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Orwell's Burmese Days." In-between: Essays & Studies in Literary Criticism 6
Orwell's Burmese Days." In-between: Essays & Studies in Literary Criticism 6
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It seems there isnt much on the net about Burmese Days that one can look over when getting ready to write an essay. I have provided one I wrote that is about 2 1/2 pages long and outlines some basic themes as well as analyzes the main character. Tell me what you guys think:
Burmese Days by George Orwell is not a book that commonly comes to mind when one thinks '"'Orwell'"' but nevertheless it holds a distinguished place in his career as a writer. The novel revolves around the lives of a handful of high-class English gentlemen living in Burma during the time of the British colonial period. The story focuses on one man in particular; John Flory, who gradually succumbs to his life of loneliness and boredom. Though a '"'pukka sahib'"' or Englishman residing in India, John still manages to steer away from racism and keeps a few Burman friends. Here a conflict arises. Each night the English men meet at the prestigious '"'European Club'"' to drink and make small talk about the locals. Only Europeans are permitted to gain membership to the club until a certain occasion rises that calls for each '"'whites-only Club'"' in India to elect a non European member. All the members are outraged and protest, except for John who supports the election, but does not possess the courage to admit to his beliefs. Behind the chaos and indignation, the European Club is faced with another disaccord, Elizabeth; a newly arrived English girl who has made her way ...
An invasive species is an organism that is not native to an area and has negative effects on the environment they are in, and the burmese python is just that. The burmese python is one of the five largest snakes in the world. It is native to South and Southeast Asia but found it’s way into the Everglades of Florida, where it causes many issues and threatens the entire ecosystem. The snake can grow up to twenty three feet in length and weigh up to two hundred pounds. These massive creatures made their way into the Everglades as pets that were released into the wild by their owners, most likely due to the fact that they grew to such an enormous size in such a short amount of time and the owners were not ready for it (Betteley).
What is Iu-Mein? Not many people have heard of the ethnicity Iu-Mein. It is a dialect from Laos. One of the traditions that Iu-Mein's have are ceremonies. Ceremonies are done with the sacrificing of a pig or chicken. Certain people may call it weird, and animal rights folks would call it animal cruelty, but in our culture, it is for healing and to pay our respects to our ancestors.
In 1922, Orwell began working as the assistant superintendent of police in Myaungmya, Burma, and this is where his hatred toward imperialism and its tyrannical rule over the underdogs in society developed. He felt guilty torturing and flogging unwilling subjects. The community had taken too much power over the individual, and the imperialist society commanded Orwell to enforce this injustice: “I was stuck between my hatred of the empire I served and my rage against the evil-spirited little beasts who tried to make my job impossible. With one part of my mind I thought of the British Raj as an unbreakable tyranny…with another part I thought the greatest joy in the world would be to drive a bayonet into a Buddhist priest’s guts. Feelings like these are normal by-products of imperialism” (qtd. in Lewis 41). Obviously, imperialism had affected Orwell to the point where he developed animosity towards the Burmese. As a policeman doing “the dirty work of the Empire” (qtd. in Lewis 41), Orwell acquired a hatred for imperialism, a belief that is focused on dominion over other individuals.
The state of power established through the imperialistic backdrop show that Orwell should have control over the Burmese. Orwell is a British colonial officer in Burma, which is under the control of the British, and because of this he should have authority and control over the Burmans. The presence of the empire is established when Orwell explains that, “with one part of my mind I thought of the British Raj as an unbreakable tyranny...upon the will of the prostrate people; with another part I thought that the greatest joy in the world would be to drive a bayonet into a Buddhist priest’s gut.” (144) This ideal imperialistic circumstance, where ...
Britain conquered Burma over a period of 62 years (1824-1886). Burma wasn’t administered as a province of India until 1937, when it became a separate, self-governing colony. This is the arrangement of details surrounding George Orwell’s story of “Shooting An Elephant”. The reader finds oneself in the midst of a colonization struggle between the British and the Burmese. On one hand there is a “Burmese” elephant that needs to be contained, while on the other hand there is a growing number of people joining a crowd that seems to be an obstacle for an imperialist guard’s ability to take control of the situation. The very tension of the crowd following the imperialist guard is the “colonization effect” is felt. This crowd of Burmese civilians expect the guard to shoot and kill this elephant, hence the reason they followed him. The guard finds himself being pressured by the crowd to take care of shooting the elephant. It is this pressure that almost forces the guard to make a hasty, not necessarily the right decision about handling these circumstances. If the guard were to make an error in judgment in direct result from this pressure from the crowd, he would find himself caught in a very bad position. A guard, who is part of a coalition colonizing an area, in the middle (literally) of an angry mob of local civilians unwilling to accept the colonization brought on by this guard’s imperialistic philosophies.
Many young Englishmen did not work at their universities, but acquired a broad outlook and self confidence in complex problem solving. After his time at Eton, he was advised by a tutor to leave the life he claimed to be so dreadful, and go abroad to try to find employment. Orwell took that advice and the next year in 1922, he took a job working for the Indian Imperial Police in Burma, where he worked until 1927. Orwell was not very fond of the job, but knew the smart thing to do was to stay there, rather than leaving to seek employment somewhere else. He later wrote about this life experience in Burmese Days, published in New York in 1934, in which he writes about the frustration and humiliation of the job derived from the official relationship between the English and Burmese (British Writers, V7, 276-280).
Through this we see that the author’s point of view is someone who understands that the events that took place that morning in Burma, were not humane and degrading.
Shooting an Elephant by George Orwell is an essay about his experiences in Burma as a sub-divisional police offer while working for the British Empire in the 1920’s where it had imposed its power onto the Burmese. Orwell felt this strong disagreement with imperialism because how oppressed the Burmese were, but in a way of guilt and sympathy. To better understand what imperialism means we must get a clear definition of it; imperialism is the policy of extending power of a nation over another nation; with the addition of the possibility of economic and political gains through control. With Orwell having the position of being a police officer, he plays the role of being an oppressor and; and because of this, the Burmese look at him and make him – and other Europeans ¬– a target of hatred and frustration. And Orwell also uses a plethora of rhetorical strategies to explain his own sympathies and frustrations with the Burmese, but uses the elephant
In "shooting an elephant," Orwell's writes about Burma when it was a British colony.The story told by a first-person narrator who is a British policeman serving in Burma. His relationship with the Burmese natives wasn't that good; he was hated by everyone because he was a foreigner and a authority figure of white English society. The action of the story starts with a rogue elephant that has killed a Burmese man. The narrator finds the elephant standing peacefully in a field. He does not want to kill the elephant, but he knows the large crowd of people who have followed him to the field expect
Traditional Chinese culture has a very strict set of rules which need to be followed. Only if one follows the rules, will they fit into the Chinese society. This is depicted in the book The Jade Peony by Wayson Choy and Iron Road directed by David Wu. The Jade Peony portrays a story about three Chinese-Canadian siblings living in Vancouver’s Chinatown: Jook-Liang, Jung-Sum, and Sek-Lung. Each child experiences different complications depending on their age and gender. Their Grandmother, Poh Poh, teaches them to balance their Chinese culture along with Canadian culture. Moreover, Iron Road portrays a story about a strong-willed 19 year old girl, Little Tiger, who presents herself as a boy in order to survive as an orphan in the male-dominated
The tough life of Iqbal in the book Iqbal by Francesco D'Adamo and Nick Freestone in the book Elephant Run by Ronald smith are the main stories of the books and have difficult lives that are also different and similar. In the book Elephant run they are in the small country of Burma in the early 1930-40s in a somewhat dense forest. Along with that they have to learn their way around. The character Nick is at the plantation getting to know it as home. As everything is coming along the chinese invade Burma and capture them and now they
During Orwell's time in India he is exposed to several unethical situations. As an imperial officer, Orwell is often harassed, "I was an obvious target and was baited whenever it seemed safe"(Orwell 521). Therefore, Orwell's initial feelings are fear and rage toward the Burmese. He displays his hate in wanting " to drive a bayonet into the Buddhist priest's guts"(522). However, thou...
Over time, Westerners came in contact with the natives. In the book Burmese Days by George Orwell, the author tells the story of the Western dominance in Burma. During the early 20th Century, the British Westerners gained control of Burman civilizations. A group of about ten British individuals maintain control of over 2,000 natives. Each character has different reasons and methods for wanting control. The locals accepted European dominance because the Europeans had strategies to legitimize their dominance. The local Burmese people viewed the Europeans in different ways. Elizabeth, Mr. and Mrs. Lakersteen, Dr. Veraswami, U Po Kyin, and Ma Hla May all have specialized reasons for maintaining
Right in the beginning of this essay, we as the readers realize that the Burmese people harbour discontent “against their oppressors the Britain” (148), and this feeling is exacerbated when it was shown that the Burmese “had no weapons and were quite helpless” (149) against the rampaging elephant. The elephant serves as symbol of the Burmese as they were both “chained up” (149). After years of oppression, the rampaging elephant shows the inevitability of the Burmese people revolting against their oppressors. However, just like the elephant’s tantrum that started unpredictably, Orwell, the European oppressor, can just as easily silence it with a rifle. It is unfortunate that a few shots can inflict enough fear to silence people who wanted justice. But what is worse is that the everlasting wound would ensure that oppressed groups “would never rise again” (155).
Pugh, C.L. (2013) 'Is Citizenship the Answer? Constructions of belonging and exclusion for the stateless Rohingya of Burma.', p. 3.