George Orwell Shooting An Elephant

The first portion of Orwell’s piece is filled with his hatred for imperialism and the “evil-spirited little beasts” (para. 2) that torment him. Orwell hated the imperialism in Burma and “those who tried to make [his] job impossible” (para. 2). You can see his true anger and hatred when he uses diction like “petty”, “sneering”, “wretched”, “intolerable”, and “rage” (para. 1,2) when he’s describing some of his encounters in Burma. Most of all, Orwell just wanted to be liked and respected. He is tired of being punished for the actions of the British empire. He states that like “every white man,.. in the East” (para. 7) he was just living “one long struggle [to] not be laughed at” (para. 7). Orwell’s change in tone forces a change in the reader’s perception of the situation. When he shifts from enraged hatred and hostility towards the eastern world to a desperate want to be liked by the burmans, the reader also has a shift. They go from not only despising imperialism but

While he writes, Orwell symbolizes the harsh evils of imperialism through his own character. Both Orwell and the imperialistic British government are young, foolish, and driven by hate. This hatred becomes so intense that Orwell begins to not only hate the British and the Burmese, but eventually himself for the decisions he makes. He also symbolizes the guilt and resentment that he feels inside. It starts with his overwhelming guilt that splits his loyalties in two. Then it is his passionate resentment towards the British which in turn, grows to not only the British, but the majority of the Burmese people. And lastly, Orwell also represents his own realization to his surroundings. In the story Orwell says, “I perceived in this moment that when a white man turns tyrant it is his own freedom he destroys” (327). He finally realizes that neither he nor the imperialistic government are in control, that the Burmese will never conform, and that the people’s will always

“Shooting an Elephant” is an essay written by George Orwell, first published in the journal New Writing in 1936. In this essay, the author tells his own story about when he was working as a police officer for the Indian Imperial Police in Burma.

Haley Collins Professor Henery English 100 February 17, 2016 Shooting an Elephant The essay “Shooting an Elephant,” by George Orwell is set in time during the 1800’s when the country of Burma had been conquer and then controlled by the British. In “Shooting and Elephant,” the essay is illustrated through the eyes of a British Imperial Officer who undergoes a life-changing event that demonstrates the true effects Imperial control. In this essay Orwell describes the horrific killing of an elephant and the emotions and frustrations the Officer endures while deciding the initial fate of the animal.

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.

However, any power given to him through the imperialistic setting is lost, because Orwell exists as a part of a minority in Burma. With this dilemma, Orwell notices the difficulties that come with an authoritative figure in a foreign country as, “[Orwell] was hated by a large number of people- the only time in my life that I have been important enough for this to happen to me.” (144) Due to this hatred, Orwell finds his job to impose order futile because the Burmese people seem to have a tighter grasp on Orwell than Orwell himself. The Burmans appear to be enforcing their power over Orwell through their majority and he experiences this when, “A nimble Burman tripped me up on the football field and the referee (another Burman) looked the other way.” (144) These acts that the Burmans commit show that power appears to exist in the hands of the Burmese majority rather than Orwell. By placing a colonist within a colony, the writer establishes the feeling that power should lie in the hand of the colonist. However, this concept is shattered because Orwell possesses no power though the colonial setting because of the fact that the Burmese appear to be in control. The lack of power present in the surroundings further enforces the fact that true power cannot come from one’s conquest or authority but only from within.

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

People often do favors to please others, even if it means a loss of dignity. George Orwell’s short story, “Shooting an Elephant”, is an ideal example. In the story, Orwell, the main character, works as a policeman in Burma in the 1930s for the British Empire. One day, an elephant tramples loose, and although Orwell has no intent on shooting the elephant, a mob of native Burmese pressures Orwell to shoot the elephant. He reluctantly acquiesces to prevent being humiliated. After that experience, Orwell writes “Shooting an Elephant” to demonstrate native resentment of the British through mood, to reveal the tyranny of imperialism and its effects on the natives through imagery, and to informs the reality of the natives manipulating the British through foreboding diction. All of these purposes support Orwell’s ultimate purpose of ending imperialism and colonization.

Peer pressure is when someone gets encouraged to follow their peers by changing their attitude, values, or behavior to fit in with those of the influencing group or individual. Hughes and Orwell engage in the art of persuasion on the topic of peer pressure and how it can cause you to do things you may not believe in, and I find myself persuaded by their appeals because I share many of their audiences' characteristics. The main point in Salvation is to describe Hughes's experience of being saved which resulted in him being disappointed in himself and in Jesus. In addition, he lied to the church and felt guilty because of it. Being "saved" caused Hughes to lose faith in God which shows how pressure on a child who does not know what is going

George Orwell is a police officer in Lower Burma. In this essay, he writes about the evils of imperialism through symbols. Although "Shooting an Elephant" has plenty of symbols, the most relevant symbols are the Burmese people, the elephant itself, and the rifles.

Unanticipated choices one is forced to make can have long-lasting effects.{2} In "Shooting an Elephant," by George Orwell, the author recounts an event from his life when he was about twenty years old during which he had to choose the lesser of two evils. Many years later, the episode seems to still haunt him. The story takes place at some time during the five unhappy years Orwell spends as a British police officer in Burma. He detests his situation in life, and when he is faced with a moral dilemma, a valuable work animal has to die to save his pride.{3}

Human nature is a quality controlled by free will. We can choose to do good or bad, help or harm, save or end, raise up or belittle. In the essay “Shooting an elephant” by George Orwell, he shows how human nature is governed by choice. Each part of his story can be taken as an allegorical reference to concepts concerning human nature. “When the white man turns tyrant it is his own freedom that he destroys.” This paradox is somewhat enlightening yet gruesome at the same time. Orwell is referencing the white man to Europeans. More specifically, Great Britain. In the 17th, 18th, and early 19th centuries, Britain controlled a lot of countries spanning from North America, South America, Asia, and Africa. In the story the setting is Burma witch Britain

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”,

With the use of the words ‘white man’ and ‘tyrant,’ it is obvious Orwell was referring to one of the sides of Imperialism, the side that has the power. They are becoming the puppets of the natives: “A sahib has got to act like a sahib” (Orwell, 410). With the use of this phrase Orwell uses the word “sahib” as a symbol of tyrant or master. This phrase shows not only how the people oppressed by the Imperialism suffer, but the tyrant itself by giving up his freedom. Through the way Orwell arrange this paragraph the audience can now truly understand Orwell’s argument about how Imperialism has negative effects on those in the power, and how ironically it is for Orwell to gain power and dominance over others, just to lose freedom and dominance over yourself.