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Shooting An Elephant: Making The Abstract Appear Natural

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Shooting an Elephant: Orwell on Imperialism: Making The Abstract Appear Natural George Orwell creates a powerful argument against imperialism through the presentation of its many flaws in his essay “Shooting an Elephant”. This essay describes his life as a young police officer in Burma when he is called upon to shoot an aggressive elephant against his better judgment. In this essay, he asserts that imperialism dehumanizes both the perpetrators and the native people while creating unnatural situations and conflicts. It also forces the perpetrators to watch their every action, acting in ways with which they may not be comfortable. Orwell’s argument is further reinforced because he presents it through a personal story in order to exhibit the awful traits of imperialism as well as strengthen his stance by providing supportive evidence. Imperialism causes …show more content…

In this essay, he argues that a key perpetrator of bad language is staleness of imagery, a sort of recycling of overused ideas. By sharing a personal story, Orwell can create vivid imagery. Thus, he can ensure that his ideas are interesting and original. Also, through this style he is able to collapse the binary between oppressor and oppressed. He shows that except for the leaders and most powerful people, no one involved benefits from imperialism. The oppressors and oppressed actually have many things in common, they are both mistreated, scared, and controlled. Not all oppressors believe in imperialism or wish to act cruelly. Orwell shows that it is not “either or”, you are not either a native who is oppressed or an imperialist who is pro-imperialism. Orwell’s story breaks this binary, revealing that not everyone who was an imperialist believed in what they were doing, and demonstrating imperialism’s power to make people go against their own

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Margaret Thatcher, former Prime Minister of Great Britain, delivered a eulogy on June 11, 2004, in honor of the late President Ronald Reagan that asserts his huge impact on America and on the world. Thatcher develops her speech by talking about the former president’s unwavering optimism and outstanding achievements. She reiterates the influential accomplishments of Reagan in a positive, upbeat tone that is directed toward the American people. Thatcher uses ethos, repetition, and precise diction in order to effectively highlight how impactful Reagan was during his presidency. Margaret Thatcher uses ethos to establish her validity as the speaker, which assists her in conveying to the audience that Reagan was an influential president.

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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.

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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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In George Orwell 's short story titled “Shooting an Elephant” presented an event that changed a countries civilization. George’s life in Burma, and the prejudice placed by the people he oppressed inspired his writing through the uses of setting, style, and theme. In George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant” Orwell no specific event influenced this piece rather it was an accumulation of many small events of prejudice and hate by an opposing group of

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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.”

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Their right to rule is taken for granted by the imperialists. The locals are mere second class citizens and their country a source of valuable natural resources. The Burmese, who are subject to this treatment in their own country, are justifiably resentful of this subjugation. Orwell recognizes and acknowledges the unfairness of the system. Yet he is caught between

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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”.

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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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Imperialism must be destoryed In George Orwell’s “shooting an Elephant”, it was clear that Orwell was trying to criticize British Empire for their tyrant imperialism. He had this thought during his action of killing an elephant, “I perceived in this moment that when the white man turns tyrant it is his own freedom that he destroys.” (2570) Orwell was not act on his own will. His mind is controlled by Burmese people and lost his ability to act morally.

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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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In George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant”, he encounters the pressure influenced by the Burmese and the way it affected his decision. Orwell uses symbols such as the police officer, the yellow faces, and the elephant to represent the evil of English imperialism. The Police officer symbolizes his weakness of authority, the executioner of the elephant, and guilt. Orwell explains “I was hated by large numbers of people.”

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In the end of this essay the author decides that he should kill the elephant instead of letting it live. In Shooting an Elephant, George Orwell has some important things that people need to know. The first thing that George Orwell want to tell the readers in the essay Shooting an Elephant, is about how he realized that the British empire relied on imperialism very much. George Orwell noticed that the British empire was very into imperialism because of when he went to stay in Burma to be a police officer for their people.

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For centuries, Imperialism has affected many societies around the world. In the sixteenth century, the British Empire colonized places such as Burma, India. In George Orwell’s essay, “Shooting an Elephant”, he gives a first person account of imperialism. His retrospective story entails a moral dilemma he faced as a British police officer in Burma. Orwell uses the themes of imperial representation resentment to demonstrate the true nature of imperial colonialism and its effects on both the victims and prosecutors.

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“Shooting an Elephant” is an essay by George Orwell, where Orwell is speaking to the British population about their imperial government and how it is hurtful, harsh and inefficient to all. This story is the central focus from which the author builds his argument through the two dominant character, the elephant and its executioner. In this essay, the elephant and the British officer help prove that imperialism is a double-edge sword. The story concerns a colonial officer’s obligation to shoot an elephant. The narrator does not want to shoot the elephant but feels forced by a crowd of an innumerable residents, before whom he does not wish to appear undecided.

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Firstly, Orwell explores the theme of poverty through the use of imagery and repetition in order to give his writing a very intricate and memorable description. In this first section Orwell

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