Shooting an Elephant - 1200 Words

Julien Combes Natasha Rebry Writing 009 20th November 2011 â€Å"Shooting an Elephantâ€Å": Orwell’s combat against imperialism â€Å"Shooting an Elephant† is an essay written by George Orwell, first published in the journal New Writing in 1936. In this essay, the author tells his own story about when he was working as a police officer for the Indian Imperial Police in Burma. His five years of experience in the Indian Imperial Police allowed him to have a good understanding of what exactly the â€Å"real nature of Imperialism† is. As an anti-imperialist writer, the author explains his hatred and guilt toward the arrogant system that cause him to denounce British Imperialism by demonstrating the incompatible relationship between the powerful†¦show more content†¦The consequence of imperialism is discussed in â€Å"Shooting an Elephant†; The victim of imperialism is not only the natives but also the narrator. Indeed, this essay is about the suffering and the struggling of Orwell who is torn between the Burmese’s actions and the Imperial System. Orwell portrays the vengeful feelings of the Burmese people, the colonized, towards British People, the conqueror. As he has worked as a British officer in Burma, he knows how the natives feel about the British. Of course, it was obvious that the Burmese did not welcome any kind of British presence, including Orwell himself. The Occidentals were extremely mistreated, such as being jeered, and the narrator understood that anti-European feeling was very â€Å"bitter† (Orwell, 313). He needed to deal adequately with the native society, even though he was a target of bullying. For instance, he used to get ripped up on the football field, ignored by the referee and mocked by the crowd (Orwell, 313). Hence, he is a victim of the natives’ behavior. Not only is he the target of the native’s behavior, but he is also the victim of the imperial system. At the same time, the narrator is also the victim of the Imperialism System itself. Under the system, it seems that the British manipulate the Burmese, but in reality, it is the opposite situation. The Burmese had the control over the British, especially people like the author who worked in a country under colonization. OrwellShow MoreRelated Shooting an Elephant1601 Words   |  7 PagesOrwell spent the next twenty years as a writer; the essay â€Å"Shooting an Elephant,† set in the Burma of the 1920s and written in 1936, is one of his most famous works. In the early twentieth century, Burma was still a colony of Britain but anti-imperialism protests and social movements developed very fast, causing â€Å"great tension between Burmese, Indians and English, between civilians and police† (Meyers 56). Orwell’s essay â€Å"Shooting an Elephant† is based on this historical tension. In this essay, OrwellRead MoreShooting an Elephant840 Words   |  4 PagesDISCUSS ORWELLS USE OF PERSUASIVE TOOLS SUCH AS, SYMBOLISM, METAPHORS AND IRONY IN THIS ESSAY AND EXPLAIN HOW HE USES EA CH OF THESE TO CONVEY HIS ARGUMENT OR MESSAGE In the extract, Shooting An Elephant Orwell conveys his message through the use of various persuasive tools. He wants the reader to identify when somebody assumes power. This technique is used to show that the powerful are also a captive to the will of people they control. Everyone involved in the situation becomes affected. InRead MoreAnalysis Of Shooting An Elephant813 Words   |  4 Pagespleased and wishes to keep his reputation high. In the short story, â€Å"Shooting an Elephant†, George Orwell, who writes from his own experiences, describes the life of the narrator, a policeman in a foreign country, Burma. The narrator feels forced to shoot a wild elephant that has destroyed parts of a village. He does not want to shoot the elephant, but because the Burmese around him seem determined and excited to see the elephant die, the narrator feels compelled to do what the natives request toRead More Shooting an Elephant Essay1373 Words   |  6 Pagesessay, Shooting an Elepha nt, George Orwell illustrates his experiences as a British police officer, and reflects it to the nature of imperialism. He hates his job as a police officer in Moulmein because an â€Å"anti-European feeling was very bitter† due to British Empire’s dictatorship in Burma. Therefore, Orwell, a white man is being treated disrespectfully by the Burmese which allows him to hate his job and British Empire, the root of everything. However, the incident of shooting of an elephant givesRead MoreEssay on Shooting an Elephant486 Words   |  2 Pages â€Å"Shooting an Elephant† nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;I was not comfortable with many aspects of this story. The prejudice throughout the book was unimaginable, I find I am uncomfortable with any kind of bigotry. Reading of the Burmese people and their disrespect toward someone who was there to â€Å"protect and serve†, was difficult. I suppose I am naà ¯ve, I try to hold on to the belief that people of God are inherently good. I know there are bad apples in all walks of life, bad people areRead MoreShooting An Elephant By George Orwell1670 Words   |  7 Pageseventually caused me to comply. In â€Å"Shooting an Elephant,† by George Orwell, Orwell faced a similar dilemma. â€Å"Shooting an Elephant† is an essay that depicts Orwell’s conflictions about shooting a rampaging elephant while he served as an Imperial policeman in Burma during British colonial rule. In his essay, Orwell describes the difficult decision of whether or not to shoot the elephant and why he made his decision. Although he did not initially want to shoot the elephant, the social pressure of being surroundedRead MoreShooting an Elephant by George Orwell 884 Words   |  4 Pageshuddled in the corner in a state of shock with blood marks on his head and back. However, as I inspected the parakeets back closer, I saw that in fact the blood was flesh from the base of the wing which was missing. Similarly, like Orwell in Shooting an Elephant, I did not know what to do in the situation but I had to find a solution (pg.230). I did not have a clue how to treat an injured bird or if I should figure out first what and how the incident happened. The parakeet was bleeding heavily andRead MoreShooting an Elephant Literary Analysis895 Words   |  4 Pagesstory â€Å"Shooting an Elephant,† demonstrates the total dangers of the unlimited authority a state has and the astounding presentment of â€Å"future dystopia†. In the story, Orwell finds himself to be in an intricate situation that involves an elephant. Not only does the fate of the elephant’s life lie in Orwell’s hands, he has an audience of people behind him cheering him on, making his decision much more difficult to make. Due to the vast crowd surrounding his thoughts, Orwell kills the elephant in theRead MoreThe Feminine Mystique And Shooting An Elephant898 Words   |  4 PagesBoth The Feminine Mystique and â€Å"Shooting an Elephant† discuss the confrontation between the self and society. In The Feminine Mystique, Betty Friedan addresses â€Å"The Problem That Has No Name† referring to the widespread unhappiness of the housewife due to their obligation to uphold their ideal image rather than pursuing their dreams; in â€Å"Shooting an Elephant†, George Orwell comments on the societal expectations of imperialism and its effects on people who have the duty to uphold the law. In both ofRead More George Orwells Shooting an Elephant Essay783 Words   |  4 PagesGeorge Orwells Shooting an Elephant In Shooting an Elephant, George Orwell finds himself in a difficult situation involving an elephant. The fate of the elephant lies in his hands. Only he can make the final decision. In the end, due to Orwells decision, the elephant lay dying in a pool of blood. Orwell wins the sympathy of readers by expressing the pressure he feels as an Anglo-Indian in Burma, struggling with his morals, and showing a sense of compassion for the dying animal.