedom that he destroys. He became a hollow, posing dummy,” (Orwell 4). Orwell presents the truth of the consequences of Europe’s ruthless colonialism which eventually caused the fall of much of European global rule. With the defeat of places such as Germany and Italy, and devastation of France and Britain in the two World Wars, Europe's iron grasp over the rest of the world loosened. Because of this, one can say that there is no end to this anxiety. The party, the tormentor, and the tormented are all respectively worried and nervous. It is understandable why the people are stressed. What is more complicated is the psyche of the tormentor: it has a constant fear of losing power and control. This tendency of human nature is something that the authors of this period could not
As a European white man in the British colony of India, George Orwell, in his narrative essay Shooting an Elephant, describes one of his most memorable events while living in the Southeast Asian nation of Burma. Orwell’s purpose is to share the absolute horror of living in imperialism. He adopts a tense tone throughout his essay by using vivid description and gruesome imagery in order to relate the incident with the elephant to what it is like to live in imperialism.
George Orwell’s ‘Shooting an Elephant’ (Orwel, 1936) represents a number of strangers being involved in a combined encounter. The situation throughout the essay represents the unjust British occupation of Burma, the hatred towards him as a British officer and the elephant symbolising the British. The part of the text chosen clearly exemplifies how a forced duty can lead to hatred. The text chosen displays that he is forced to encounter the Burmese people yet they despise him. Although the encounter with the Burmese improves with the arrival of the elephant, Orwell still has a sense of isolation. Throughout the text Orwell questions the presence of the British in the East exploring that the encounter with the Burmese should not have took place.
The consequence of imperialism is discussed in “Shooting an Elephant”; The victim of imperialism is not only the natives but also the narrator. Indeed, this essay is about the suffering and the struggling of Orwell who is torn between the Burmese’s actions and the Imperial System.
“Shooting an Elephant” is an essay written by George Orwell, who was an Assistant Superintendent in the British Indian Imperial Police in Burma from 1922 to 1927. The essay was published in 1936. Burma was occupied by the British over a period of 62 years (1823-1886) and it was directed as a province of India until it became a separate colony in 1937. In the essay, Orwell narrates the scene of the killing of an elephant in Burma and expresses the feelings that he goes through during the event. The writer’s theme is that imperialism is not an effective way of governing. It can be decoded through his
“Shooting an Elephant” is a short anecdote written by George Orwell. The story depicts a young man, Orwell, who has to decide whether to bend the rules for his superiors or to follow his own path. George Orwell works as the sub-divisional police officer of Moulmein, a town in the British colony of Burma. He, along with the rest of the English military are disrespected by the Burmese due to the English invading their territory and taking over. Over time, Orwell, the narrator, has already begun to question the presence of the British in the Far East. He states, theoretically and secretly, he was “all for the Burmese and all against their oppressors, the British.” Orwell describes himself as “young and ill-educated,” bitterly hating his job. Orwell uses powerful imagery and diction to convey a depressing and sadistic tone to the story. At the end of the story, he faces a dilemma: to kill the elephant or not.
In “Shooting an Elephant,” Orwell retold an occasion where he was struggling to come to a final decision of whether to shoot the elephant or not. With his final decision, the elephant finally lay dying in front of thousands of people. He said that he was forced to shoot it because the Burmese people were expecting him to do that. In addition, he also explained that he had to do it “to avoid looking like a fool” in front of the crowd (14). At first glance, one would think that it makes sense for him to kill the elephant to save his face, but that was not the case. He effectively uses this incident to demonstrate the “real nature of imperialism” (3), whereas the elephant represents the British Empire.
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
The glorious days of the imperial giants have passed, marking the death of the infamous and grandiose era of imperialism. George Orwell's essay, Shooting an Elephant, deals with the evils of imperialism. The unjust shooting of an elephant in Orwell's story is the central focus from which Orwell builds his argument through the two dominant characters, the elephant and its executioner. The British officer, the executioner, acts as a symbol of the imperial country, while the elephant symbolizes the victim of imperialism. Together, the solider and the elephant turns this tragic anecdote into an attack on the institution of imperialism.
Orwell?s extraordinary style is never displayed better than through the metaphors he uses in this essay. He expresses his conflicting views regarding imperialism through three examples of oppression: by his country, by the Burmese, and by himself on the Burmese. Oppression is shown by Orwell through the burden of servitude placed upon him by England: Orwell himself, against his will, has oppressed many. British Imperialism dominated not only Burma, but also other countries that did not belong to England. At the time it may appear, from the outside, he shows us that the officers were helping the Burmese because they too were against oppressors; however, from the inside he demonstrates that they too were trying to annex other countries. Though Orwell?s handling of this subject is detailed, in the end, he subtly condemns imperialism. Orwell finds himself in a moral predicament no different than the ones placed on the white men in the East. He justifies his actions, driven by the instigation of the Burmese. Orwell also feels forced by the natives to kill the elephant, hindering his
As society has progressed, the evolution of imperialism has come to a point where people see it has pure history. It has vanished from our daily lives as we have not recently witness a country trying to dominate another. In “Shooting an Elephant” by George Orwell, we are able to envision the lives of the Burmese as they were involuntarily controlled by the British. In the early 1900’s we are told a true story of Orwell himself where he was once established in Burma was apart of his military service. During his service, he describes his living situation by noting that the army as well as himself were not appreciated. He mentions, “As a police officer I was an obvious target and was baited whenever it seemed safe to do so.”(1) One day he
In George Orwell’s essay, “Shooting an Elephant”,George explores the complexities of imperialism–and how they are mutually pernicious to both people involved. He wrote, “A story always sounds clear enough at a distance, but the nearer you get to the scene of events the vaguer it becomes.” The idea is demonstrated when he hunts down the elephant. Though the Burmese people warn him of the elephant’s rampage and tell him he’s in danger, he finally finds the elephant peacefully grazing–and it is an entirely different creature than what the people described to him.The idea is noteworthy to the essay because, on a prodigious scale, it uncovers the complex characters of imperialism.
In George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant,” Orwell recounts his own experiences as a sub-divisional police officer in Moulmein, which was a town colonized by the British Empire in Burma during the early ninetieth century. Orwell reveals the fact that he is being detested by much of the village because he is an English occupier. Orwell begins to understand the existence of British imperialism through a “must” elephant who has gone mad, killing people and destroying the village. In this decisive moment of the story, Orwell shows the reality of colonialism by illustrating the fact that British imperialism limits their freedom to maintain their grip on authority. Orwell then is compelled to entrench himself further in barbarism because of the
George Orwell is one of the most renowned writers of the twentieth century. Orwell’s essays portray different issues connected with colonial expansion. Colonialism refers to the rule of one nation over a group of people in a geographically distant land. George Orwell became a writer in 1927 and it is in his essays that he first expresses his beliefs about colonialism. In his essays”Shooting an Elephant”,
According to George Orwell, his argument starts with the British imperialism over the Asia especially India and Burma. Before Blair started his job he already hated the rich and power. He knew how it feels to be ruled under someone else since he was also one of them. Even Though, he was secretly for the Asian’s and against the British. He wasn't letting anyone to be known. “In a job like that you see the dirty work of Empire at close quarter(229).” In other words, Jobs like ruling a territory with your power is not going to bring peace, it’s going to make your job more difficult because you would not be liked and respected by the limited people.
In 1936, George Orwell published his short story ‘Shooting an elephant’ in an English magazine. Since then, it has been republished dozens of times and holds a place as a definitive anti-colonial piece of literature, in an era where the British Empire was at its peak and covered almost 1/3 of the Earth’s surface. George Orwell believed that “…imperialism was an evil thing...” and uses much themes, symbolism and irony to convey his strong anti-colonialist feelings.