George Orwell's Shooting An Elephant

After shooting the elephant, Orwell writes, “Finally I fired my two remaining shots into the spot where I thought his heart must be. The thick blood welled out of him like red velvet, but he still did not die”(p. 12). The imagery Orwell creates of the elephant’s slow and tortuous death connects to the turmoil he is undergoing. Orwell explains his anguish when he inscribes, “I did not want to shoot the elephant…it seemed to me that it would be murder to shoot him”(p. 8) Orwell goes through the agony of going against everything he believes in just to maintain his power over the Burmese. Ultimately, he comes to the conclusion that there is no other choice, but to shoot the elephant explaining, “my whole life, every white man's life in the East, was one long struggle not to be laughed at”(p. 7) He loses his freedom then his dignity. The build up of his indescribable hatred towards both the British and the Burmese causes Orwell to make a decision that goes against his morals. This rash decision-making is no different from the government. The hastiness is created from the social pressure of the conquered (Burmese). This creates a power struggle between the two, conqueror and the conquered. Authority then goes against their beliefs to maintain dominance. Orwell explains as so, “A sahib has got to act like a sahib; he has got to appear resolute, to know his own mind and do definite things”(p.7) Ultimately, governments

George Orwell describes to us in “Shooting an elephant” the struggle that his character faces when to win the mobs approval and respect when he shoots down an innocent animal and sacrifices what he believes to be right. Orwell is a police officer in Moulmein, during the period of the British occupation of Burma. An escaped elephant gives him the opportunity to prove himself in front of his people and to be able to become a “somebody” on the social

In this situation, the elephant represents the colonization of the British in Burma. Since the elephant has its’ liberty restricted the end result: the elephant is violent and rebels in response to being shackled. The elephant showcases the rejection of imperialism through the narrator's feelings. Orwell’s attitude affects his job because when he was called to take care of the elephant incident, he does not take a standpoint on either the people or the

All the fuss, actions he was encouraged to make, lead back to his job he had to do, which was one he despised. Orwell’s introduction makes it very clear he doesn't not like being a police officer and especially does not like imperialism. “For at that time I had already made up my mind that imperialism was an evil thing and the sooner I chucked up my job and got out of it the better.” (Orwell,1963,pg. 1) He wanted nothing to do with imperialism, he was all for the Burmese. He didn't believe in the cruel ways the British had forced him to act on. His words are spread among many sentences created this harsh tone. He was furious he was considered part of the imperialism. He was in the group though, and being part of this came with responsibility and standards. Orwell had to prove he was worthy and could hold up his end

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

Orwell next faces the moral dilemma of whether or not to shoot the elephant. At first, it is clear that he does not feel the internal urge to shoot the elephant: "It seemed to me that it would be murder to shoot him" (Orwell.525). However, Orwell's virtue becomes dwarfed as the Burmese's "two thousand wills [press him] forward"(524) to kill the elephant. At this point there is an obvious role reversal as the Burmese begin to strongly influence Orwells decisions. Because he constantly dwells on what the crowd will think of him he shoots the elephant. Thus submitting to the will of the people and committing the immoral deed of abandoning ones own conscious because of the pressure of others.

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

He was pressured into ending the elephant's life because he wanted their respect. Orwell never had the intention of killing the elephant but to him all he wanted was people to appreciate

Eish Maheshwari Shooting an Elephant In his piece “Shooting an Elephant,” George Orwell echos his central purpose: to warn readers of the moral problems involved with succumbing to social pressure. By effectively using imagery and juxtaposing the two conflicting personalities whirling around his mind, Orwell is able to establish an ambivalent tone, allowing him to further support his central purpose. The use of a plethora of imagery by Orwell allows him to emphasize the pain and extreme harshness of his situation with the elephant, thus revealing how disturbing the incident was to his morale.

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.

He is against whom he is working for (the India Imperial Police). Orwell says, “I was all for the Burmese and all against their oppressors, the British” (320). He also says, “ As for the job I was doing, I hated it more bitterly than I can perhaps make clear” (320). Along with hating who he worked for, Orwell hated the way his kind treated the Burmese and felt guilty cause of it. Orwell states, “The wretched cages of the lock-ups, the gray, cowed faces of the long-term convicts, the scarred buttocks of the men who had been flogged with

He recognizes that the empire is tyrannical and abusive, yet he is unable to overcome his instinctual dislike for the local villagers who mistreat him. In the same way that Orwell’s resentment of the villagers compromised his honorable objection to the British Raj, Orwell ends up compromising his humane impulses and killing the elephant because he feared humiliation. In the last paragraph of the essay, Orwell states very clearly why he felt compelled to kill the elephant and in doing so exposes the heart of imperialism: “I often wondered whether any of the others grasped that I had done it solely to avoid looking a fool. " Orwell became a puppet to the will of the Burmese by abandoning his thoughts of moral righteousness.

Things changed when Orwell was called to solve the issue with the elephant. By the time Orwell was called to catch the elephant the natives were very happy because that meant food for them, but Orwell wasn't very uncertain of assassinating the animal and was very indecisive. "I looked at the sea of yellow faces about the garish clothes-faces all happy and excited over this bit of fun, all certain that the elephant was going to be shot" (p 6.) Orwell did not want to assassinate the elephant, but when he stared at all the happy faces, it made him think concomitant, of murdering the elephant. He wanted to feel important for once in his life by assassinating the animal.

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.