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George Orwell Shooting An Elephant Analysis

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In “Shooting An Elephant”, Orwell shows us his time in Burma as a sub divisional police officer of the town. It quickly becomes apparent that Orwell is the oppressor who struggles with his feeling to win the sympathy from the Burman people: his portrayal of losing his ability to act morally shows us that while he was in Burma, he was an obvious target and all this to him was “perplexing and upsetting.” As he was going on with his day, he heard that there was an elephant ravaging the bazaar. He did not want to kill the elephant but knew for a certain that the actions for misbehaving were just a warning. Therefore, he knew he had the power over the local people and had to make himself look like the “hero” of this town. He did not allow himself
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As an opponent of political and social injustice, author George Orwell shows his disapproval for political corruption and political injustice through the display of pathos. Likewise, in “Shooting an Elephant,” readers detect George Orwell’s subjective opinions on imperialism through persuasion using pathos. Throughout the essay, the narrator uses expressions and feelings of fear, hatred, anxiety, doubt, and distress at the fact that he is in a position of no authority to inform the audience of his disapproval.

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849 Words | 4 Pages

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. Orwell begins his essay, Shooting an Elephant, by explaining the actions of the Burmese people and by expressing his contempt for imperialism.

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1062 Words | 5 Pages

“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.

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692 Words | 3 Pages

Influenced by Pride The story Shooting an elephant, by George Orwell, gives the reader a small glimpse into the authors radicalistic perspective and first-hand experience. In a nutshell, George Orwell was a sub-divisional police officer for the British Colonial Empire in the country of Burma(Myanmar). He stated that he was all for the Burmese and all against their oppressors, but the Burmese hated Europeans and would try as hard as possible to give them a hard time. As a police officer, he was an obvious target and was mortified of being humiliated even more than what he already had been.

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1480 Words | 6 Pages

There are numerous themes in this short story such as British imperialism and colonial resentment however the most prominent theme in this story is fear of humiliation and the effect peer- pressure has on an individual. The setting of Burma helps work with this theme as it provides an area for the plot to take place and develop. After marching miles to the destination of the elephant, a crowd had surrounded George Orwell and encourages Orwell to kill the elephant. George Orwell is compelled to kill the once ravaging elephant due to the fact that Orwell wants to avoid looking like a fool. George Orwell is willing to sacrifice his role of doing the right thing and fulfilling the Burmese wishes in order to save himself from

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234 Words | 1 Pages

The essay that I read was Shooting an Elephant, by George Orwell. Orwell used several methods of development. He used methods such as description, example, cause and effect, and narration. This essay has tremendous examples of description. It is unreal how Orwell puts his words into images in your head.

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384 Words | 2 Pages

In George Orwell’s, “Shooting an Elephant,” a story about his experiences as a police officer in imperialist Burma, he utilizes his narrative to depict the effects of the skewed role of the imperialists and the subjects in order to undermine the benefits of Imperialism. He also and establishes the idea that by taking away the freedom of others, he takes away his own because he is forced to conform to what the natives want in order to maintain his authority. The British imperialists are encouraged to see these flaws in the Imperialist system and to try and fix these problems at their source. This argument is solidified when he writes, “The people expected it of me and I had got to go and do it; I could feel their two thousand wills pressing

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692 Words | 3 Pages

Orwell says, “But that moment I glanced round at the crowd that had followed me”. From that moment, the officer started thinking about what the Burman expected from him, and what effect it would have on him if he did not shoot the elephant. The officer also began to think about what the Burmans thought of him; how he went from being a nobody to

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489 Words | 2 Pages

Orwell does care about the elephants life because he said “it seems to me it would be murder to shoot him”(Orwell, 4). Orwell all he wanted was just to fit in with the Burmans. Orwell “spend his life trying to impress the natives”(4). Afterwords Orwell was glad that the coolie had been killed by the elephant so he legally had the right to shoot the elephant. In conclusion Orwell never wanted to kill the elephant but he just wanted to get accepted into their native group.

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393 Words | 2 Pages

In his essay, “Shooting an Elephant” George Orwell describes his experience of killing an elephants when he was an officer in Burma. He explains how the local Burmese hated him and saw him as the authority of the repressive white British. He mentions that he also had the same feeling about the local Burmese. Even though he hated the Thyestean imperialism but he also hated what he called the yellow-faced and evil-spirted Burmese people. One day, he was told that an elephant was destroying the bazaar and killing people.

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1003 Words | 5 Pages

“Shooting an Elephant” is one of the most important essays in English literature. It was written by George Orwell in 1931. The author of the story was a British colonial police officer in Burma, Myanmar, at the time the narrative was inspired by his own experiences. The author talked about what he himself had to endure while working here, especially after the event of shooting an elephant in front of the Burman people. Meanwhile, he did not want to do it.

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1926 Words | 8 Pages

Throughout “Shooting An Elephant” , Orwell’s narrative style brings out internal and external conflicts that are relatable in society today. The narrator faces multiple internal and external conflicts. One external conflict being the Burmese and how they mock him because he is a representative of the British Empire, but he will do what it takes to show them he is not a fool. "I often wondered whether any of the others grasped that I had done it solely to avoid looking a fool.

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979 Words | 4 Pages

Human kind has evolved in many societies and types of living. Around the world we can found a lot of cultures, philosophies, rules and governments. Through history, every person who decided to investigate and studied the past can learn about the situations that affected our timeline. For example, in this comparative paper, were going to analyze, using literature reflections, some aspects that describe a remarkable country in the world; England. The British Empire has been one of the most richest and powerful government on Earth.

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1260 Words | 6 Pages

George Orwell held a unique perspective on Britain’s involvement in Burma. Through his own experiences in Burma, he developed an inner struggle between following orders and opposing imperialism, that he expressed in the story Shooting an Elephant. Orwell was born under the name Eric Blair in colonial India. As an adult, he joined the Imperial Police stationed in Burma, where he soon discovered a conflict brewing within himself. He was naturally a reflective person, analyzing what he saw to be obvious disparities in the two sides of an Imperialistic relationship.

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540 Words | 3 Pages

(pg. 322) and “As a police officer, I was an obvious target and was baited whenever it seemed safe to do so.” (pg. 322) The Burmese showed him no respect, but it wasn’t to a point where crime was common. Even though Orwell was the ring leader of the Burmese crowd, he didn’t call the shots. Orwell says he “had no intention of shooting the elephant.”

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