George Orwell Shooting An Elephant

Learning From Tragedy

(A Discussion on the Three Messages from Killing an Elephant)

George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant” is a short essay centered around the killing of an Elephant by a rich white man that presents many more problems other than just killing an Elephant. This white man is faced with so many things. Some are inevitable but others seem very evitable. Racial disputes seem to be the main problem between the white man, sent to kill the Elephant, and the native blacks, that told him to come and kill it. This results in a sort of peer pressure for that of the white man. You can see that the reader is presented with a very complex text that only a close reader could understand. So understanding these three points may help the reader further understand the short essay. In George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant” there three points, pear pressure and its effects in this story, racism and prejudice, and authority and imperialistic authority.

In George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant” the reader may see a sort of peer pressure on that of the white man that has been sent to kill the elephant. That peer pressure actually makes him kill the

The white official has authority and imperialistic authority but only in theory. The natives on the other hand, pretty much have the bull by the “kahunas” so to speak. They had imperialistic authority. Even though the whites had somewhat of authority, the native blacks could control them. SO they really had more power or authority than that of the whites. The whites were almost afraid to contradict the natives on what they want done. Such as the white officer that was sent to kill an elephant he actually didn’t want to kill. But to keep his authority and respect, he kills the animal. What they want, they get. If they want something done a certain way, then the whites are happy to do it, to keep their