George Orwell 's Shooting An Elephant

“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.

Orwell describes the native Burmese people, who have been gathering behind him, as a “sea of yellow faces above the garish clothes-face all happy and excited over this bit of fun; all certain that the elephant was going to be shot” (Orwell). This imagery of an immense crowd swirling and stirring like a sea would before a storm, depicts the sense of power these defenseless native people had over Orwell and his mental state. As the essay proceeds, Orwell is overwhelmed by an unparalleled force pressuring him to shoot the elephant. “[He] could feel their two thousand wills pressing me forward, irresistibly” (Orwell). As Orwell’s attempts to conclude upon the infamous question of whether or not to take the life of this elephant, he comes to the realization of the power of the “white man in the East.”

Well known author and journalist, George Orwell, in his essay, Shooting an Elephant, describes his experiences as a Policeman in Moulmein, Burma during European Imperialism. Orwell’s purpose is to convey the ideal that what is right and what is accepted don’t always align. He adopts a remorseful tone in order to convey to the reader the weight of his actions. By looking at George Orwell’s use of imagery and figurative language, one can see his strongly conflicting opinions on Imperialism.

Two of Orwell’s first literary works were his essays regarding his experiences as a policeman in Burma during imperialization from Europe. These essays include “A Hanging” and “Shooting an Elephant.” In these essays, he shows his clear disagreement of oppression, even while working for the oppressors. Orwell writes

George Orwell’s 1930 short story “Shooting an Elephant,” demonstrates the total dangers of the unlimited authority a state has and the astounding presentment of “future dystopia”. In the story, Orwell finds himself to be in an intricate situation that involves an elephant. Not only does the fate of the elephant’s life lie in Orwell’s hands, he has an audience of people behind him cheering him on, making his decision much more difficult to make. Due to the vast crowd surrounding his thoughts, Orwell kills the elephant in the end, not wanting to disappoint the people of Burma. Orwell captures the hearts of readers by revealing the struggles he has while dealing with the burden of his own beliefs and morals.

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

In conclusion George Orwell essay “ Shooting An Elephant” expresses through his language that pride was something that pushed him to pull the trigger even though if it had been him alone he would have never pulled it.  He also showed  through his use of colour language and imagery the regret he feels for shooting the

The essay “Shooting an Elephant,” by George Orwell is about a particular day the narrator was living in British occupied Burma. The author tells about an event that still bothers him, in which he had a choice in whether or not to shoot and kill an elephant. The episode seems to still haunt him years later. The author seemed to write the essay in part to help himself cope with the act that he had committed. By his own admission, the narrator divulges that he does not share the same beliefs as the powerful government that he represents.

Readings for 23 January (Orwell and Mitford) Both Orwell and Mitford’s essays employ a dark, unnerving tone as they go about describing death. In Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant,” the essayist describes his time serving as an officer in Burma. Ridiculing the concept of Imperialism, Orwell’s prose expresses his hostile feelings toward the British and their hegemony over weaker nations. Orwell sets up the pessimistic, miserable tone of his essay in his introduction, stating, “In Moulmein, in lower Burma, I 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.”

Shooting an Elephant by George Orwell, is an interesting essay that shows the audience the effect of insecurity and peer pressure. The essay starts off with setting up what exactly Orwell is dealing with in Moulmein. While he holds symbolic authority and military supremacy and is also “theoretically —and secretly” on their side by being opposed to the oppressive British empire he serves, He is an outsider, and he is still powerless to stop their insults and abuse he receives from oppressed Burmese. When an elephant causes mayhem around the town Orwell takes charge of trying to find it. When the creatures is seen nearby, Orwell asks for a gun. This leads for him a mistake he unintentionally made. He was not planning on to shooting the elephant,

By reading George Orwell’s engaging essay “Shooting an Elephant”, imperialism and its internal effects on humanity is exposed in a stylistic and figurative penmanship. Orwell somehow finds a way to create his frightening autobiography into an enlightening essay that even contemporary people still learn about. He discusses the intolerable sense of guilt he feels throughout his whole time in Lower Burma from factors of all sorts. Stuck between two passionate flames of fury, ORwell cannot decide who he ates more- the cruel oppressors, or the beastly creatures being oppressed. His experience with the elephant and the stir of the villagers can only be explained by imperialism. He notices the eagerness in the eyes of the natives, and finally he makes

George Orwell's essay, “Shooting an Elephant” is an essay about a significant time in Orwell's life. George Orwell who was born with the name Eric Blair was the son of an English civil servant in the British Raj as was his father. He was educated in England, but served as an imperial policeman in India for 5 years but resigned an returned to England to pursue his dream of becoming a writer, which he did successfully, becoming known for many of his works. This story in particular was written in 1936. This tells a story of a moment early in Orwell's life when his sense of injustice surfaced.

Picture this, you are a police officer in the town of Moulmein, located in Lower Burma. There is no doubt that you are the most hated person in the town. Not a single person in that town likes you, not even the town’s priests. You are constantly harassed and occasionally tripped by the civilians. You have seen many brutal things such as: prisoners in unsanitary cages, the faces of long-term convicts and lastly, and the scarred buttocks of men who have been beaten by bamboos. You feel very guilty; you know that your morals do not agree with the job. This is something George Orwell dealt with at a young age.

The story “Shooting an Elephant” by George Orwell seeks to show the audience how easily people are influenced by the expectations of others. He accomplishes this by exploring the effects of British imperialism on the people of lower Burma. Orwell acts as the narrator in this story, telling of experiences he had while working as a sub-divisional police officer in Burma. He explains how he secretly hated his job and supported the Burmese people who where being oppressed. One day, an elephant is found loose wandering around the town causing ruckus, and even killing an Indian coolie. Orwell was ordered to respond to this incident and take control of the situation with whatever means necessary. When he finally finds the elephant, he realizes that it is no longer endangering anyone, and there is no need to shoot it. However, the Burmese people soon gather around and shout excitedly, causing Orwell to change his mind and shoot the elephant to avoid humiliations. The death of the elephant is described with excruciating detail, showing how the elephant suffered as it endured a slow death. At the end, Orwell explains how neither the natives nor his fellow British police officers

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.