Summary: “Shooting an Elephant”
George Orwell was an iconic author, novelist, and essayist known by his opposition to both social injustice and totalitarianism. In his essay “Shooting an Elephant”, Orwell writes about an event that opened his eyes to the societal dangers of imperialism and the social injustices therein. Orwell begins by explaining his position as a sub-divisional police officer in Burma, a British colony. He goes on to explain that the British are hated by the village natives, and it is a common practice for natives to mistreat them. Orwell expresses that he recognizes the evil of imperialism, hates his job, and does not believe in the oppression of the Burmese. While on duty, Orwell receives word of an elephant that had broken
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.
George Orwell, a journalist and an author of 1903 through 1950, is not only the author of “Shooting an Elephant,” but surprisingly, he is also the narrator and the main character. Orwell’s narrative essay of 1936 takes place in squalid, British-occupied Moulmein, lower Burma. To begin, in the opening of his piece, Orwell describes himself as a young, British police officer who, ironically, despises the British imperial project in Burma. Although he secretly sides with the Burmese, he is resentful of the way they torment him. Eventually, a previously chained elephant is introduced to the essay. It is when this elephant escapes that it begins ravaging Moulmein. After concluding
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, much like 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 says that, 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.
“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.
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
In the essay, “Shooting an Elephant” , written by George Orwell, the protagonist, the narrator, is faced with a conflict of shooting or letting the violent elephant live. The narrator is a British policeman who is made fun of and disrespected by the locals in the village. The story opens up saying “In Moulmein, in lower Burma, I was hated by large numbers of people…. Was baited whenever it seemed safe to do so...nimble Burman tripped me up…” (Orwell 1) The elephant in this short story symbolizes the imperialistic British empire. The elephant soon starts to cause a riot and the narrator is prepared to kill it. When the time comes, and all the locals are watching, Orwell is stuck at a crossroad of what to do.
If put in a situation where you were expected to do something you did not want to do, would you be able to do it? This situation occurs in “Shooting an Elephant” written by George Orwell. This story recounts the events Orwell faced during his time as an Imperial police officer in Burma, India. “Shooting an Elephant” focuses on a day where an elephant was causing mayhem in Burma. The elephant destroyed houses, food stands, and even killed a laborer while roaming the city.
In George Orwell’s essay, “Shooting an Elephant,” he reflects on his experiences as a young British imperialist officer in a position of high authority in Burma; during this time, his understanding of where the true power lies in imperialism is altered. The narrator, a young, more naïve Orwell, is called in to handle a situation in which a ravaging elephant has escaped and killed a native Burmese man. Young Orwell is forced to choose between his own moral beliefs, by sparing the elephant’s life, or conforming to what the majority of the people want, by killing the elephant. After much contemplation, Orwell falls under the pressure of the natives, ultimately killing the elephant.
George Orwell’s essay, “Shooting an Elephant”, describes his experience in Burma involving the Burmese people and an elephant ravaging the community. Orwell was disliked by many because he was a British police officer, and was often ridiculed and taunted by the Burmese people. Despite being mocked constantly, Orwell was not against the people of Burma, but was on their side. He was displeasured with his job and stated, “… I hated it more bitterly than I can perhaps make clear.” The major conflict in the essay was the shooting of the elephant itself.
The essay "Shooting an Elephant" by George Orwell examines the truths behind British imperialism and colonialism by following the life of a British soldier stationed in Burma in the 1920s. The essay describes a situation where the Burmese people pressure a young soldier to take action and go against his own desires by exterminating an elephant that had previously raided and destroyed parts of a village and killed one of the Burmese. The soldier also describes his feelings of distaste towards the work that was being done in Burma. This event is when the soldier begins to realize that he is a puppet being played by both the British and the Burmese to do their dwelling. British imperialism is proved to be evil, resulting in the personal gain of the British
In the narrative, “Shooting an Elephant”, George Orwell reflects on the topic of an elephant’s execution. He states that the Dispute between the Decree and One's Inner Voice associates with British imperialism. The essay is planted in the British colony Burma in the 1920’s. Orwell is a British policeman currently working in Burma. He has never had the best alliance with the natives. He is an out of place white foreigner. The action soon takes a toll when an elephant goes crazed and kills a native Burmese man. However soon after the elephant calms but Orwell refuses to kill it. In addition, thousands of people are crowded behind him waiting for him to do so. He goes back in forth with his mind but keeps going back to the yellow-faced people's
Amna Umair Bajwa Aqila Zaman Writing and Communication SS100 30th November, 2015 Shooting an Elephant by George Orwell George Orwell, pseudonym of Eric Arthur Blaire, the writer of “Shooting an Elephant”, was an English essayist, novelist and critic. His goal, as he stated in an essay explaining why he started writing, was “to make political writing into an art” (“Why I Write”). The rules he laid out for this art form are still used today. Orwell is famous for his opposition to totalitarian rule, profound realization of social injustice and forthright support of democratic socialism. Called the “conscience of the generation” (“George Orwell Biography”), his two best-selling masterpieces, Nineteen Eighty-Four and Animal Farm, are examples
: George Orwell explains in his essay “Shooting an Elephant” that imperialism influences the people within its system, even if they are aware of its flaws, to leave behind their morals despite their intents.
Since the publication of George Orwell's, "Shooting an Elephant" in 1936 many philosophers have engaged in conversation about humanity, violence, politics, power, dominance, race, culture and principles. "Orwell was in fact a genius plain and simple, though in a very complicated way" (Firchow 94). George Orwell brings you into his essay with lucid and vivid details the entire way starting from the setting, "I remember that it was a cloudy, stuffy morning at the beginning of the rains,"(25) to the characters attitudes towards one another, "if a European woman went through the bazaars alone somebody would probably spit betel juice over her dress" (23). The essay starts with the narrator, whom we assume is Orwell, a white man working as a sub-divisional police officer in Moulmein, Burma where the British have a colonized. Being English, the narrator—Orwell—is hated by many of the natives, "When a nimble Burman tripped me up on the football field and the referee (another Burman) looked the other way, the crowd yelled with hideous laughter"(Orwell 23). One morning, Orwell receives a call about an elephant ram sacking the town and even killing a native Burman. Ultimately forcing Orwell into a dilemma of his own morality of what he ought to do and trying not to let down the "immense" crowd of "yellow faces" (26). Orwell shoots the elephant essentially killing him. The elephants death shows the complex range of human