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George orwell elephant essay analysis
Critically examine Orwell's reaction to the shooting of an elephant
Shooting an elephant literary devices
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The main gist of “Shooting an Elephant” feels like it is asking for an opinion on Orwell’s actions, whether him shooting the elephant was right or wrong. The main theme of the essay is based on the idea that many of our actions are influenced by other people , especially if we are insecure about what we are doing.This idea was expressed through the different literary features that he used including the use of tone, voice, mood and characterization. The tone of voice within Orwell’s essay is reflective because he is explaining a past experience by using words “like at that age”, and “I did not then know” . The essay is written in the first person so this makes it seem like the voice of this essay belongs to Orwell himself; however, Orwell may have written about someone else, but choosing the first person makes the story sound more personal, which also makes it easier for the audience to relate it to their own experiences. There were a lot of moods expressed within “Shooting an Elephant”; this includes guilt, confusion, disgust, and insecurity. The moods that the character reflects is based on some of the character’s personality. …show more content…
We know he felt guilty because he said, “As soon as I saw the elephant I knew with perfect certainty that I ought to not shoot him.” This shows that he has a kind side to him. Another example is when he demonstrated his insecurity by saying that “the sole thought in my mind was if anything went wrong those Burmans would see me pursued, caught, trampled and reduced to a grinning corpse like the Indian up the hill. And if that happened it was probable that some of them would laugh. That wouldn't do.” He thought that people would think that he is not able to do his job if he hadn’t killed the elephant because it would make him seem weak in their
In “Shooting an Elephant,” George Orwell has conflicting problems concerning his position when it comes to shooting the elephant. Where Orwell was stationed at, in Burmese, he found himself being treated horribly by the Burmans because they didn’t welcome the British officers in their territory. One day, an elephant is in must and stomps around a village and terrorizes the villagers. Orwell has no ch...
Although shooting the, now seemingly calm, “mad elephant” is morally wrong to George Orwell, in his narration of Shooting an Elephant, he has to do so as he is a representative, or more so a pawn, of the British authority in the occupied country of Burma. Being such, he wages a war with his inner self to seek which decision needs to be carried out. With two outcomes in mind, one being that he will be seen as a fool if he does not shoot the elephant and the other being an authority of the law by truly showing it and protecting the villagers, he has an epiphany. With such an authority, the law and someone’s moral conscience diverge. He then realizes what must be done and shoots the elephant to protect the imperialistic authority. As the excitement
Prejudice plays a big part in “Shooting an Elephant.” It is seen in the relationship between the Burmese natives and the narrator,
He was doubtful “We began questioning the people as to where the elephant had gone, and, as usual, failed to get any definite information.” (pg.325) Without any concrete evidence or information regarding the supposed elephant, the writer begins to severely doubt its existences. “I had almost made up my mind that the whole story was a pack of lies.” (pg.327) After talking amongst the people, Orwell felt as if the presence of an elephant was a lie and maybe possibly even a trick. Another way he felt confliction was through the innocence of the elephant once he discovered the story was real. “I had no intention of shooting the elephant.” (pg.327) Even before he saw how calm and harmless the “beast” was, he didn’t want to shoot it, “The animal looked no more dangerous than a cow.” (pg.324) The elephant appears harmless, making Orwell think twice about shooting him. Just as quickly as he felt innocence, the writer felt determination as well. “They were watching me as if they would watch a conjurer about to perform a trick.” George Orwell realizes that at the moment, he is the source of the natives entertainment. All eyes are upon him as the crowd waits for him to make a decision. “I had to shoot an elephant, I committed myself to doing it when I sent for the rifle.” (pg.327) Here, the writer flips a switch completely and realizes he must shoot the elephant. He sees that because of his request for such a weapon, the crowd now expects it from him, so he does. George Orwell goes through mixed emotions of doubt, innocence, and determination, thus making him
The quest for power is one which has been etched into the minds of men throughout history. However, it can be said that true power is not a result of one’s actions but comes from the following one’s own beliefs without being influenced by others. This principle sets up the story for Shooting an Elephant by George Orwell. The protagonist, Orwell himself, is a sub divisional police officer in Burma, a British colony. Orwell must try to find and use his inner power when he is faced with the decision of whether or not to kill an elephant which has ravaged the Burman’s homes. The state of power established through the imperialistic backdrop show that Orwell, as a colonist, should be in control. As well, the perspective and ideas given by Orwell show his true character and lessen the overall power set up for him. Lastly, the symbols shown are representations of traditional forms of power, but take on different implications in the story. In Shooting an Elephant, George Orwell uses setting, characterization and symbols to show that true power comes from following the dictates of one’s conscience.
The essay “Shooting an Elephant,” was written by George Orwell. Orwell was a British author best known for his essays and novels. In “Shooting an Elephant,” the title essay of his 1950 collection, Orwell is a British Police Officer in Lower Burma. After an elephant comes rampaging through the village in must, killing an Indian man, Orwell is looked upon to take care of the problem. The intense scene causes Orwell to make a crucial decision, reflecting on the vicious imperialism with the military in Burma during this time. The author portrays his feelings through the theme of the narrative with feelings such as, guilt, hate, and pressured.
A police officer in the British Raj, the supposedly 'unbreakable'; ruling force, was afraid. With his gun aimed at a 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 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 later regret enough to write this story.
In “Shooting an Elephant” writer George Orwell illustrates the terrible episode that explains more than just the action of “shooting an elephant.” Orwell describes the scene of the killing of an elephant in Burma and reveals a number of emotions he experienced during the short, but traumatic event. Effectively, the writer uses many literary techniques to plant emotions and create tension in this scene, leading to an ironic presentation of imperialism. With each of the realistic descriptions of the observing multitude and the concrete appeal of the narrator’s pathos, Orwell thrives in persuading the audience that imperialism not only has a destructive impact on those being governed under the imperialists’ oppressive power, but also corrupts
While he was obtaining a rifle and following the elephant, more people continued to trail behind him, eventually growing to become a crowd of more than two-thousand. Knowing that the force behind him was much greater than his own, it was distracting him and knew “…even then I was not thinking particularly of my own skin, only of the watchful yellow faces behind”. The pressure from his military duty was eating away at him as well, thinking to himself “the crowd would laugh at me. And my whole life, every white man’s life in the east, was one long struggle not to be laughed at”. Afterwards, the old soldiers believed he did the right thing because he was doing his duty by resolving a casualty; the young soldiers thought "it was a damn shame to shoot an elephant for killing a coolie" because the elephant had already calmed down and the owner was not present. Relying on optimism, Orwell in the end was content with the casualty and saw his actions legally justified because of
When he finial find the elephant Orwell say “I knew with perfect certainty that I ought not to shoot him.” But when he lays his eyes on the crowd he changes his stance to “but I did not want to shoot the elephant.”(Orwell 199). He felt guilty for shooting the elephant when he describe that the elephant worth more alive than dead, but despite the many reason not to shoot the elephant, he took a shot. Orwell describes “when I pulled the trigger I did not hear the bang or feel the kick …I fired again into the same spot…I fired a third time. That was the shot that did it for him.”(199) the shooting of the elephant represent the Burma people trying to stay alive and over powering by the
He expressed this when he said “But I did not want to shoot the elephant.” The pressure from the crowd was evident, they were waiting for the end when the elephant was shot and was not going anywhere until this happened. The pressure from the crowd helped him to make the decision to shoot the elephant after
From the beginning of the narrative “Shooting An Elephant,” George Orwell creates a character with a diminished sense of self. The character narrates, “I was hated by large numbers of people -- the only time in my life that I have been important enough for this to happen to me” (Orwell, 58). All he wants is attention and it is evident that even negative attention is better than being ignored. He hates working for the British as a sub-divisional police officer in the town of Moulmein. He even makes it known to the audience that, “Theoretically -- and secretly, of course -- I was all for the Burmese and all against their oppressors, the British” (58). The character knows he does not want to be in this position, as a Anglo-Indian
The symbolic story in the Shooting an Elephant is an attack towards imperialism. Orwell presents the ironic truth that imperialism benefits neither the imperialist nor the countries they colonize. It is perhaps sad to see that men were once willing to buy in to the fraudulent and ephemeral glory that imperialism have offered. Hopefully, men have learned their lessons and no other animal will be sacrificed for men's greed.
"Shooting an Elephant" is perhaps one of the most anthologized essays in the English language. It is a splendid essay and a terrific model for a theme of narration. The point of the story happens very much in our normal life, in fact everyday. People do crazy and sometimes illegal moves to get a certain group or person to finally give them respect. George Orwell describes an internal conflict between his personal morals and his duty to his country to the white man's reputation. The author's purpose is to explain the audience (who is both English and Burmese) about the kind of life he is living in Burma, about the conditions, circumstances he is facing and to tell the British Empire what he think about their imperialism and his growing displeasure for the imperial domination of British Empire.