Shooting An Elephant Imperialism Essay

As a European white man in the British colony of India, George Orwell, in his narrative essay Shooting an Elephant, describes one of his most memorable events while living in the Southeast Asian nation of Burma. Orwell’s purpose is to share the absolute horror of living in imperialism. He adopts a tense tone throughout his essay by using vivid description and gruesome imagery in order to relate the incident with the elephant to what it is like to live in imperialism.

George Orwell’s essay, Shooting an Elephant, chronicles Orwell’s experiences in Moulmein, Burma. Orwell describes his growing hatred for British imperialism and his hardship shooting a wild elephant. Orwell states the incident of shooting the elephant “in a roundabout way was enlightening. It was a tiny incident in itself, but it gave me a better glimpse than I had had before of the real nature of imperialism.” The incident made Orwell aware that, “governments act from the same petty impulses” that drove Orwell to shoot the elephant.

The consequence of imperialism is discussed in “Shooting an Elephant”; The victim of imperialism is not only the natives but also the narrator. Indeed, this essay is about the suffering and the struggling of Orwell who is torn between the Burmese’s actions and the Imperial System.

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.

“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.

In “Shooting an Elephant,” Orwell retold an occasion where he was struggling to come to a final decision of whether to shoot the elephant or not. With his final decision, the elephant finally lay dying in front of thousands of people. He said that he was forced to shoot it because the Burmese people were expecting him to do that. In addition, he also explained that he had to do it “to avoid looking like a fool” in front of the crowd (14). At first glance, one would think that it makes sense for him to kill the elephant to save his face, but that was not the case. He effectively uses this incident to demonstrate the “real nature of imperialism” (3), whereas the elephant represents the British Empire.

The glorious days of the imperial giants have passed, marking the death of the infamous and grandiose era of imperialism. George Orwell's essay, Shooting an Elephant, deals with the evils of imperialism. The unjust shooting of an elephant in Orwell's story is the central focus from which Orwell builds his argument through the two dominant characters, the elephant and its executioner. The British officer, the executioner, acts as a symbol of the imperial country, while the elephant symbolizes the victim of imperialism. Together, the solider and the elephant turns this tragic anecdote into an attack on the institution of imperialism.

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

This is supported by the portrayal of its violent actions. George says, “The Burmese population had no weapons and were quite helpless against it.” Like Britain who oppressed the “helpless” Burmese people, the elephant ravages the poor, susceptible inhabitants. However, another attribute is reviled of the elephant, when George approaches a “peacefully eating”  elephant. The “peaceful” elephant is defenseless against the power of the rifle–this is similar to the Burmese people, who were defenseless against the British oppression. In collocating these two elephants–the dangerous, and the peaceful– George convolutes whatever meaning the elephant might have. Nonetheless, the elephant shows us two sides of imperialism–the oppressors and the oppressed. By interpreting the elephant in this means, George proves that imperialism is far more convoluted than you might think–as the elephant demonstrates both aspects of the conqueror (in the “must” form) and the conquered (in the peaceful state). The reaction that the Burmese people have towards the elephant extend George’s

Collectively, people are weak. Humans constantly follow what is considered to be a dominant force or trend. No individual can survive separate from the group; therefore, no one strays from what is considered popular. People are biologically programmed to have this stick-with-the-herd mindset. This attribute is encoded into all humans and aids them in survival, which is why people try not to deviate from the group.

According to Merriam Webster, Imperialism can be described as "the practice of extending the power and dominion of a nation especially by direct territorial acquisitions", and over the past centuries, this has been among the most potent force in the world history. Moreover, George Orwell “shooting an elephant” is a story that was first published in the Autumn of 1936 and set in British-conquered Burma. Furthermore, the story mainly describes a white British imperial officer in SouthEast Asia when he had to experience a “ravaging” elephant while he was on duty. “ Shooting an Elephant” is very interesting to analyse regarding narrator of a point of view, as it has raised question including whether it suggests that imperialism acted as something of a double-edged sword which affected both the coloniser and colonised.

Gisselle Armijos Mrs.Rosenwasser AP English Language and Composition 1/16/15 Orwell Essay Response In George Orwell’s essay “Shooting an Elephant”, the subject is British imperialism. The birth of Orwell’s essay was during the early 1900s, when the British ruled Burma (Myanmar present day).

Imperialism is rooted in a strong sense of nationalism. George Orwell’s short story “Shooting an Elephant” shows the social effects of nationalism on both occupier and the

Through-out the entire time that Imperialism existed, imperialists have changed their grounds and strategies in imperialistic rules, but the ultimate objective has remained the same; to rule and exploit the natives. Imperialism is a state of mind, fueled by the arrogance of superiority that could be adopted by any nation irrespective of it’s geographical location in the world. “Shooting an Elephant,” is of importance because in it, lies how the incident depicts the different aspects of imperialism. In the essay the elephant and Orwell help to prove that Imperialism is a double edged knife, so to speak. The killing of the elephant is the incident that reveals that Imperialism inflicts damage on both parties in imperialistic relationships.

In George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant” a sub-divisional police officer described his position being in Moulmein, in lower Burma which was very anti-European. He described how the native treated Europeans and how he was treated by them each day. He was taunted, baited, and treated so terrible by the people it was hard to keep his cool. He said “imperialism was an evil thing and the sooner his job was done the better”. Then it’s described the narrator’s side on this, which was for the Burmese, and how the narrator wants to jab a bayonet it to the Buddhist priest’s guts because they were always jeer at Europeans, but says it’s a feeling like this in normal by product of imperialism. Moreover the mood changes to a day for the officer to prove his importance. He was called to a wild elephant ravaging the bazaar, but when he