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Orwell's shooting an elephant analysis
Shooting And Elephant Analysis
Affect of imperialism
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Orwell's shooting an elephant analysis
Shooting And Elephant Analysis
Affect of imperialism
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Recommended: Orwell's shooting an elephant analysis
Hannah Edmiston Boudreau AP Language Friday 25 September, 2015 Shooting an Elephant Analyzing Rhetorical Devices Shooting an Elephant, written by George Orwell in 1936, describes his experience working as a British officer located in Moulmein, Burma. He writes his essay to reveal the cruelty and disastrous outcome of imperialism he witnesses. Orwell uses strong resource of language such as symbolism, metaphors and imagery to express his disdain for British imperialism. Orwell uses symbolism to connect the character of the elephant to the effects of imperialism.
Rhetorical Analysis: “Shooting an Elephant” Contrary to popular belief, the oppressors of imperialism lack freedom. Imperialists are usually powerful and maintain control over the native people of the land they are taking over. It is expected for someone with great power to have choices and freedoms, however, that is not necessarily the case. Sometimes power can limit or restrict the choices one makes.
Even though Orwell did commit the crime of shooting an elephant, throughout the story he used ethos, pathos, and figurative language to convince the audience if given the opportunity he would never shoot an elephant again because the elephant represents the innocence of people. First and foremost, Orwell establishes his ethos. As stated in Everything’s an Argument, ethos is described as the author's credibility. He establishes his ethos right from the beginning of the story when he states he works for the British but he despises them.
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.
The purpose of “Shooting an Elephant” was to show that sometimes people do things they know aren’t the right decision just to impress everyone else. The officer felt that,“It seemed to me that it would be murder to shoot him” (Orwell 4). As he shot the elephant he
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
Zachary Conners SUNY – Eng. 12 Mrs. O’Malley December 15, 2014 “Shooting an Elephant” is a persuasive rhetorical piece written by George Orwell used to describe Orwell’s feelings about imperialism. Orwell uses pathos, logos, and ethos to convey his feelings towards imperialism and how destructive it can be. Born 1903, George Orwell, novelist, essayist, and critic, was best known for his novels Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty- Four. Son of a British servant, Orwell spent most of his days in India, where his father had been stationed.
In this biographical short story Orwell's tells of his struggle of being a white British man in colonized India. He one day comes across a mad elephant rampaging through the crowd, and has to make the decision on whether or not to shoot it. With the crowd growing in numbers rapidly, and the pressure to shoot the creature increasing, he makes the final decision to shoot it. This immense pressure to kills this animal, which also represents British imperialism, comes from the natives.
The article “George Orwell: Overview” by Richard Cowper expands on the life of the protagonist that goes by the name of Winston. Concentrating on key chunks about Winston’s life was straightforward due to Cowper taking you through each detail from start to finish and focuses his writing on informing the reader about information they might have missed when they read the book. By using quotes from the novel, Cowper can show the different aspects of emotions that Winston was feeling in the book to allow the reader to develop a different outlook on the story than they had previously imagined. He begins with providing a brief overview of George Orwell’s life and how it affected his writing of the book 1984. Next Cowper gives the reader/audience an overview of the plot and some more background information on the book.
This narrative piece is an effective expository technique that describes the narrator’s thoughts and tone. Orwell uses oxymoron such as “grinning corpse” and paradox phrases such as “the story always sounds clear enough at a distance, but the nearer you get to the scene of events the vaguer it becomes”. Another paradox statement is shown in “I perceived this moment that when the white man turns tyrant it is his own freedom that he destroys”. Orwell’s decisions were briskly altered as he was deciding on whether to kill the elephant or not. His mind altered from “I ought not to shoot him” to “I had got to do it” and also to “But I did not want to shoot the elephant”.
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.
“Politics and the English Language” was written by George Orwell discussing the collapse of the English language. Orwell states in his short essay that writers are trying to get more involved in political speech than they do with expression. He explains in his essay that publishers and writers are more worried about sounding intelligent than getting to a point and expressing their opinions. Modern writers are straying away from expressing their point or opinion which Orwell says is blasphemy. Orwell was expressing his opinion that less is more with the English language and simplicity will get you farther with the reader.
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.
Orwell, when faced with shooting an elephant which was no longer causing problems, decided that the right thing to do was just let the elephant be. Orwell’s approach was shown through his original intents for the elephant rifle he had sent for upon hearing the true location of the elephant: “I had no intention of shooting the elephant – I had merely sent for the rifle to defend myself if necessary” (311). Orwell’s main view toward the elephant at this point is merely defensive. As he turned to face the crowd behind him, Orwell was pushed to reconsider: “And suddenly I realized that I should have to shoot the elephant after all… I could feel their two thousand wills pressing me forward” (311). Imperialism actually places the ruled as rulers and makes those in power as the powerless by the removal of their freedom of choice.
" Shooting an Elephant " written by George Orwell describes an ugly nature of imperialism. The story is about one European police officer who served in Moulmein, in lower Burma. While he was doing his job he faced many difficulties because of local people's anti- European attitude. This negative attitude overcomplicated his job. He had already realized that he wanted to get rid of his job as soon as possible.