Shooting An Elephant Literary Analysis

In George Orwell’s essay, “Shooting an Elephant”,George explores the complexities of imperialism–and how they are mutually pernicious to both people involved. He wrote, “A story always sounds clear enough at a distance, but the nearer you get to the scene of events the vaguer it becomes.” The idea is demonstrated when he hunts down the elephant. Though the Burmese people warn him of the elephant’s rampage and tell him he’s in danger, he finally finds the elephant peacefully grazing–and it is an entirely different creature than what the people described to him.The idea is noteworthy to the essay because, on a prodigious scale, it uncovers the complex characters of imperialism.

George Orwell’s 1930 short story “Shooting an Elephant,” demonstrates the total dangers of the unlimited authority a state has and the astounding presentment of “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 the end, not wanting to disappoint the people of Burma. Orwell captures the hearts of readers by revealing the struggles he has while dealing with the burden of his own beliefs and morals.

“Shooting an Elephant” is a short anecdote written by George Orwell. The story depicts a young man, Orwell, who has to decide whether to bend the rules for his superiors or to follow his own path. George Orwell works as the sub-divisional police officer of Moulmein, a town in the British colony of Burma. He, along with the rest of the English military are disrespected by the Burmese due to the English invading their territory and taking over. Over time, Orwell, the narrator, has already begun to question the presence of the British in the Far East. He states, theoretically and secretly, he was “all for the Burmese and all against their oppressors, the British.” Orwell describes himself as “young and ill-educated,” bitterly hating his job. Orwell uses powerful imagery and diction to convey a depressing and sadistic tone to the story. At the end of the story, he faces a dilemma: to kill the elephant or not.

“Shooting an Elephant” is an essay written by George Orwell, who was an Assistant Superintendent in the British Indian Imperial Police in Burma from 1922 to 1927. The essay was published in 1936. Burma was occupied by the British over a period of 62 years (1823-1886) and it was directed as a province of India until it became a separate colony in 1937. In the essay, Orwell narrates the scene of the killing of an elephant in Burma and expresses the feelings that he goes through during the event. The writer’s theme is that imperialism is not an effective way of governing. It can be decoded through his

In a time when not only one’s right to live peacefully was denied, but also the autonomy to make decisions based on personal beliefs was restricted, individuals found themselves trapped in a moral maze, questioning every action they took. This statement deeply resonates in the essay Shooting an Elephant by George Orwell, which is based on his own experiences as a police officer in the British Empire. Taking place during British colonial rule in Burma in the early 20th century, the essay clearly shows the moral dilemma that Orwell faced in the colonial setting. In the story, the narrator finds himself in a scenario that will not only put his morality to the test but also highlight the conflict between his beliefs and societal expectations. Through

In the very first paragraph of the story the character tells of his experience on a football field. He stated that “when a nimble Burman tripped me up on the football field and the referee (another Burman) looked the other way, the crowd yelled with hideous laughter” (Orwell 1). The character also recounts of other experiences he has where “insults hooted after me when I was at a safe distance” (Orwell 1). In his own words the character describes how he feels about these situations. He states how the Burman’s actions badly got on his nerves. He explains how overwhelming and upsetting his job makes him, so much so that he wants to quit. It is important to note the characters perception of the Burmese because it shows that his rancor towards them does not affect his longing for respect. This is a basic point that helps set up the story to show what the characters

As a police officer, the narrator was hated by many people. This hatred was common among the inhabitants in Moulmein. The narrator actually thought that “imperialism was an evil thing,” and he was “all for the Burmese and all against the oppressors” (109). However, due to his status, it makes him a subject of hate. This sympathy toward the oppressed and the hate toward the oppressors “oppressed me with an intolerable sense of guilt” (109-110). This shows that the people sent to do the dirty work were in a sense puppets of the government or the people in charge, as some of them did not like what they were doing, but the natives did not know this and for them the Europeans were all the same and therefore they had an anti-European mindset.

George Orwell describes to us in “Shooting an elephant” the struggle that his character faces when to win the mobs approval and respect when he shoots down an innocent animal and sacrifices what he believes to be right. Orwell is a police officer in Moulmein, during the period of the British occupation of Burma. An escaped elephant gives him the opportunity to prove himself in front of his people and to be able to become a “somebody” on the social

The perspective and ideas given by Orwell show his true character and lessens the overall power set up for him. Although Orwell is a

Shooting an Elephant George Orwell, the pen name of Eric Arthur Blair, is a British author who wrote “Shooting an Elephant.” The setting is in Moulmein, specifically, lower Burma. Orwell faces an abundance of forms of oppression, such as, being hated, baited, and masked, in the view of the fact of the evils of imperialism. One of the various forms of oppression Orwell faces is being “hated” (322). They hated him, owing to the fact that he is an imperial officer.

George Orwell’s short story, “Shooting an Elephant”, demonstrates the harsh environment, and survivalist mode that the people of Burma are in. The Burmese people had been unjustly seized over, the British Empire was crumbling therefore they invaded the space around them. The narrator starts preparing the essay manifesting his perspective on British Imperialism. He claims that it is evil and he is contradicting the oppressors. Although he is a British officer in Burma, he feels a certain hatred and guilt towards himself, the empire, and the “evil-spirited little beasts,” (Orwell) the Burmese people.

In his last days, George Orwell, author of the best-selling book, 1984, wrote an essay entitled “Shooting an Elephant”. The story is set in the 1920s, where Orwell was serving as a police officer in Burma, a country colonised by the British. The center of the plot revolves around an incident that took place in the town of Moulmein. An elephant freed himself from chains and stampedes through the little town because the elephant is in ‘must’, a state of frenzy brought on by sexual heat. As the elephant continues to terrorise the natives, Orwell is called upon to remedy the situation and brings along a gun to be prepared for any scenario that would take

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”.

Throughout “Shooting an Elephant” the narrator expressed many different feelings towards the natives. He showed these feelings that he had throughout the narrative with his diction. His diction helped him to express his feelings toward the natives. The feelings he expressed to the natives Through The story were resentment, sympathy, and a feeling of being controlled or pressured.

In George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant,” Orwell recounts his own experiences as a sub-divisional police officer in Moulmein, which was a town colonized by the British Empire in Burma during the early ninetieth century. Orwell reveals the fact that he is being detested by much of the village because he is an English occupier. Orwell begins to understand the existence of British imperialism through a “must” elephant who has gone mad, killing people and destroying the village. In this decisive moment of the story, Orwell shows the reality of colonialism by illustrating the fact that British imperialism limits their freedom to maintain their grip on authority. Orwell then is compelled to entrench himself further in barbarism because of the