Shooting The Elephant

While he writes, Orwell symbolizes the harsh evils of imperialism through his own character. Both Orwell and the imperialistic British government are young, foolish, and driven by hate. This hatred becomes so intense that Orwell begins to not only hate the British and the Burmese, but eventually himself for the decisions he makes. He also symbolizes the guilt and resentment that he feels inside. It starts with his overwhelming guilt that splits his loyalties in two. Then it is his passionate resentment towards the British which in turn, grows to not only the British, but the majority of the Burmese people. And lastly, Orwell also represents his own realization to his surroundings. In the story Orwell says, “I perceived in this moment that when a white man turns tyrant it is his own freedom he destroys” (327). He finally realizes that neither he nor the imperialistic government are in control, that the Burmese will never conform, and that the people’s will always

Orwell portrays the vengeful feelings of the Burmese people, the colonized, towards British People, the conqueror. As he has worked as a British officer in Burma, he knows how the natives feel about the British. Of course, it was obvious that the Burmese did not welcome any kind of British presence, including Orwell himself. The Occidentals were extremely mistreated, such as being jeered, and the narrator understood that anti-European feeling was very “bitter” (Orwell, 313). He needed to deal adequately with the native society, even though he was a target of bullying. For instance, he used to get ripped up on the football field, ignored by the referee and mocked by the crowd (Orwell, 313). Hence, he is a victim of the natives’ behavior. Not only is he the target of the native’s behavior, but he is also the victim of the imperial system.

In George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant”, Orwell is presented with a task that causes him a great deal of stress as he battles with his internal conflict throughout the story. Orwell has mixed feelings after he kills the elephant. He feels wrong for killing the elephant because he feels that there could have been a more peaceful solution and killing it will bring more harm than good. He also feels that he killed it just because of his own pride. Although killing the elephant may seem wrong to Orwell, it is definately necessary to prevent further harm. Orwell has a number of reasons that justify killing the elephant. He has to shoot the elephant because the elephant is a danger to the villagers, he is an authority figure, and for his

Two of Orwell’s first literary works were his essays regarding his experiences as a policeman in Burma during imperialization from Europe. These essays include “A Hanging” and “Shooting an Elephant.” In these essays, he shows his clear disagreement of oppression, even while working for the oppressors. Orwell writes

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

Orwell had a lot of control over the natives of Burma as a British officer during the time of imperialism, or at least he believed as a young, naïve imperialist. The British officials worked hard to maintain their illusion of power through the use of fear. In order to evoke these feelings of fear in these natives, the officers often used violence to assert dominance over “the wretched prisoners” whose “scarred buttocks… had been flogged with bamboos.” When called upon to handle a situation of a ravaging elephant, he reaches an epiphany as he begins to realize that the power of imperialism may very well not lie in the hand of the oppressors, but instead in the hands of the

Taking place in Burma, 1936, George Orwell’s memoir “Shooting an Elephant” explains why Orwell’s job was a disgrace to him. Because of Orwell being British, he was hated, targeted, insulted, and under pressure. Orwell was “all for the Burmese and all against their oppressor, the British.” He has a bitterness of feeling toward being the colonial policeman and the town’s people who tried to make his job “impossible.”

He also did not want to shoot someone else’s elephant and lose them any money. He had sent for a rifle earlier just case he needed protection. He noticed the crowd of Burmese people behind him and realized they were expecting and waiting on him to shoot the elephant. This is where the narrator had to conscience decision on what was the right path to take. Should he let the elephant live since it was not currently hurting anyone as he had first believed and be deemed as a coward?

In George Orwell’s short story, “Shooting an Elephant”, it follows a man that is being bombarded by the pressure of the situation that has been presented upon him. In 1936 Moulmein, Burma, a man is sent there as a sub-divisional policeman to be the officer of the town, but he being the only man of European decent in a town full of “yellow faces”, it isn’t surprising that he is being picked on by them. As we dive into the story, we can feel the slow burn of hatred in Orwell’s tone as the character describes the people he works for and for the people he works with. One day the unnamed man would be confronted by the issue of an elephant on the loose going around the town destroying people’s homes, livestock, and vegetation and it is asked of him

At that time the main character did not want to kill the elephant. “As soon as I saw the elephant I knew with perfect certainty that I ought not to shoot him.” He was then pulled into a dilemma and needed to decide between not shooting the elephant because it is beginning to become more peaceful, or shooting the elephant to not look like a fool, in spite of the fact that people who are observing him despise him and vice versa. The main character started to think about how everyone was expecting him to shoot the elephant and that he had to do it, but instead of doing what he believed in, he gave into peer pressure. And at that time I was extremely disappointed.

Soon enough, he heard a cry of an old woman who was chasing away a few children. When he went over, he found a man lying on the ground with a dead look on his face. He then learnt that the elephant had killed the man, a coolie, in a really brutal manner. The condition of the corpse was so bad that Orwell describes it as “devilish”. Soon enough, he discovered the true location of the elephant and forged ahead along with an elephant rifle that he had borrowed from one of his friends and with a big crowd of people who were really anxious to see the events. They found the elephant, which was now “peacefully eating like a cow”, near the paddy fields showing no signs or symptoms of "must." The elephant’s tranquility now put a reluctance in him to shoot it. This reluctance challenged the expectations of the Burmese men of shooting the elephant. It was clear that Orwell did not want to shoot the elephant. He felt as though the mahout should have been called to take it back to its owner. But the crowd behind just would not let that happen. They were really anxious to see the elephant get

"Shooting an Elephant" is the story of a British policeman in Moulmein, a city in Burma, that is torn between shooting or not shooting an elephant that has gone ramped. The native people did not like him much, but when the elephant went on its rampage they were quick to call on him. What seemed like is should have been an easy task for the officer to do was harder than he ever could have imagined when he can face to face with it. When the

The Burmese deprecated imperialism and the people who worked for it. Orwell states in his essay, “As a police officer, I was an obvious target and was baited whenever it seemed safe to do so,” and later on to say that it, “Got badly on my nerves.” This quote

Although George Orwell is more commonly known for his works such as 1984 or Animal Farm, another one of his great short stories is Shooting and Elephant. The story discusses a time in which George is faced with a difficult decision dealing with what the people near him wanted and what he knew was morally right. This moral dilemma obviously played a large role in the type of person Orwell became. The story not only lines up with his ideals about government and imperialism, he is still visited by the events that happened to him in Burmese. Orwell served as an imperial guard, and this frustrated him to no end. Being part of a system that he hated was difficult for him to stomach. At the time, India was controlled by Britain

Orwell abandons his morals and kills the elephant to garner the approval of the Burmans. He feels compelled to shoot the animal because the Burmans "did not like me, but with the magical rifle in