Strength in Numbers
During the height of the British Empire the extent of England’s rule stretched to the country of Myanmar, also known as Burma. George Orwell’s narrative essay Shooting an Elephant takes place during this period. In this essay, Orwell voices his distain for imperialism through the perspective of a British police officer stationed in Burma—a colonist. Imperialism, argues Orwell, creates a culture of hate, something that affected him, and in the case that a colony has to be terminated the hate and anguish become much worse. Orwell paints the image of the officer hating the thought of destroying the elephant yet anyway from the push of the surrounding Burmese. The masses, despite the prejudices created by imperialism, still
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The reader receives evidence of the influence the natives have on Orwell, first through the outlook he develops concerning imperialism and later through the action he takes against the elephant.
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 the end Orwell admits to feeling like “an absurd puppet pushed to and fro by the will of those yellow faces behind.” (Orwell, 2014, p. 234). Orwell, as the British police officer, no longer acts according to his own inclinations. Through the ordeal involving the elephant Orwell comes to the realization of his lost liberty yet the reader observes that he lost it when he first began his job as a British imperial officer. The British Empire dictates most every action done by Orwell; he has become numb to it and replaced his initial resistance with a hate for all that surrounds him. Death of autonomy, another byproduct of imperialism, takes affect on
The entire mood of the essay is determined when Orwell first proclaims the setting to be a “cloudy, stuffing morning at the beginnings of the rains” (1). This line foreshadows the entire situation to be weak and discomforting as drab weather. Later, when the narrator looks back on the natives standing behind him, he sees a “sea of yellow faces,” with “two thousand wills presing [him] forward, irresistibly” (2). This image of an uncontrollable sea pushing the narrator forward like an indominable wall creates a sense of power behind the actual image of powerless natives. Through this imagery, Orwell is able to highlight both the uncontrollable nature of mob mentality, but also the helpless nature of an imperalist conqueror.
Orwell conveniences the reader that imperialism has not only a negative impact on those run by imperialist, but also degrades those holding the power of an imperialist. Like other works Orwell has written they too have expressed his opinion on social and political aspects. In “Shooting an Elephant,” readers can recognize his opinions on imperialism through the narrator’s display of pathos. Orwell over and over expresses his hatred, fear, doubt, and distress for authority of imperialist. The narrator states “As for the job [he] was doing, [he] hated it more bitterly than [he] perhaps make clear.”
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. First and foremost, Orwell establishes his ethos. As stated in Everything’s an Argument, ethos is described as the author's credibility. He establishes his ethos right from the beginning of the story when he states he works for the British but he despises them.
Rhetorical Analysis: “Shooting an Elephant” Contrary to popular belief, the oppressors of imperialism lack freedom. Imperialists are usually powerful and maintain control over the native people of the land they are taking over. It is expected for someone with great power to have choices and freedoms, however, that is not necessarily the case. Sometimes power can limit or restrict the choices one makes.
Pg 269 The feeling i get from George Orwell’s shooting an elephant is that when he started out working as a civil servant for the British Raj that he didn't hate the Burmese. It feels like when he first started out, he got into it with good intentions and that this job wore him down. He has very strong thoughts on the empire and his distaste for it but then he turns around and has an uncontrollable rage for the Burmese.
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. Orwell begins his essay, Shooting an Elephant, by explaining the actions of the Burmese people and by expressing his contempt for 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”.
Hannah Edmiston Boudreau AP Language Friday 25 September, 2015 Shooting an Elephant Analyzing Rhetorical Devices 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. Orwell uses symbolism to connect the character of the elephant to the effects of imperialism.
(Orwell 3). The ideas learned from this quote is that shooting the elephant would embrace the people, it would make the people support the officer and give him the respect he deserves. This is
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.
Elizabeth Lee Mrs. Clarke English 9 BLOCK 16 March 2015 The Power of Greed As the animals soak in their own sweat, they rest in deep thought on the mounds of dirt in the fields of England, where the dictatorial Mr. Jones had once ruled before he died. A new leader named Napoleon has come into position after his death.
There are numerous themes in this short story such as British imperialism and colonial resentment however the most prominent theme in this story is fear of humiliation and the effect peer- pressure has on an individual. The setting of Burma helps work with this theme as it provides an area for the plot to take place and develop. After marching miles to the destination of the elephant, a crowd had surrounded George Orwell and encourages Orwell to kill the elephant. George Orwell is compelled to kill the once ravaging elephant due to the fact that Orwell wants to avoid looking like a fool. George Orwell is willing to sacrifice his role of doing the right thing and fulfilling the Burmese wishes in order to save himself from
No matter how confident one may seem to be in his position or abilities, there always comes a point where he begins to waver and doubt his next move. As humans, it is inevitable that every question cannot be answered; not every response may be the most appropriate in a situation, however, it is not his faults nor follies that define him---unless he allows them to. In the case of the nameless narrator in George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant,” he is confined within British Burma’s imperialistic and tyrannical government. His position as a policeman creates a barrier within himself, as he discovers the conflict between his occupation, and his personal will.
In George Orwell’s autobiographical essay “Shooting An Elephant” (1936), Orwell openly promotes his views on imperialism. Orwell’s writing uses metaphorical strategies to show his perspective on imperialism that have resulted from his experience employed as a police officer in Burma. In his work, Orwell’s narrator depicts the true nature of imperialism to be overpowering against the native Burmans. Amidst Orwell’s piece, his narrator observes that “the friction of the great beast’s foot had stripped the skin from [the Dravidian coolie’s] back as neatly as one skins a rabbit.” (para. 4) Instead of boosting the amount of resources the Burmese have, this lucid description describes the empire tearing away the natural resources from the natives.
The essay “Shooting an Elephant” discusses Orwell 's values in the conflict of shooting the elephant. Orwell reveals that the people treat him as an outcast and the disrespectful comments he receives from them bothered him greatly. “The insults hooted after me when I was at a safe distance, got badly on my nerves” (Orwell, 1) shows how little the people thought of him. Due to the past disrespect of the people towards Orwell, he could not just run off and not shoot the elephant, “and my whole life, every white man’s life in the East, was one long struggle not to be laughed at.” (4).