Shooting An Elephant Answers

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Questions on Writing Strategy
1. A major purpose of the first two paragraphs of the essay is not only as an introduction but to set the mood. Orwell explains some of the hardships he goes through daily only because he is connected to the British Empire. For example, while officiating a football game, a Burman tripped him and the other ref just completely disregarded him and laughed. Events like these happen on a daily basis for Orwell and he is fed up with it. He discusses these events to set up what will later be explained in the rest of the essay. Without this description, the reader wouldn’t understand the circumstances of the situation and the reasoning behind Orwell’s actions.

2. The setting of this story is in Burma, a country under the control of Britain. Imperialism was huge during this time. This was when foreign powerhouses such as Britain, America and other countries would attempt to conquer surrounding nations in order to expand their empire. The main circumstances concerning the irony in the story is that Orwell is a British soldier who was forced into killing an elephant. This elephant was claimed to be causing destruction throughout Burma and Britain, being the tyrannical country it was, forced Orwell to kill this creature.
But, when Orwell went to go shoot the elephant, it was extremely calm and was under full control, yet …show more content…

The examples in paragraphs 1 and 2 illustrate Orwell’s conflict that he faces because he shows his hatred for his occupation. He has an internal conflict in that he needs the money to survive but he hates working for the British as a soldier. He wishes for the empire to fall although he is working for them. He has an intense hatred for the British because he is forced to do the things that no one else wants to do, like shooting the elephant. Orwell explains that the internal conflict that he is experiencing is normal for people but he knows that his doubts about the British Empire are nothing but true and worthy of

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