Orwell conveniences the reader that imperialism has not only a negative impact on those run by imperialist, but also degrades those holding the power of an imperialist. Like other works Orwell has written they too have expressed his opinion on social and political aspects. In “Shooting an Elephant,” readers can recognize his opinions on imperialism through the narrator’s display of pathos. Orwell over and over expresses his hatred, fear, doubt, and distress for authority of imperialist. The narrator states “As for the job [he] was doing, [he] hated it more bitterly than [he] perhaps make clear.”
In the beginning of, “Shooting an Elephant”, Orwell establishes that the separation of power in colonial Burma resides more than just black-and-white. While it seems he holds symbolic authority and military supremacy as a British police officer, Orwell is still powerless to stop the hatred and abuse he receives from the oppressed Burmese. This hatred, that may be perceived, will become an influential reason as to why he would feel guilty regardless if he would have have or haven’t taken responsibility for his actions. Orwell, in the beginning, views the elephant as,”... not a wild elephant, but a tame one which had gone ‘must’”, but he later realizes, that the elephant itself, represents more than just an animal. Orwell is able to better comprehend
The speaker George Orwell, who was a member of the British Imperial Police for five years and discovered he did not like many aspects of British Imperialism. The tone is of negative and remorse towards the shooting of the elephant and also negativity towards imperialism. By looking at “Shooting an Elephant” by George Orwell, one can see his strong use of imagery and metaphors, which shows us detailed and vivid descriptions of what imperialism is like, which is important because it helps people understand what imperialism felt like up-close and what the people went through. This personal narrative incorporates a great deal of ethos, since the author writes about his emotions and feelings of going through such an event. This narrative also contains pathos, since Orwell is a writer who has had first-hand experience in being in the place while British Imperialism was going on 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. Orwell begins his essay, Shooting an Elephant, by explaining the actions of the Burmese people and by expressing his contempt for imperialism.
Moreover, “Shooting an elephant” by George Orwell was published in 1936 (New Writing). This essay describes the experience of an
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
In “Shooting an Elephant”, author and narrator George Orwell thinks back to the time that he served as an officer in Burma, where during his five years of service, he is constantly bullied by the civilians he is supposed to protect. Orwell is ruefully continuing his days among the people when suddenly an elephant gets loose in the town, killing one person and trampling a few food carts. As an officer, it is Orwell’s responsibility to protect the people, and so he sets out after the loose elephant, rifle in tow with a growing crowd behind him. It is because of that crowd of people, with thousands of eyes boring into his back with anticipation, does he realize that he has to shoot the elephant. It takes five direct hits to take it down, and even after multiple other direct hits, “...it took him half an hour to die.”
The elephant represents the British Empire, eventually, the elephant goes “must’” and this represents British’s system of imperialism. Orwell does this because the elephant and the British Empire have similar effects on the Burmese. For example, Orwell states, “I rounded the hut and saw a man’s dead body sprawling in the mud... The people said that the elephant had come suddenly upon him...” (286).
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.
Certain situations and events arose during his time there that fostered his increasing disillusionment with British Imperialism, prompting him to resign. Orwell expresses his views on imperialism in “Shooting an Elephant,” one of his most popular works. This short essay tells the story of how he realized that though the British government had the guns and the
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.
As a matter of fact, George Orwell did not intend to kill the elephant. Quite the opposite, coming closer to him, Orwell was convinced that there was no danger as such. But, sending for the rifle, that he needed only for self-defense, seemed to give a signal to "natives" that they could expect to see an unprecedented show. So, after seeing a huge crowd of people behind, he already knew for sure that he would have to kill an elephant anyway. “The people expected it of me and I had got to do it; I could feel their two thousand wills pressing me forward, irresistibly”, he says.
The narrator personifies the elephant, whose death-agonies receive concerning exceptional pathos. The personified elephant becomes a strolling symbol on human characteristic put atop and deformed then sooner or later sacrificed because something inhuman, however also sacrificed because of the meaning concerning the mob’s anger and appetite, therefore as he becomes the harmless victim about whole parties, now not purely concerning the colonial
Orwell’s vivid description of the elephant’s rampage, “The people said that the elephant had come suddenly
The Burmans slight acts of rebellion by spitting and laughing at the British is represented by the elephant going “must”. Orwell 's self-imposed task of upholding the British Empire’s mask of control can be related to the Empire’s goal of controlling or “taming” Burmese society. Orwell is aware that his reputation reflects that of all the other Europeans. This awareness plays a role in his deciding to shoot the elephant because if he didn’t, the Burman’s would question British authority and think of them as weak (Orwell).
