Shooting An Elephant Analysis

The ability to flourish becomes difficult, when others’ opinions are focused on rather than one’s own importance. In “Shooting an Elephant” the narrator goes against his own morals and beliefs, to simply be accepted by a group. In his heart, he knows it is wrong to shoot an innocent elephant, yet his desperation to feel included causes him to plummet under pressure. The narrator could have easily avoided shooting the elephant, but something about the need to fit in caused him to go against himself. He was no longer doing what was right for him, rather what others wanted him to do. The loss of individualism causes one to not only go against one’s own morals and belief, it eventually leads and escalates to broader situations. A person becomes sidetracked from accomplishing and achieving personal goals when trying to be included. The narrator faces a similar position as he begins to spend a majority of his time pondering and wondering why he is hated and shunned. There was an inability to focus on anything else because all that focus was on to one specific thought. The constant focus on trying to be accepted, causes one to lose sight of what is really important. Society overpowers individuals, no matter how hard one tries, one will always lose to a majority. Rather than dedicate and waste precious time

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

Peer pressure is a common aspect of society that can ultimately result in devastating consequences. Often times, one is encouraged to follow the beliefs of others by changing their values and behaviors. Whether one truly has the motive to perform such actions, those who surround always have the potential to influence our decisions. In the short story, “Shooting an Elephant”, written by George Orwell, the concept of one being pressured to perform something against their will in order to preserve their image is very prominent. This essay well illustrates how people will do whatever it takes to conform to the common beliefs of society even if it doesn’t follow what they

The story of Shooting an Elephant is a short story that shows the internal struggle of a man who tries to figure out for himself if he values self respect more or others respect more. The main character is a European who works for the sub-divisional police in South East Asia. He is stationed in Burma where, even though he hates the people, he hopes the Burmese win the war. Hatred for the Burmese people is fueled by their mocking him and treatment towards him with absolutely no respect and little regard. In addition, even though the man shoots the elephant, he earlier stated that he had absolutely no resolve in him to shoot the elephant. His decision to not kill the elephant comes crumbling down when he realizes the Burmese will take notice of him if he shoots the elephant. Why would he care about what the Burmese thought of him if they hated him anyway? This is because his hatred for the Burmese is little in comparison to how much he wishes for respect and recognition. The

“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.

“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.

The quest for power is one which has been etched into the minds of men throughout history. However, it can be said that true power is not a result of one’s actions but comes from the following one’s own beliefs without being influenced by others. This principle sets up the story for Shooting an Elephant by George Orwell. The protagonist, Orwell himself, is a sub divisional police officer in Burma, a British colony. Orwell must try to find and use his inner power when he is faced with the decision of whether or not to kill an elephant which has ravaged the Burman’s homes. The state of power established through the imperialistic backdrop show that Orwell, as a colonist, should be in control. As well, the perspective and ideas given by Orwell

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.

involving an elephant. The fate of the elephant lies in his hands. Only he can

To sum up the reasoning behind George Orwell shooting the elephant, one must conclude, that there had been put great pressure on his shoulders. He had two ways to go, both with major problems. Some might say he chose the right thing, while others will be opposed, but one thing is right. He did it for the better of

This essay describes the experience of an English narrator named Orwell, who was ordered to shoot an aggressive elephant while he was working as a policeman in Burma. As a consequence, the locals expected him to do the job (shooting the elephant), thus he did the job to please the people, but he wasn’t pleasing himself. Orwell’s pain increased by the elephant’s slow and painful death. He had a sense of guilt when he mentions seeing the elephant laying in the ground “powerless to move and yet powerless to die”. In fact, he made himself believe that he was right and it was legal to kill the elephant, by thinking to justify what he had done, stating “legally I did the right thing, a mad elephant has to be killed, like a mad dog, if its owner fails to control it”. On the contrary, Orwell knew that the elephant could have been saved without unnecessary harm, but he chose the latter. In my opinion, I’ve liked other essays more than Orwell’s essay because this one was very hard to read, thinking that it was hard to see an elephant die slowly and killing

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

¨All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others¨(Orwell). George Orwell, an English novelist, wrote many stories that eventually that ultimately made him famous. One of his most famous stories that George Orwell wrote a was called Shooting An Elephant this story is about a man who fell into peer pressure and shot and killed an elephant. The speaker of the story didn't want to kill this elephant but later in the story explains why he did it. Within the story it reveals various of messages that are, peer pressure where he explains that sometimes we feel obligated to do things we don't want to, we don't appreciate a moment until long after it happens, and the disappearance of imperialism.

In Shooting an Elephant, a short memoir written by George Orwell about his time in the

All people foster duality. The ability to choose can leave one on a tightrope; one side hate, the other, hope. The main characters in George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant” are stricken with this curse, or blessing. How one defines it depends on the vantage point. In this case the points of reference are either what is natural, or what society had deemed right and wrong. The society in this instance is help together by the grey lines of what I mperialism intends to do and what it actually does. In “Shooting an Elephant,” the actions of the narrator and the elephant are judged by nature and society, leaving both torn between truth and lies .