Point Of View In Shooting An Elephant By George Orwell

The story, written in first person, gives insight of the narrator’s thought process. It is well conveyed that Orwell is very unhappy with his current position and is working for something he doesn’t believe in, which allows his audience to feel sympathetic to his current situation. His dilemma is clearly presented- whether he should shoot the elephant or not- which provides a universal theme of a personal battle, to choose what one believes is right, or whether to conform with society. Ultimately, this provides an emotional connection between Orwell and the reader, as they can relate to the feeling, which gives them a better understanding of the story’s main point. The shooting of the elephant itself also provokes an emotional response from the audience, as Orwell employs the element of death in a powerful and symbolic way. It is well persuaded throughout the story that he believed the elephant did not deserve to die, and the death itself is portrayed as devastating to him..” (Orwell, 5). The remorseful tone in this ending sentence exposes to the audience that just because something appears to be socially acceptable does not mean in any way that it is right for us to do, in which this case, the guilt exposed to the reader illustrates the negative consequences of social

Upon seeing the rifle, a huge crowd started to follow him. He had no intention to kill the elephant. However, the crowd was expecting him to shoot it. They did not want to kill it because it had destroyed the bazaar, but rather to enjoy the fun and to get the elephant meat. The crowd’s expectation leaves Orwell no choice but to shoot the elephant. He points out that he had to shoot it to “impress the ‘natives’” (7). If he had not done it, the crowd would have laugh at him, and it would hurt his pride as a white man living in the East. In the end, he decided to trigger the gun and shot the elephant.

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.

sense that he did not have ill-intent to kill the elephant. When Orwell says, ?

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

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

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.

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.

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.

Orwell will be put in a circumstance that he does not want to be in. He knows deep down that shooting the elephant is wrong. It is not something he wants to do. An elephant is an expensive, huge piece of machinery and can do amazing work. In this moment of pressure of deciding what to do, Orwell wants to pretend that he doesn’t care what the natives think, but it is extremely evident that he does. However, the moment he is worried about what they think, allows these citizens power which is exactly what Orwell doesn’t want to give them. Through feeling the peer pressure of the natives, Orwell shoots the elephant, knowing that it is not the right thing to do. The reading shows this as it rea ds, “It is the condition of his rile that he shall spend his life in trying to impress the natives, and so in every crisis he has got to do what the natives expect of him. He wears a mask, and his face grows to fit it. I had to shoot the elephant…with two thousand people marching at my heels, and then to trail feebly away, having done nothing-no, that was impossible. The crowd would laugh at me.” Peer pressure only works because humans allow it to work through fear of getting humiliated. This statement ties right into the next theme of the

The man says he has no intention of killing the elephant and only brought the gun to defend himself but as the crowd grew, so did his nerves. Now this is the most emotional part of the story that can be overlooked because we all knew he was going to shoot the elephant, hence the title. But the man did not want to, Orwell uses gentle tones as he describes the elephant and adds character to it rather than leaving it as a bland animal, giving the reader a wider perspective on the peaceful elephant. The man decided to just watch the elephant to see if it would turn savage again before finally making his choice, but as he looked around him, he felt the eyes of two thousand people eagerly waiting for him to perform the task at hand.

Everyone, at one or time, has succumbed to the pressure of doing something against his or her wishes. In George Orwell’s essay “Shooting an Elephant,” Orwell recounts his earlier years as a sub-divisional officer in British-occupied Burma. With their bitter hatred for the white men, the native Burmese would taunt and harass them. Although Orwell sympathizes with the Burmese and against the British, their constant jeering led made him hate his job even more. The crux of this story occurs when Orwell receives a phone call to “do something about” a rampaging elephant that has damaged property, killed a cow, and murdered a man. With a crowd of two thousand natives following him as he, armed with an elephant rifle, watches the elephant, he

Orwell was trying to satisfy the crowd by giving them what they wanted to see. He went to get the rifle to defend himself but it led to him killing the elephant. He had no intention of shooting the elephant but he realizes that’s what he had to do when the crowd follows him. The Burmese people were excited about this because they would be able to get meat to eat. He let his conscious eat up the inside of him and chose the wrong path.

Orwell position in power is influencing his empathetic feelings.Orwell is hiding the fact that he understands the Burmese people pain. He unable to be true to himself because of his position as a police officer. In “Shooting An Elephant” Orwell is hindering the facts that he feels for the elephant and doesn't want to kill it. Orwell claims “ I had no intention of shooting the elephant i merely sent the riffle to protect myself” Orwell know that the people wants him to shot the elephant and he has to make a tough decision. being in a the position he is orwell felt like he has to be heartless and not show people his emotional side. He felt like this is what people expected of him, and he has to handle serious situations without revealing his

In “Shooting an Elephant,” Orwell is a British police officer in Burma. One day when an elephant ravaged through a small village, Orwell was forced to shoot the elephant against his free will because of the pressure of “two thousand at the least” (Orwell 1101) Burmans who expected him to shoot the elephant. When he first heard of the elephant he had “no intention of shooting the elephant,” (Orwell 1101) but when the pressure of his surroundings acted on him, he found no other