Shooting An Elephant By George Orwell

It is essential to understand that classes taken in grade school do not give students a full understanding of each subject. With the topic of writing, there will always be a new lesson to learn, an aspect to improve, or a differing way to explain. Author Craig Vetter states in Bonehead Writing, “This is your enemy: a perfectly empty sheet of paper. Nothing will ever happen here except what you make happen.” Each story, essay, or response comes from a writer’s experiences. With each attempt at a new piece comes an underlying story of emotions the writer is facing. Each person’s writing is unique and the ideas people have are related to their past experiences and what they believe to be familiar with when deciding which writing style to use. As a high school student, I have learned many things about writing that helped me become the improved writer I am today, but the most essential advice I have received is practice makes perfect. Although there is no actual perfect way of writing, I have discovered that each essay I write, my writing improves. It is easier to spot mistakes, find areas to improve, and ponder elevated word choice to use.

Due to George Orwell’s many successful works, he has remained a recognizable and respected author from his first moments of fame until now. Orwell’s novels and essays touch on aspects of government and human nature that will always remain relevant. With America’s changing values and controversial times, Orwell’s warning seem more relevant than ever and prove that with strong ideas, a novel can remain current beyond lifetimes.

Examples that demonstrate style: Certain passages of the memoir depict events of emotional and grueling intensity, in such a vivid way that they convey the surreal manner of life which the prisoners had become forced to endure, and the scenes into which they had been thrown, dreamlike in their fortified connections with the impossible. For instance, during a night of the death march, the prisoners all vied for a place under the meager roof of a hut. They fought for this place, crushing and suffocating others. “I wanted to get up and disengage myself to allow him to breathe. But I myself was crushed under the weight of other bodies…I dug my nails into unknown faces. I was biting my way through…I couldn’t breathe through my mouth or my nose…This was it; the end of the

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

Story is about a Burma village where an elephant got loose and wreaked havoc on the town and kills a villager (a man). George Orwell is the sheriff and ultimately makes the choice to kill the elephant.

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.

As society has progressed, the evolution of imperialism has come to a point where people see it has pure history. It has vanished from our daily lives as we have not recently witness a country trying to dominate another. In “Shooting an Elephant” by George Orwell, we are able to envision the lives of the Burmese as they were involuntarily controlled by the British. In the early 1900’s we are told a true story of Orwell himself where he was once established in Burma was apart of his military service. During his service, he describes his living situation by noting that the army as well as himself were not appreciated. He mentions, “As a police officer I was an obvious target and was baited whenever it seemed safe to do so.”(1) One day he

There are many different style to write in. Along with the different style there are also different perspectives. First, second, and third person are the types most people think about. The reality is that there are many more types out there. When a person writes it is hard for them to be able to stop thinking of what they were told when growing up. In the article Ten Ways To Think About Writing: Metaphoric Musings for College Writing Student by E. Shelley Reid, it is said that while rules are important in writing the rules can cause more of a problem then a guideline. Instead focus on writing in a way the completely describe what is trying to be said. The details in the story are what need to be focused on. The more detail that are used the

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.

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.

Unanticipated choices one is forced to make can have long-lasting effects.{2} In "Shooting an Elephant," by George Orwell, the author recounts an event from his life when he was about twenty years old during which he had to choose the lesser of two evils. Many years later, the episode seems to still haunt him. The story takes place at some time during the five unhappy years Orwell spends as a British police officer in Burma. He detests his situation in life, and when he is faced with a moral dilemma, a valuable work animal has to die to save his pride.{3}

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

My piece is written in the style of a descriptive narrative, mirroring Steinbeck’s tone and expression. I have chosen to write using a narrative dialogue in a third person view. I am going to use formal language when writing descriptions and informal when writing dialogue. The speech between the characters would be slang, spelt phonetically and in colloquial language. I have chosen to do this to develop the characters personalities, their levels of education and to develop the context of the novella. Apart from the two opening paragraphs of Chapter One, I am going to write in past tense. I am also going to begin my writing with a concentrated description of the location like Steinbeck does at the beginning of every chapter. This is to set the

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.

In one of George Orwell’s famous works The Road to Wigan Pier the man famously quoted “In order to hate imperialism, you have to be a part of it. (goodreads.com)” This quote symbolizes George Orwell’s attitude toward imperialism that is clearly expressed in two of his most famous essays, Shooting an Elephant and A Hanging. The quote also makes one think about what being a part of imperialism really means; For example, in both stories George Orwell’s character is portrayed as an English figure of authority in the occupied area of Burma. In both of George Orwell’s writings the groups of people that are split from each other are the British and native Indians. Orwell used many Symbols throughout his two famous writings to describe