...Shooting an elephant - By George Orwell Imperialism is the appellation for a policy, where a ruler in a country attempts to oppress another country. This is mainly the theme and point in the essay “Shooting an elephant” The story is written by the author George Orwell, and centers about this problem which was going on between the British and the Burmese. The essay is written as a metaphor describing the British imperialism, and gives the readers an insight in how George's opposition against the imperialism is expressed. Another theme in the story is the meeting between two cultures – in where it describes the burmese, that despise the British. Apart from that, George himself is going though a process of self-deception, which is showed clearly in this story. George Orwell was born on 25th June 1903, and was a well known English novelist, essayist, journalist and critic. George Orwell was one of the most influential English writers in the 20th century, and is mostly known for the novel “Nineteen Eighty-Four” and the novella “Animal Farm”. George Orwell was working in The British Imperial Police from 1922-1927, where he wrote the essay “Shooting an elephant” as a reflection about the British imperialism in India. The setting is in Moulmein in Lower Burma in the 1920's, and is taking place in a poor city. “It was a very poor quarter, a labyrinth of squalid bamboo huts, thatched with palm-leaf, winding all over a steep hillside.” (Page 112, line 12-14) The society...
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...March 20, 2012 Shooting an Elephant and Decolonising the Mind In life, we as humans often make decisions that we would not have made on our own if we would not of had influence by someone else. In both “Shooting an Elephant,” by George Orwell and “Decolonising the Mind,” by Ngugi Wa Thiong’o both Orwell and Thiong’o received the British colonial education. As humans, others' opinions mean a great deal to us, and in "Shooting an Elephant", and “Decolonising the Mind,” they both have one thing in common: English. "Shooting an Elephant" is the story of a British policeman in Moulmein, a city in Burma, that is torn between shooting or not shooting an elephant that has gone ramped. Many people may misinterpret George Orwell's tone in the essay "Shooting an Elephant." People often construe that the story is about Orwell's decision to either shoot the elephant, or to just peacefully observe it until the mahout came to tame the animal. The story is actually about the struggles Orwell faces because of his position "in between" the Burmese and the imperialistic system. Orwell portrays a distinctive amount of irony in this piece of writing because after he reviewed the situation and started this essay, he spotted a lot of irony in the actions between himself, the people of Burma, and the British Empire. Thiong’o gives a powerful image of how British government tries to control the culture of Kenya. In “Decolonising the Mind”, Thiong’o illustrates his childhood: “All the...
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...the highest class over time. In this paper, I would focus on what part of Orwell's exposition Shooting an Elephant makes it a work of art. Moreover, I would introduce one book related novel called A Passage to India by E.M Forster and a musical composition by Bob Dylan entitled Rolling Stone. which I would be contending on why these authors and artist works are worthy of being consider classic and on the off chance that they can be considered similarly great. George Orwell is best prominent for his last two books, the anti-powerful, controlling government works Animal Farm and 1984. He was an exceptionally adroit and experienced writer . Among his most puissant essays is the 1931 self- portraying essay Shooting an Elephant, which Orwell reflects on his experience as a police officer in pioneer Burma. Shooting an Elephant can be identified as one of the most classical essays in the English language. It is an extraordinarily composed article and a dynamite for a topic of portrayal. Throughout the essay, Orwell develops his proposition on the impacts of colonialism on the general population who are abused as well on the general population abuse individuals, also. The theme, of Shooting an Elephant is to uncover the issues between the law and one's ethical feeling of good and bad as this relates to British government solidly. One major key aspect that makes Shooting an Elephant a classical is that it deals with the evils of imperialism. Imperialism has been edified throughout...
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... Introduction The literary piece “Shooting an Elephant” by George Orwell, highlights the apprehensions of a colonial officer's obligation to shoot a rogue elephant. The author does not want to shoot the elephant, but feels pressured by a crowd of indigenous residents, before whom he does not wish to appear indecisive or cowardly. “Shooting an Elephant”, by George Orwell, utilizes characterization, point of view, and plot to illustrate the moral conflict between one’s beliefs and duties. George Orwell worked as a sub-divisional police officer in Moulmein, Burma, back in the days of the British Empire. Burma was just one of many unsatisfied colonies. Orwell, and his famous social conscience, is a target for the hatred of the natives, who sneer at him and insult him, whenever they can. Although, in principle, he sides with the natives, his position and their anger weakens his compassion, to some degree. One day, George Orwell is told that an elephant is destroying the bazaar and he is asked to take care of this potential threat. Although basically tame, an elephant may still rampage occasionally due to its natural rhythms. The elephant, regardless of its usual tameness, had already demolished a bamboo hut, killed a cow, attacked some fruit-stalls and consumed its inventory and overturned a municipal garbage van (Orwell 5). George Orwell meets up with the Burmese sub-inspector and some Indian constables in the area where the elephant was last seen. They started to questioning...
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...Charoenchitmun Explication Essay Final Draft October 23, 2008 The Depravity of British Imperialism In 1886, Burma lost its independence and sovereignty to Great Britain in the “Third Anglo-Burmese” War. At that time, Great Britain had one of its colonies in the sub-continental region of India which was known as “British India.” Eventually, Burma was annexed into British India and was oppressed under British imperialism. Imperialism is “a policy of extending a country's power and influence through diplomacy or military force” (Oxford Dictionary). In the essay “Shooting An Elephant” by George Orwell, imperialism is portrayed as a corrupt act in which the British Empire imposes itself on Burma. Orwell use rhetorical techniques to describe how imperialism can create grotesque effects on both the British and Burmese. In Orwell’s essay, characters such as the police officer, the local Burmese people and the elephant display the brutal reality British imperialism. The British police officer serves his country in Burma and is constantly mocked by the local Burmese. But, one day they praise him when he kills the outrageous elephant that is let loose in the neighborhood. George Orwell effectively depicts the theme of imperialistic depravity through the use of symbolism, irony and visual imagery in “Shooting An Elephant.” George Orwell exemplifies the immorality of British imperialism through the use of symbolism. In “Shooting An Elephant,” the elephant becomes wild and starts raging...
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...In the essay “Shooting an Elephant” by George Orwell Orwell sees imperialism in multiple points-of-view. First off, while Orwell is describing the prisoners he shows a hidden the cruelty of imperialism. Orwell draws the picture of “wretched prisoners huddling in the stinking cages of lock-ups” some with “scarred buttocks [...] had been Bogged with bamboos” (2). Orwell is showing that the prisoners, treated as animals, being humiliated by their oppressors. In addition, Orwell believes imperialism ‘destroyed the freedom’ of the native population. In the moments before shooting the elephant Orwell perceives “that when a white man turns tyrant it is his own freedom he destroys”(7). By saying this Orwell points out the irony of imperialism. Orwell...
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...did he shoot the elephant? There are many different reasons as to why George Orwell chose to shoot the Elephant in the short story, ”Shooting an Elephant”. In the following essay, there will be a wide and deep response of why George Orwell chose to shoot the elephant in the end. The first and primary reason for George Orwell shooting the elephant is simply Orwell being afraid. He was originally not intending to shoot the elephant; he merely brought the rifle for his own protection. “I had no intention of shooting the elephant – I had merely sent for the rifle to defend myself if necessary – and it is always unnerving to have a crowd following you. I marched down the hill, looking and feeling a fool, with the rifle over my shoulder and an ever-growing army of people jostling at my heels” . This quote first of all shows that Orwell actually did not intend the shooting of the elephant. It also shows the pressure he is being held upon by the Burmese crowd. It might seem a bit strange that Orwell feels pressured, as he is the superior and the Burmese is the inferior, but the thing is, Orwell is pressured because he is in fact the one without power in this situation. He is being laughed at and ridiculed buy the locals, which of course touches his emotions and he is greatly outnumbered by the thousand man crowd. So in reality a part of the cause of George Orwell shooting the elephant is social motives. Being pressured by the Burmese is not his only motive; Orwell also wants to feel...
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...The Summary of "Shooting an Elephant" George Orwell, in the essay, narrated the whole process of killing an outrageous elephant when he was in the post of a police officer in Burma. (One kernel that I have to mention, because it is important for proper understanding of the essay, is that he held the ambivalent feeling for the Burmese. For one thing, he extremely hated the Thyestean imperialism. Second, he was furious about the yellow-faced, evil-spirited Burmese.) One day, he was informed that an elephant which had obviously lost control under the attack of "must" was ravaging a bazaar, and there was only one felicitous thing to do--stop it at once lest more damage or injury occur. He sent for a rifle, rode on a pony and was on the way to have the elephant that had done great crabbing to public properties, even revitalization. Without much effort, George, along with a big crowd of people, found the elephant, which was peacefully eating like a cow, showing no signs or symptoms of "must." It was clear that George ought not to shoot the elephant. Instead, the mahout should be called for to take it back to the chain it was behooved to belong to. But the crowd behind just would not agree. They were gleeful and anxious to see the elephant having committed felonies get shot. If the gunshot was not fired, it would be jeering and sneering, which would definitely produce more execution than the trample of the prodigious foot...
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...questions that are asked every day. From my understanding of existentialism is making your own choices and later on having to dwell on the presumptions of that choice that you made. In such as Orwell having to dwell on the choice that he made of shooting the elephant. According to his essay, “existentialism” Sartre explains the beliefs and conditions of existentialism. The most important beliefs that Sartre had was that there is no human nature. “If existence really does precede essence, there is no explaining things away by reference to a fixed and given human nature.” (Sartre 1131.) He also believed that God does not exist. “On the other hand, if God does not exist, we find no values or commands to turn to which legitimize our conduct. (Sartre 1131.) Meaning, we are the ones to blame for our own actions and choices that we make, if God doesn’t exist were not able to put our blame on him. George Orwell is a writer that I think is an existentialist. In his essay “Shooting an Elephant” I believe that Orwell was existentialism. His central choice that he makes was, he didn’t know if he wanted to shoot the elephant or not. Orwell stated “As I saw the elephant I knew with perfect certainty I ought not to shoot him. It is a serious matter to shoot a working elephant looked no more dangerous than a cow. (786.) His writing...
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...Shooting an Elephant: The Death of Free Will George Orwell’s essay, Shooting an Elephant, was first published in 1936 in the autumn issue of New Writing, a London periodical. According to Adrian De Lange, Shooting an Elephant is one of Orwell’s most famous essays (Bloom 9). It cannot be established whether or not it was an actual account of something that Orwell experienced, something he witnessed or if it is solely fictitious, but is accepted that this essay was written out of Orwell’s experiences while he was a member of the Imperial India Police Force in Burma, described by Orwell as, “five boring years” (Abrahams 194). There are many apparent and some not so apparent themes in this work. The harmful results of Imperialism, prejudice, and living by your own conscience are all valid and thought provoking themes. A theme that is also valid and beneficial to examine is the dangers of isolation and alienation and how those states can manifest in dangerous, even deadly ways. Isolation and alienation can be very damaging on the human spirit. That damage can lead to actions that do irreparable harm to an individual as well as a community. In Shooting an Elephant the narrator finds himself isolated because of his role as policeman in a foreign country and by the hostility and mistrust of the Burmese citizens he must police. This isolation leads to vulnerability and weakness when faced with mob pressure. When given into, peer pressure leads to death:...
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...SHOOTING AN ELEPHANT PRATIK THAPA "Shooting an Elephant" tells a story of George Orwell as he struggles between his moral objection to not shoot an elephant and legal responsibility to shoot it. Throughout his adventure, he decides that it is best to kill the elephant however he believes that It is against his rationale. Though, he feels bad about killing the elephant, he kills it at last and he tries to justify his act throughout the whole essay explaining how pressuring and compelling the situation was and why he had to do it. First of all, he describes how destructive the elephant was. I think this, as his first justification for killing an elephant. He thinks it is important to kill something that is endangering public lives and public property. He quotes, “It had already destroyed somebody's bamboo hut, killed a cow and raided some fruit-stalls and devoured the stock; also it had met the municipal rubbish van and, when the driver jumped out and took to his heels, had turned the van over and inflicted violence upon it.” Even with this judgment, it seems difficult for him to decide if he really has to kill that animal and he waits for alternative. Secondly, he continues to describe the Elephant being more violent. As he passes, the village, he sees many acts of the elephant that he describes as cruel and unkind. He also sees “a dead man’s body sprawling in the mud.” His use of words such as “head sharply twisted to one side”, “the teeth bared and grinning with an...
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...Critical Analysis In this essay we will take a critical analysis approach to George Orwell's “Shooting an Elephant” and its use of certain nonfiction elements that it uses. In “Shooting an Elephant” Orwell tells a tale of when he was an officer in Burma under the British empire. He hates his job and he hates the fact that he is forced to subjugate these people, but he also despises them for making his job so hard with their rebellious ways while also sympathizes with them. He is young and he is very confused with life at this point and has come to the realization that imperialism is wrong in any form. The plot of the story is the strongest non fiction element present because it goes so in depth. It has repercussions not just in the story, but you can infer by the writing other things going on around that time with just the little text present. The non fiction element plot is the main focal point in the story to better convey the situation at that time. What is plot? Plot is a literary term defined as the events that make up a story, particularly as they relate to one another in a pattern, in a sequence, through cause and effect, how the reader views the story, or simply by coincidence. One is generally interested in how well this pattern of events accomplishes some artistic or emotional effect. Plots usually follow the same steps exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. Patterson 2 In Orwell's “Shooting an Elephant” plot plays a big role in getting...
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...In George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant”, Orwell is placed in a situation with an “untamed” elephant. Orwell is a police officer stuck on duty in Burma from which he desperately wants to leave. He is well aware of the fact that the Burmese people do not like him at all; however, he is the one who they call on when there is trouble. According to me, Orwell uses his story of shooting the elephant to exemplify the peer pressure he feels in Burma from its people. As we read in his essay, after much debate with himself of how the elephant did not intentionally harm anyone he still decides or is pressured into shooting the elephant. Complications of his ego, and fear of losing his dignity puts the life of the harmless beast in secondary priority. The unexplainable love-hate situation between the colonizer and the colonized is one of the factors of Orwell’s decision of shooting the elephant. According to Orwell, the colonizer he feels that whatever is happening in Burma with the colonized is wrong. "I had already made up my mind that imperialism was an evil thing and the sooner I chucked up my job and got out of it the better. Theoretically - and secretly, of course - I was all for the Burmese and all against their oppressors, the British" (Orwell 525). Though he likes the Burmese people they still don’t give him the same respect. By shooting the elephant he thinks he will gain their respect. We can...
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...each action.Like in the essay “Shooting an Elephant,” George Orwell finds himself in a moral dilemma. Our main character a police officer in the British Raj, and he writes about his experience or moral dilemma in his short story, 'Shooting an Elephant. To save face, he shrugged it off as his desire to 'avoid looking the fool'; (George Orwell, 283). In truth, the atmosphere of fear and pressure overwhelmed him. His inner struggle over the guilt of being involved in the subjugation of a people added to this strain, and he made a decision he would...
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...George Orwell's essay 'Shooting an Elephant' gives remarkable insight into the human psyche. The essay presents a powerful theme of inner conflict. Orwell feels strong inner conflict between what he believes as a human being, and what he believes and should do as an imperial police officer. The author is amazingly effective in illustrating this conflict by providing specific examples of contradictory feelings, by providing an anecdote that exemplified his feelings about his situation, and by using vivid imagery to describe his circumstances. A police officer in the British Raj, the supposedly 'unbreakable'; ruling force, was afraid. With his gun aimed at an elephant's head, he was faced with the decision to pull the trigger. That officer was George Orwell, and he writes about his experience in his short essay “Shooting an Elephant” to save face, he shrugged it off as his desire to “avoid looking the fool” (George Orwell, 77). In truth, the atmosphere of fear and pressure overwhelmed him. His inner struggle over the guilt of being involved in the subjugation of a people added to this strain, and he made a decision he would later regret enough to write this story. In his essay, Orwell describes how the abuses and treatment he witnessed oppressed him with an intolerable sense of guilt, (Orwell, 72). This is not some minor pang, or nagging worry. The shame pressed down on his shoulders with an unbearable weight. He also describes the injustices in detail...
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