Shooting An Elephant Individualism

George Orwell’s ‘Shooting an Elephant’ (Orwel, 1936) represents a number of strangers being involved in a combined encounter. The situation throughout the essay represents the unjust British occupation of Burma, the hatred towards him as a British officer and the elephant symbolising the British. The part of the text chosen clearly exemplifies how a forced duty can lead to hatred. The text chosen displays that he is forced to encounter the Burmese people yet they despise him. Although the encounter with the Burmese improves with the arrival of the elephant, Orwell still has a sense of isolation. Throughout the text Orwell questions the presence of the British in the East exploring that the encounter with the Burmese should not have took place.

Yet, if all the people are shaped by their environment, everyone would end up the same and not have distinct uniquenesses that differ from other people. In order to still keep one’s individuality and remain separate from his or her peers and relations, a person should not allow what other people think of him influence how he thinks of himself. One example is Sonia

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

DISCUSS ORWELL'S USE OF PERSUASIVE TOOLS SUCH AS, SYMBOLISM, METAPHORS AND IRONY IN THIS ESSAY AND EXPLAIN HOW HE USES EACH OF THESE TO CONVEY HIS ARGUMENT OR MESSAGE

At the same time, the narrator is also the victim of the Imperialism System itself. Under the system, it seems that the British manipulate the Burmese, but in reality, it is the opposite situation. The Burmese had the control over the British, especially people like the author who worked in a country under colonization. Orwell

Throughout history the most famous poets have devoted their entire lives to literature and in doing so, have become very well known. George Orwell easily became one of the most famous poets of the modern century. Although he did not grow up as an avid writer, he quickly made a name for himself. The officer would write one of a kind stories about his own experiences and the lessons learned from them. Resulting in a great amount of attention and praise for his excellent work. Cindy Johnson, a biographer explains, “He wrote numerous essays and reviews over the years, developing a reputation for producing well-crafted literary criticism.” This obviously meaning that Orwell endured a great deal of criticism in his officer duties as well as in his writings. One of Orwell’s most famous poems is, Shooting An Elephant, in which he explains the messages of the effects of peer pressure, the realization of the importance of experiences long after they have happened, and the disappearance of imperialism.

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.

The story “Shooting an Elephant” is told by an ongoing and first person narrator, who was committed to events he was faced with and obtained insight and wisdom from these adventures even though he struggled internally and externally.

In the article "Shooting an Elephants" by George Orwell the author's story is very captivating and descriptive. “I remember that it was a cloudy, stuffy morning at the beginning of the rains.” He does not hold back the details as if he remembers them. Orwell originally did not want to shoot the elephant but feared what his peers would say, his peers being the thousand yellow faces that stood behind him if he didn't complete his job. Unfortunately, he was not in fear of his life but his duty and job called for him to against his morals and shoots the elephant. The locals had it out for him anyways, not killing elephant would have added fire to the flame of the dislike they would have for the policeman. The Burmese people play a huge role, badgering

George Orwell, author of, "Shooting an Elephant" reveals his inner conflicts to the audience by offering in depth description, using intensity, and symbolism through the act of shooting the elephant. His narration helps him do so by giving descriptive scenarios in the story. Orwell's narration can also be used to examine the role of India and Great Britain at the story's time in history. The narration then allows Orwell to use symbolism in place of description. Orwell uses narration to help explain his inner conflicts and to what is happening in each setting of the story.

George Orwell’s 1930 short story “Shooting an Elephant,” demonstrates the total dangers of the unlimited authority a state has and the astounding presentment of “future dystopia”. In the story, Orwell finds himself to be in an intricate situation that involves an elephant. Not only does the fate of the elephant’s life lie in Orwell’s hands, he has an audience of people behind him cheering him on, making his decision much more difficult to make. Due to the vast crowd surrounding his thoughts, Orwell kills the elephant in the end, not wanting to disappoint the people of Burma. Orwell captures the hearts of readers by revealing the struggles he has while dealing with the burden of his own beliefs and morals.

Depersonalisation occurs when an individual identifies with a certain group as he/she adopts the group’s identity wherein his/her personal identity takes less priority and he/she tends to downplay his/her’s own personal attributes in favour of acquiring the group’s attributes (Swann Jr et al., 2009; Korte, 2007). An individual constructs meaning of this social identity through self-categorisation and adopts the appropriate behaviour that is expected and utilised within the group (Korte, 2007). This further suggests that individuals have the tendency to display behaviours that the group they identify with displays even if it conflicts with their personal identity (Korte, 2007). Also, the more salient an individual’s social identity, the more likely the

The society can be affected because of these precarious situations. If more and more people can’t find the strength to get out of these tough situations, our society will become less diverse. A less diverse society is usually caused because the controller wants others to be like them. They want others to have the same thoughts, do the same things, and act in a similar fashion. This results in common thoughts and actions creating a less diverse society. Hitler was a master at manipulating people’s minds to get them to do what he wanted. Hitler had one plan in order to pay back the war debts of WWI. According to Anna Tollar, Hitler was able to exterminate people because of his power: “There was no one who could stop Hitler from committing these crimes because he made himself seem more superior” (Tollar n.pag.). One can not control another if they do not have authority over them. Hitler’s goal was to get thousands of people thinking on the same page. He did this by gaining power. Nobody would listen, or carry out his deeds for him without some authority. In addition, Hitler also used fear to brainwash and control his people: “Hitler saw that as an opportunity to persuade people by bringing fear into people’s lives so they would obey him” (Tollar n.pag.). Hitler became so powerful that he started using fear to control others. He established

“Shooting an elephant” and “A modest proposal” are two essays where expresses Orwell’s feelings directly, while Swift presents his feelings through a projector (one who forms schemes or designs) whose attitude is cold and unsympathetic. To begin with, there were be a comparison between the following essays: “Shooting an elephant” and “A modest proposal” and a summary of both essays. During the 1800’s, Great Britain fought several wars against Burma (Myanmar); hoping to secure a better trade route with China. In addition, Myanmar won their independence in 1948. On the other hand, “A Modest proposal” grows out of Swift’s furious indignation, his disgust with English oppression, and Irish corruption and stupidity. Furthermore, Ireland was under