George Orwell Shooting An Elephant Summary

The white man’s burden is an idea that the white men have a job to take care of the uncivilized beings and develop them to be a more socially endowed race. Their belief that they are superior to the natives is where this is rooted. This idea excused racism and portrayed it as more of a positive element in our society, rather than the destructive mechanism that it actually is. It also caused white men to truly believe that they are better than any other race out there. In “Shooting an Elephant,” by George Orwell, the narrator’s brain is subconsciously imbedded with this notion. He claims to be opposed to imperialism and everything about it while also hating his job and the people associated with it. These two things cannot go hand in hand.

In “Shooting an Elephant” by George Orwell, the officer experiences internal and external pressure to shoot an elephant unwillingly. In the story, an Imperial British officer goes after an elephant causing a disturbance in a village of Burma. Despite having no intention to harm the elephant, he begins to conflict with the internal pressure of going against his own morals to please the Burmese people; externally dealing with the pressure of the Burmese crowd and the duties of his imperial job. Ultimately, he succumbs to pressure and shoots the elephant against his intentions. As the officer encounters the elephant face to face he decides he will not kill the animal. His attitude is clear from the start as “ I had no intention of shooting the

Earning respect from the villagers meant shooting the elephant, and not shooting the elephant; humiliation. This is the problem the narrator faced in the story Shooting an Elephant by George Orwell. The narrator was already hated for being an English police officer by the locals in Burma. Any hatred he received could be resolved through the rampant elephant situation that arises, although, this was not an easy case to handle. However, the narrator takes it on in hopes of earning respect from the villagers. The narrator is faced with two different options and he may have not made the best decision. In the end, the narrator decides to shoot the elephant, but he should have let the elephant live because the elephant’s attack was over when he

George Orwell who wrote a narrative essay Shooting an Elephant” has a tense tone of literature towards his life. He is using a stressed tone due to peer pressure, and lack of confidence toward himself as he is an imperialist who came to protect uphold the laws. He's difficult attitude sets the scene for the story in his eyes. Throughout the story the concept of his decisions and action will be projected through the uses of diction; the write words to express his feelings.

K.Kapler 9-2-17 English 1A Lourie,Iven In the comparison of the story, “Shooting an Elephant,” by George Orwell, states about how he deals with being a ‘sub-division police officer’ (133). In a relative comparison with my last job as an Ice Cream Attendant. And how it relates by the experience we’ve both go through our daily lives. While we work at our jobs, we are given several duties to ensure that the people are completely happy and satisfied.

Orwell next faces the moral dilemma of whether or not to shoot the elephant. At first, it is clear that he does not feel the internal urge to shoot the elephant: "It seemed to me that it would be murder to shoot him" (Orwell.525). However, Orwell's virtue becomes dwarfed as the Burmese's "two thousand wills [press him] forward"(524) to kill the elephant. At this point there is an obvious role reversal as the Burmese begin to strongly influence Orwells decisions. Because he constantly dwells on what the crowd will think of him he shoots the elephant. Thus submitting to the will of the people and committing the immoral deed of abandoning ones own conscious because of the pressure of others.

Shooting an Elephant Have you ever had one of those situations that make you wonder if you are doing the right, moral thing? In the essay Shooting an Elephant, Orwell had to make a very difficult decision on whether or not to shoot an elephant that was causing problem in a local village. Despite not wanting to shoot the elephant, Orwell shot the elephant because it had killed a man earlier that day and did not wait for the owner to return. I disagree with Orwell’s decision to shoot the elephant because, I feel that Orwell over looked the fact that the elephant could have been startled by an unknown source and, that the elephant could have been calmed back down.

George Orwell’s Shooting an Elephant is an essay depicting the perpetual cycle of the personal desire for power and dominance within colonial imperialism. It focuses mainly on a European guard who supposedly struggles with loyalty to his country and the guilt of his country’s treatment of the native peasants. However, as the story progresses it is evident through the narrator’s thoughts and actions that he has no sympathy for the natives. He only cares about himself and his self image. This mental state is the byproduct of colonial imperialism which turns all the people involved into a self serving population.

Like Donald Trump, who has viewers and followers which compel him to do (say) sensational things, George Orwell’s 1936 short story “Shooting an elephant,” features a protagonist compelled to questionable action by the mob. A police officer based in Burma who was not liked or accepted by the Burmese people is compelled to kill an elephant that is causing harm to everything in its path as in killing a man and destroying a hut. He took his gun thinking he would use it to frighten the animal but as he travelled towards the elephant the pressure to kill the elephant increases at every turn. The more people who gathered, the more he felt he had to give the community the action they were hoping for (and the meat). He ends up shooting the elephant to satisfy the crowd and to “avoid looking like a fool”.

It is 1936, in British-controlled Burma. While serving a country he hates and protecting the natives, this Englishman is put in a situation in which he is torn: to shoot or not to shoot. There is a wild elephant and it has been tearing through villages, yet the elephant is found, peacefully with its owner. Facing thoughts of responsibility, pride, and embarrassment, the Englishman makes the decision to shoot. “Shooting an Elephant,” by George Orwell, depicts this scenario in a short story that can be analyzed through both a historical and psychological critical lens.

In “Shooting an Elephant” author George Orwell tells his story of the time that he single handily killed an elephant. The story starts with Orwell telling us how he was a petty anti-imperialist. He voices that he was a simple European police officer who had been hated by the Burman people. He tells of how the Burman people would get joy from the smallest suffering of a European. How he had been tripped on a football field and how it aggravated him to suffer such harsh judgement from the very people he sympathized for.

and disrupting the little bit of peace that they have. So in that instant he

George Orwell writes an autobiography story called Shooting an elephant, he wrote the story in 1936, 50 years into British rule. In this story George talks about how two values collide in conflict and he is forced to decide which one he values more. The two values that come into question are the value of the animal's life and the value of being accepted. The event that is forcing George Orwell to choose what value he has a stronger belief in is a must elephant that has tormented the village. He called for a gun in case he needed it for self defence, but he had no intentions to use the gun unless completely necessary, he even said, “I did not want to shoot the elephant”. Two thousand Burmans gathered around the streets for

Since the elephant was no longer a threat, there is no need to shoot it. The elephant should have been left alone in the field until its owner came to claim him.

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