The Power Of Imperialism In Shooting An Elephant, By George Orwell

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 ‘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.

“Shooting an Elephant” is an essay written by George Orwell, first published in the journal New Writing in 1936. In this essay, the author tells his own story about when he was working as a police officer for the Indian Imperial Police in Burma.

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.

In 1984, the last and largest work of Orwell’s life, the oppression becomes even more sinister. Winston, a member of the “party,” decides to break away from the melancholy lifestyle in which “freedom is slavery” and rebel against the government that restrains him. The party even erases all of history and claims that reality is within the mind; “He who controls the past controls the future. He who controls the present controls the past.” He becomes conscious of all the trickery and lies of the party and joins a secret organization to fight for freedom. The organization, however, is a lie and Winston is tortured until he learns to truly love Big Brother. 1984 makes prominent stabs at the

All the fuss, actions he was encouraged to make, lead back to his job he had to do, which was one he despised. Orwell’s introduction makes it very clear he doesn't not like being a police officer and especially does not like imperialism. “For at that time I had already made up my mind that imperialism was an evil thing and the sooner I chucked up my job and got out of it the better.” (Orwell,1963,pg. 1) He wanted nothing to do with imperialism, he was all for the Burmese. He didn't believe in the cruel ways the British had forced him to act on. His words are spread among many sentences created this harsh tone. He was furious he was considered part of the imperialism. He was in the group though, and being part of this came with responsibility and standards. Orwell had to prove he was worthy and could hold up his end

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

Beyond the use of metaphorical techniques, Orwell also uses vivid imagery to the strongest extent, to further his stand against the imperial forces. Under the oppression of British imperialism, the Burmese people become “wretched prisoners huddling in the stinking cages of the lock-ups, the grey, cowed faces of the long-term convicts” (Orwell 285). Orwell applies

In George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant,” Orwell recounts his own experiences as a sub-divisional police officer in Moulmein, which was a town colonized by the British Empire in Burma during the early ninetieth century. Orwell reveals the fact that he is being detested by much of the village because he is an English occupier. Orwell begins to understand the existence of British imperialism through a “must” elephant who has gone mad, killing people and destroying the village. In this decisive moment of the story, Orwell shows the reality of colonialism by illustrating the fact that British imperialism limits their freedom to maintain their grip on authority. Orwell then is compelled to entrench himself further in barbarism because of 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

It is 1936, in British-controlled Burma. While serving a country he hates and protecting the natives, this Englishman is put in a situation in which he is torn: to shoot or not to shoot. There is a wild elephant and it has been tearing through villages, yet the elephant is found, peacefully with its owner. Facing thoughts of responsibility, pride, and embarrassment, the Englishman makes the decision to shoot. “Shooting an Elephant,” by George Orwell, depicts this scenario in a short story that can be analyzed through both a historical and psychological critical lens.

In “Shooting an Elephant” by George Orwell, he confesses to the hatred of an imperialistic India that causes him to go against his beliefs while receiving no respect. At this time Burma was under British control with the use of imperialism. George Orwell was an English police officer serving in Burma, India and hating each aspect of his time there. He was hated by all the Burma, just for being British, but George Orwell was not necessarily mad, for he sided with the Burma people. He hated the idea of imperialism because it turned people against themselves. However, he didn’t like the Burma people either because they had no respect for him. They would purposely humiliate him in soccer games by knocking him over or standing making jokes. He still

Because of the unjust colonization, there is a battle between cultures. The British represent a more technologically advanced people that come to industrialize while the Burmese represent a weak industrial-less civilization. The Burmese hate the British and the British accommodate with the Burmese. For example, Orwell does not want to kill the elephant, but the crowd does and in the end kills it due to the crowd. He personifies the animal and perceives its emotions of its horrific death at his own inhumane hands, but the crowd easily take the elephant’s flesh moments after it falls. The crowd’s appetite for bloodshed and brutality conflicts with Orwell’s hope to avoid violence entirely. The secondary culture clash that is clear is an internal

Orwell begins the story by claiming his perspective on British Imperialism. He says that it is evil and he is fully against the oppressors. Though he is actually a British officer himself he feels hatred and guilt towards himself, his empire, and the Burma people. Talking about his thoughts and feelings toward Imperialism gives deeper meaning to the rest of the story as it highlights why he dislikes it so much. He already establishes the fact that his character is weak since he lets the Burma people laugh at him and play him for a fool. The build up of finding the elephant is a metaphor in itself showcasing the destructive power of imperialism. Orwell uses other metaphors when he compares himself to being a magician about to perform a trick, or the lead actor in a piece, an absurd puppet or a posing dummy, holding the “magic rifle”. I like to think of this story as a lesson to learn from. This story clearly states that people will do anything to avoid being embarrassed. We should be open to other people's opinions but follow our instincts and not let others make decisions for us. This story is also teaching us to look at the pros and cons of a situation very carefully. As I was reading this I realized this is a very deep truth to rationalization and the impact that peer pressure has on your decision making process. No matter who you are or what you do, every single human on planet Earth cares what people think especially when it's thousands and they have the power to make

The behavior of people in societies where another group is in power is something that has displayed itself in the many imperialist societies throughout history. Orwell attempts to bring light to these behaviors through the time period of “Shooting an Elephant”. In the time period of this story, Burma is a colony of Britain. Because of the historical basis and major themes of the story, George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant” communicates the emotions and reactions of people who are under certain societal influences and higher levels of power. People in these imperialist systems are often given rigid roles to uphold which causes them to act in a very specific way, doing only what they are told.