The Paradox Of Belonging : The Complex Role Of Colonialism

“Shooting an Elephant,” an essay published in 1936, uses multiple devices to inform readers about imperialism and how it negatively affects the oppressed and the oppressor. George Orwell, the author of the essay, was a supporter of democratic socialism and was a strong advocate against social injustices. The essay was based on a time when Orwell was a police officer in colonial Burma. Orwell uses an elephant throughout the essay to effectively explain to the audience the relationship between the Burmese and the British. In addition, he also directly and indirectly talks about his feelings towards imperialism through the use of symbolism, metaphors, syntax, and diction . Orwell

In his last days, George Orwell, author of the best-selling book, 1984, wrote an essay entitled “Shooting an Elephant”. The story is set in the 1920s, where Orwell was serving as a police officer in Burma, a country colonised by the British. The center of the plot revolves around an incident that took place in the town of Moulmein. An elephant freed himself from chains and stampedes through the little town because the elephant is in ‘must’, a state of frenzy brought on by sexual heat. As the elephant continues to terrorise the natives, Orwell is called upon to remedy the situation and brings along a gun to be prepared for any scenario that would take

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.

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

In Shooting an Elephant, George Orwell uses his experiences as a European police officer in Burma during early 20th century imperialism in order to convey that imperialism destroyed both the native and the white man’s freedom. When Orwell is reluctant to shoot the elephant, he states “I perceive in this moment that when the white man turns tyrant it is his own freedom that he destroys.” He appeals to the audience’s emotion by stating this, making it clear that he feels more pressured by the native Burmans in that moment than he ever did as the oppressor. Consequently, he feels as if the Burmans have more power over him than vice versa.   Likewise, Orwell’s emotional appeal is displayed when he goes into detail about the hatred that

In the essay “Shooting an Elephant”, George Orwell recounts his experiences as a British police officer in the British Raj during the 1930s and 40s. During this time period, Great Britain controlled most of South Asia, including the Burman village where Orwell was stationed. He describes the futility of imperialism for both parties involved, directing his experiences to the European audiences of the time. This is meant to provide perspective towards the consequences of European imperialism and internal struggle which Orwell and the British Empire both face. The act of imperialism restricts both the conqueror and the conquered from true freedom and is pointless due to the resistance and morality of human nature.

In his essay, “Shooting an Elephant,” George Orwell revealed a lot about himself. Immediately Orwell explained that he served as a sub-divisional police officer in Lower Burma, surrounded by the hatred of the Burmese people because of his European background. Orwell considered the British empire an unconscionable tyranny, yet he still hated the disrespectful Burmese who torment him. The Burmese people expected Orwell to demonstrate the same authority over what was then a peaceful elephant, that the British Empire displayed over them. Orwell as an officer and in this way, upheld the image of the authority that most officers represent.

The essay is narrated by a colonial policeman, presumably Orwell himself, in British Burma who mentions that killing the elephant “gave me a better glimpse than I had had before of the real nature of imperialism,” already foreshadowing the impact of the incident. Shooting the elephant proves to be a difficult task to recover from as the graphic imagery of the elephant’s blood welling out like “red velvet” while juxtaposed with its “great agony” suggests the significant impact of its pain on the shooter. The elephant is an innocent figure, shown by the simile comparing it to a cow, in this essay who pays the price for the white man’s superiority complex due to imperialism. Orwell recognises in the moment that he is “an absurd puppet pushed to and fro by the will of those yellow faces behind” and so fulfils the duty of a “sahib,” suggesting how the difficult experience of shooting an innocent looking animal has led him to further understand the effects of imperialism on the oppressors. The narrative like structure of the essay allows Orwell to formulate his thesis through an incident he learned from.

George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant” is a story about the experience of the narrator who was asked to shoot a wild elephant. He was a police officer who worked for British imperialists and killing the elephant would help him receive good judgement from the villagers in Burma. Orwell says that imperialism is evil and should be eliminated while others think that it is good for the public. The purpose of Orwell’s story is to show the audience that imperialism is harmful and not as good as people think. Orwell uses various literary techniques to show the irony of the whole situation. Orwell’s tone is very blunt and outspoken. He convinces the audience that imperialism has a negative impact on those being governed under the imperialist’s power by using his background, ethos, pathos, and imagery.

“He was dying very slowly and in great agony”, as described by George Orwell, in his short story, “Shooting an Elephant”(Orwell). In this story, Orwell delicately explains to his readers how society is influenced by peer pressure. The story was set in Burma in 1936 and begins with a low self-esteemed police officer just trying to get through day- to- day life. His life takes a turn when he is suddenly faced with the decision to shoot an elephant to please a crowd of spectators. Believing that his actions are wrong he shoots the elephant anyway and is rewarded with cheers and social acceptance. However, knowing in his heart that the deed was wrong he is now faced with guilt and must try to convince himself his act was warranted. George Orwell’s short story “Shooting an Elephant” is relevant in today’s society through the structure, quality, and applicability of the content in the story.

This short narration is really interesting because why would a man George Orwell choose to write about literally shooting an elephant? There had to be more to it just like a few things in life. Since he wrote this during the British imperialism there had to be more to it. The story takes place in Myanmar (Burma in the story) and the location matters because it’s so precise. It’s sort of like when you take an art class and learn that color and background all have meaning. The strongly feel that the British felt it was their duty to civilize these people of Burma as if they needed to be taught how to be a good human being, in this case if you weren’t white you weren’t right. So of course heritage, culture, and rituals all try to be taken away.

George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant” highlights the issues involved with imperialism. “Shooting an Elephant” retells the story of one of Orwell’s most memorable experiences in Burma. The majority of the story revolves around the conflict of whether or not an elephant should be killed or allowed to remain alive. Orwell masterfully intertwines symbolism, imagery and tone to create a story in which the reader is immersed in Orwell’s self-conflict, and led to the conclusion that imperialism is dying.

George Orwell was born in colonial India but was educated in England. When Britain created and empire, Orwell had been working for the police of the British Army in the location of Burma. Orwell realized there was something wrong with certain ways of government and that their is cultural conflicts. “Convinced that human decency and common sense were the basis of a just society, the author repeatedly found himself in conflict with the ideological mass movements of his time, ranging from capitalism to fascism and communism”(Gale). With the realization of these things, Orwell based many of his stories off of cultural differences, and the negatives of different types of government. In George Orwell’s short story Shooting an Elephant, Orwell explains his bitter days of being a police officer in Burma. Shooting an Elephant explains three important messages Orwell learned while in Burma.

“Shooting an Elephant” is based upon George Orwell experience with the Indian Imperial Police. As a British officer, the narrator was “all for the Burmese and all against their oppressors, the British. This confines a universal experience of going against one’s own humanity at the cost of a part of that humanity. Throughout the story, the narrator feels that imperialism is evil, because he feels that imperialism restricts the freedom of the natives reducing them to inferior status in their own soil. Although he was against killing an elephant, he processed on doing it. What the author was conveying to the audience is that we have decisions in life that will impact us for life. We need to take into consideration of the choices before we chose

In 1936, George Orwell published his short story ‘Shooting an elephant’ in an English magazine. Since then, it has been republished dozens of times and holds a place as a definitive anti-colonial piece of literature, in an era where the British Empire was at its peak and covered almost 1/3 of the Earth’s surface. George Orwell believed that “…imperialism was an evil thing...” and uses much themes, symbolism and irony to convey his strong anti-colonialist feelings.