George Orwell Shooting An Elephant Summary

The white man’s burden is an idea that the white men have a job to take care of the uncivilized beings and develop them to be a more socially endowed race. Their belief that they are superior to the natives is where this is rooted. This idea excused racism and portrayed it as more of a positive element in our society, rather than the destructive mechanism that it actually is. It also caused white men to truly believe that they are better than any other race out there. In “Shooting an Elephant,” by George Orwell, the narrator’s brain is subconsciously imbedded with this notion. He claims to be opposed to imperialism and everything about it while also hating his job and the people associated with it. These two things cannot go hand in hand.

George Orwell who wrote a narrative essay Shooting an Elephant” has a tense tone of literature towards his life. He is using a stressed tone due to peer pressure, and lack of confidence toward himself as he is an imperialist who came to protect uphold the laws. He's difficult attitude sets the scene for the story in his eyes. Throughout the story the concept of his decisions and action will be projected through the uses of diction; the write words to express his feelings.

Between the comings and goings of an average day in America there are momentous events that fall across the globe and stain history for better or for worse. These world-changing occurrences are often wrought with tragedy, and cling to the mind with the sharp talons of loss. More often than not, unfortunate events have a way of establishing a camaraderie among humanity, setting in motion a gentle shift in people 's disdain for others- if only for a moment- and allowing them to move together and reinvent the rules and techniques; readjusting and shifting until something that works is sealed into standard procedure. From turmoil and hurt, humanity corrects itself and grows. Of these events, the Columbine High School shooting comes to many as one that completely morphed America 's culture and sense of security. The assault was carried out by Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, students of the school and close friends. They had nourished the idea, feeding it hours of attention and deep consideration. Then, they went forward with it on April 20, 1999. The boys took the event seriously, setting up decoy bombs and then positioning their vehicles in the school parking lot with an arsenal and military methods of execution prepared to put in motion. They ending thirteen lives, including their own. The ruin caused by the shooting would have been greater, had the plan prevailed. Their actions had a severe impact on the way many people live and think. When one sifts through the information

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.

Most of us learned when we were very young that we should not judge by appearances. But, in the aftermath of massacres in schools everywhere, a sane person has to take seriously what the material world shows - and pass judgment. After all, a lack of judgment and subsequent action may lead to further youth violence.

In “Shooting an Elephant,” George Orwell achieves two achievements : he shows us his personal experience and his expression while he was in Burma; he use the metaphor of the elephant to explain to describe what Burma looked like when it was under the British Imperialism. The special about this essay is that Orwell tells us a story not only to see the experience that he had in Burma; he also perfectly uses the metaphor of the elephant to give us deep information about the Imperialism. By going through this essay, we can deeply understand what he thinks in his head. He successfully uses the word choices and the sentences to express his feeling. By reading this essay, Orwell succeeds us with his mesmerizing sentences and shows us the

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

Have you ever been pressured into doing something you didn’t want to, but felt like you had no other option? The narrator in Orwell's, “Shooting an Elephant” had a very similar experience. He was pressed by the Burmese into committing a senseless killing that he did not deem necessary. This transformation of the main characters mentality and morals gives the audience a terrific example of characterization, which would not be possible without the effective use of point of view in Orwell's story.

“Violence is one of the most urgent issues facing our nation’s schools. All over the country, Americans are asking why some young people open fire, apparently randomly, killing or wounding other

In the story “Shooting an Elephant” George Orwell says, “The people expected it of me and I had got to do it; I could feel their two thousand wills pressing me forward, irresistibly”. By him saying this it reminded me of a time I was once pressured into doing something that I really didn’t want to do. Giving into pressure whether it’s you being pressured by your peers, or even pressured by people you don’t know, you should never do something or give into doing something if it goes against what you believe in. For example when I was in about 10th grade I found myself hanging with the wrong crowd, always getting in trouble, always getting suspended, and even more. I thought these people were my friends, people I could trust, but sometimes

and disrupting the little bit of peace that they have. So in that instant he

THESIS: Although Orwell is justified, legally shooting the elephant is wrong because, the elephants “must” period was over, the way the animal was shot caused the animal to suffer, and Orwell violated his own beliefs because of peer pressure.

Orwell’s background played a big role in the essay. He is famous for being a political satirist. In “Shooting an Elephant “, Orwell briefly states his opinions on imperialism. He shows feelings of anxiety, fear, and hatred about the position he is in. Orwell said, “As for the job he was doing, he hated it more bitterly than he can perhaps make clear” (Orwell 278). Although he worked for the British imperialists, he hated what he was doing. Although he didn’t want to, he was put in a position where he had to do what the villagers wanted him to do. In this case it was shooting the elephant. In the story

As Orwell glanced at the growing crowd, he instantly perceived the common desires of the people “They were watching me as they would watch a conjurer about to perform a trick. They did not like me, but with the magical rifle in my hands I was momentarily worth watching. And suddenly I realized that I should have to shoot the elephant after all” (3).These people wanted revenge for the death of the innocent man, the meat its carcass would provide, and the amusement of witnessing the shootings “The people expected it of me and I had got to do it; I could feel their two thousand wills pressing me forward, irresistibly” (3). Because of these collective expectations, Orwell had to appear determined, authoritative, and decisive through shooting the elephant or else his reputation and the rest of the British colonizers’ reputation would be

When you know that everyone wants you to do something and their will is pushing yours, even if you feel like what they want done isn't what you believe should be done. This is the problem that George Orwell faced, he was pushed by a crowd to kill the the elephant even though he felt it was wrong.  The essay shows through the language that Orwell uses that his pride pushed him to kill the elephant and the deep regret he feels afterwards.