Pathos In Shooting An Elephant

“Every experience, no matter how bad it seems, holds within it a blessing of some kind. The goal is to find it.” This quote from Buddhism depicts the idea of the short story, Shooting an Elephant, by George Orwell. In the story Orwell committed the crime of shooting an elephant, which legally he had the right to do, but morally felt guilty about killing an innocent animal. According to Everything's an Argument, a correct causal argument needs to have a claim, warrant, and evidence. Even though Orwell did commit the crime of shooting an elephant, throughout the story he used ethos, pathos, and figurative language to convince the audience if given the opportunity he would never shoot an elephant again because the elephant represents the innocence of people.

The similarities and differences between “The Chase” and “Shooting and Elephant” are covert, and they deserve thorough examination. The purpose of “The Chase” was to give it everything, without hesitating in fear. In the the boys were being pursued they ran as fast as they could trying to lose the pursuer at every small or hard place, but failed to do so. Their pursuer shared the same passion for never giving up. The purpose of “Shooting an Elephant” was to show that sometimes people do things they know aren’t the right decision just to impress everyone else. The officer felt that,“It seemed to me that it would be murder to shoot him” (Orwell 4). As he shot the elephant he

Well known author and journalist, George Orwell, in his essay, Shooting an Elephant, describes his experiences as a Policeman in Moulmein, Burma during European Imperialism. Orwell’s purpose is to convey the ideal that what is right and what is accepted don’t always align. He adopts a remorseful tone in order to convey to the reader the weight of his actions. By looking at George Orwell’s use of imagery and figurative language, one can see his strongly conflicting opinions on Imperialism.

This narrative piece is an effective expository technique that describes the narrator’s thoughts and tone. Orwell uses oxymoron such as “grinning corpse” and paradox phrases such as “the story always sounds clear enough at a distance, but the nearer you get to the scene of events the vaguer it becomes”. Another paradox statement is shown in “I perceived this moment that when the white man turns tyrant it is his own freedom that he destroys”. Orwell’s decisions were briskly altered as he was deciding on whether to kill the elephant or not. His mind altered from “I ought not to shoot him” to “I had got to do it” and also to “But I did not want to shoot the elephant”. All of those depictions related to the “immense” crown that had followed the narrator expecting him to kill the elephant. This can be analyzed from his own words: “I was only an absurd puppet pushed to and fro by the will of those yellow faces behind”. “And he also realizes that to shoot the elephant would be not only unnecessary but quite immoral. But he is not a free agent; he is part of the impartial system (Ingle,

The speaker George Orwell, who was a member of the British Imperial Police for five years and discovered he did not like many aspects of British Imperialism. The tone is of negative and remorse towards the shooting of the elephant and also negativity towards imperialism. By looking at “Shooting an Elephant” by George Orwell, one can see his strong use of imagery and metaphors, which shows us detailed and vivid descriptions of what imperialism is like, which is important because it helps people understand what imperialism felt like up-close and what the people went through. This personal narrative incorporates a great deal of ethos, since the author writes about his emotions and feelings of going through such an event. This narrative also contains pathos, since Orwell is a writer who has had first-hand experience in being in the place while British Imperialism was going on in Burma. This affects the overall consequences of the narrative as it enables the reader to visualize and think more about how the author must have felt while the events of the narrative were unfolding around him. It also enables

In the opening of “Shooting an Elephant,” Orwell appeals to authority through personal details and shifts in verb tense that create a reflective tone. Specifically, the speaker first introduces himself: “I was sub-divisional police officer of the town…” (1). The detail about the speaker’s status in Burma signifies that he has first hand experience with imperialism. Personal facts about the speaker’s image establishes authority and impacts the reader to trust the author’s claim about imperialism, considering that even in a position of power he is oppressed. In addition, when reflecting on his past, the speaker claims “I was young and ill-educated and I had had to think out my

Shooting an Elephant, written by George Orwell in 1936, describes his experience working as a British officer located in Moulmein, Burma. He writes his essay to reveal the cruelty and disastrous outcome of imperialism he witnesses. Orwell uses strong resource of language such as symbolism, metaphors and imagery to express his disdain for British imperialism.

George Orwell’s personal narrative, “Shooting an Elephant,” invites readers to experience his powerful story of conflicting ideas and harsh decisions. “Shooting an Elephant,” tells the tale of George Orwell, and imperial police officer in Burma, and the choices he needs to make about an elephant that has gone must. Orwell’s choice of wether or not to shoot the elephant is a battle of morality and could potentially risk his position and respect as an imperial officer. Orwell’s personal narrative recounts his struggle of making a decision for himself, society, and the push and pull of British Imperialism.

He writes that he “did not in the least want to shoot the elephant.” (Orwell, 2014, p. 233). However, as the narrative continues, Orwell does end up shooting the elephant after feeling “(the natives’) two thousand wills pressing against (him).” (Orwell, 2014, p. 234). Orwell’s actions further demonstrate the power multitudes of people have on an individual. Separately, the Indian people pose no threat; however, together they become capable of dictating the actions of their superiors.

In George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant” Orwell no specific event influenced this piece rather it was an accumulation of many small events of prejudice and hate by an opposing group of

He has a rifle and this makes the crowd extremely happy because they believed that he was going to shoot the elephant who had caused chaos and killed one coolie. Even though Orwell felt pressure from the crowd, he felt some sort of resentment towards the elephant when he saw how peaceful it looked in the fields. “It seemed to me that it would be murder to shoot him” (Orwell 299-300). Orwell wanted to show the crowd that he is not scared, even though he would have to kill the elephant who seems very harmless in the field. Orwell did not want to be taken as a joke, he wanted them to respect him. “with two thousand people marching at my heels, and then to trail feebly away, having done nothing -- no, that was impossible. 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"(Orwell 299). However, Orwell eventually shoots the elephant so that he does not look like a

Throughout “Shooting An Elephant” , Orwell’s narrative style brings out internal and external conflicts that are relatable in society today. The narrator faces multiple internal and external conflicts. One external conflict being the Burmese and how they mock him because he is a representative of the British Empire, but he will do what it takes to show them he is not a fool. "I often wondered whether any of the others grasped that I had done it solely to avoid looking a fool."(Orwell). In

George Orwell held a unique perspective on Britain’s involvement in Burma. Through his own experiences in Burma, he developed an inner struggle between following orders and opposing imperialism, that he expressed in the story Shooting an Elephant.

Have you ever looked at something or someone and started reminiscing negative comments in your head about them? What about cared what others thought of you and tried to play hero to get them to like you? George Orwell’s essay, “Shooting an Elephant”, is a great example of this scenario. This essay secretly hid three key points that most written documents may or may not pinpoint on. It explains how you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, animals should be treated just as equal as humans, and always be yourself.

" Shooting an Elephant " written by George Orwell describes an ugly nature of imperialism. The story is about one European police officer who served in Moulmein, in lower Burma. While he was doing his job he faced many difficulties because of local people's anti- European attitude. This negative attitude overcomplicated his job. He had already realized that he wanted to get rid of his job as soon as possible. As for the job he was doing, he got acquainted with the dirty work of Empire and he was for all the Burmese, but like every Englishman in the East he had to think about himself in order to survive. One day, an incident changed his overall point of view. He was reported that one elephant had lost its control and was ravaging the bazaar. He did not know what he