Preview

Examples Of Imperialism In Shooting An Elephant By George Orwell

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
519 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Examples Of Imperialism In Shooting An Elephant By George Orwell
Imperialism, according to Meriam-Webster, is “a policy of extending the rule of an empire or nation over foreign countries”. Many people can present varied arguments in order to claim that the Indian people were the only victims of the oppressive British-Imperialistic society; this is not the case. In the short story, “Shooting an Elephant”, George Orwell demonstrates that the imperialistic standard not only affects the oppressed, but the oppressor through the irony of the governing rules and those who are being governed.
Throughout the text, Orwell presents the concept imperialism as an ongoing conflict of self-conflict and conformity towards something that is not favorable. Orwell presents this claim by providing examples in order to prove,
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant”
    • 806 Words
    • 4 Pages

    George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant”

    2. Facts ordinarily do not speak for themselves. How does Orwell present his facts to make them speak in support of his analytic points? Look, for example, at the death of the elephant (paragraphs 11 to 13)…

    • 806 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Cotton Diplomacy In The United States During The 1860's
    • 513 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Cotton Diplomacy In The United States During The 1860's

    During the 1850's, the vast differences between the North and the South brought about the impending notion of war between the two. The South knew that the North had them beat on every level. The North had manufacturing capabilities with factories that could produce supplies necessary for outfitting an army. Also, the North's population of 22 million was nearly three times the population of the South. The South only had nine million people, four million of whom were black slaves. This larger population provided a steady source of military and civilian manpower, and was important in a war of attrition. Lastly, the North grew most of the country's food, and a fighting army can get very hungry. The South had the plantations, but mostly cash crops were grown there.…

    • 513 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    "Shooting and Elephant"-George Orwell Rhetorical Analysis
    • 520 Words
    • 1 Page

    "Shooting and Elephant"-George Orwell Rhetorical Analysis

    affects either of two conflicts in Orwell’s experience. Imperialism, in the mind of Orwell, has…

    • 520 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    George Orwell Shooting An Elephant Summary
    • 305 Words
    • 2 Pages

    George Orwell Shooting An Elephant Summary

    George Orwell writes Shooting an Elephant with his experiences in Burma; so story is in Burma, Myanmar. Both Orwell uses his own experiences in past and he lives in the significant era of British in history, we see high rise at historical background in the story. Orwell prefers to indirect way to express his emotions using symbols. One of the main symbols is an elephant. The elephant symbolizes British Empire. The reason that Orwell chooses the elephant, the empire is powerful like an elephant. When it dies, Orwell makes narrative sentences about the elephant. These sentences help us the elephant is the British Empire.” One could have imagined him thousands of years old. (5)” “He was dying, very slowly and in great agony, but in some world…

    • 305 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Shooting An Elephant Rhetorical Analysis
    • 742 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Shooting An Elephant Rhetorical Analysis

    During the time of imperialistic rule, rich empires were able to take over those of lesser value and benefit from their resources. This is the exact situation going on in Shooting an Elephant by George Orwell; the British had taken over the Burmese. Through Orwell’s use of stylistic and rhetorical strategies, he conveys the inferior attitude he has towards himself and the trapped, conflicted attitude he feels towards his position in Burma, which both stem from the negative aspects of imperialism.…

    • 742 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Rhetorical Analysis Of Shooting An Elephant By George Orwell
    • 388 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Rhetorical Analysis Of Shooting An Elephant By George Orwell

    Orwell sent this essay into New Writing which is highly anti-fascist and anti-imperialistic, which causes the readers to be against ruling over another country by force. This cause George Orwell’s writing style to differ in some aspects. He speaks of how he hates…

    • 388 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Analysis Of Shooting An Elephant By George Orwell
    • 234 Words
    • 1 Page

    Analysis Of Shooting An Elephant By George Orwell

    The thesis of George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant” is, “When the white man turns tyrant it is his own freedom that he destroys.” This sentence is found in paragraph 7, line 14. This is the thesis of the essay because it reflects on the fact that Orwell feels reluctant at first to shoot the elephant, because he sees how peaceful and harmless it is. But as the crowd behind him pressures him with their laughter and screams, he finally pulls the trigger, with out actually thinking, and he repeatedly shoots the elephant trying to kill it, in mad rampage. This scene reflects back to the part of the thesis, “it is his own freedom he destroys” because Orwell demonstrates losing his freedom to behave intelligently and morally. He doesn’t want to kill…

    • 234 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Review of George Orwell's Shooting an Elephant
    • 938 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Review of George Orwell's Shooting an Elephant

    “Shooting an Elephant” is an essay written by George Orwell and published in 1936 (Orwell 66). Orwell was born June 25, 1903, as Eric Arthur Blair and passed away January 21, 1950, in India (“George Orwell Biography”). Orwell was known for his journals, novels, and essays published about his own political views (“George Orwell Biography”). Orwell traveled to Burma after not doing good enough in school to earn a scholarship and decided to join the imperial police (Orwell 66). While on duty one day, Orwell received a call that a rampaging elephant was on the loose that had killed a man and destroyed a hut (Orwell 67). Once Orwell found the elephant calm in a field he was faced with a decision of whether to kill the elephant or let it be (Orwell 69). Orwell killed the elephant for the safety of himself and out of pressure from the Burmese standing behind him (Orwell 70). While Orwell contemplated shooting the elephant he knew out of the town he was the only one able to have a weapon to kill the elephant (Orwell 67). The Burmese weren’t allowed to have weapons because the British Empire outlawed them to prevent the Burmese from revolting. The British Empire didn’t want the Burmese to over power them and revolt because they wanted to maintain power imperialism. The British Empire needed to keep the Burmese under their control because they needed the resources from the land. The Burmese were helpless against the rampaging elephant because the British Empire needed to maintain dominance over the Burmese.…

    • 938 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    George Orwell Shooting An Elephant Analysis
    • 662 Words
    • 3 Pages

    George Orwell Shooting An Elephant Analysis

    In 1936, author George Orwell wrote an essay titled “Shooting an Elephant”. In the essay Orwell describes a scene of a British police officer who is stuck between having to shoot an elephant. The story takes place in Burma, India where then, they were under British imperialism. Imperialism is a policy of extending a country's power and influence through diplomacy or military force. It humiliates the occupied people, reducing them to an inferior status in their own country. Analyzing Orwell’s work, I realize that Orwell feels Imperialism is not good for both the people subject to and the people of the imperial power. The fact that the main character of the story is an officer of the imperial government, but also in opposition to imperialism…

    • 662 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Rhetorical Analysis Of Shooting An Elephant By George Orwell
    • 133 Words
    • 1 Page

    Rhetorical Analysis Of Shooting An Elephant By George Orwell

    When not handled carefully, power can destroy freedom. Many tyrannical leaders and countries have bent the rules to their advantage, causing the rights of others as well as themselves to be violated and eventually consumed by their hunger for domination and popularity amongst their followers. Being a follower of an almighty empire, Orwell displays his perplexity in relation to his position and social “responsibilities” as a police officer in a foreign country, in which he must execute the dirty work of the British, in his essay Shooting an Elephant. Through the employment of rhetorical devices and specific word choice, Orwell exposes his conflicting feelings between his hatred of the British Empire’s imperialistic views and the social pressure,…

    • 133 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    What Are The Three Branches Of Government
    • 550 Words
    • 3 Pages

    What Are The Three Branches Of Government

    In 1775, our country went into a war against the British. Our main goal was to aspire freedom and have our own rights as citizens. After eight years of fighting in this war, our country won. The United States of America was born and our first goal was to find what type of government is best suited for the people. It was finally decided that we would have a republican and democratic government. With this decided, we created the first document to run our country, the Articles of Confederation. This document did not give the government enough power to help the citizens and it was tossed away. After starting over, the committee came up with The Constitution. This is the document that runs our country today. Within this document we have three branches of government, the Legislative, the Judicial, and the Executive Branch. The Legislative…

    • 550 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    George Orwell Shooting An Elephant
    • 691 Words
    • 3 Pages

    George Orwell Shooting An Elephant

    In “Shooting an Elephant', George Orwell described the onus of serving with the imperial police in Lower Burma, during a time where the British police were hated by the natives. Orwell expressed his views towards the Burmese, saying “Theoretically—and secretly, of course—I was all for the Burmese and all against their oppressors, the British.” Though he felt that way, they did not feel the same towards him. “As a police officer I was an obvious target and was baited whenever it seemed safe to do so.” He hated his job and felt that the sooner he got out, the better. Imperialism was something that he clearly despised, yet he was caught right in the middle of a cycle of oppression. One day, an event occurred that left Orwell battling with a decision between his own moral beliefs, and gaining the approval of the…

    • 691 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    George Orwell Shooting An Elephant
    • 573 Words
    • 3 Pages

    George Orwell Shooting An Elephant

    George Orwell's "Shooting an Elephant" is an essay about a British police officer living in Lower Burma who goes through the trial and error process of making the right decisions while still trying to maintain an image and position of authority. The officer is hated by the Burmese people, which is clearly shown when he would play football. The Burmese were extremely unfair to the officer due to the fact he was part of the Imperialist group which was oppressing Burma. (para. 1) Although the officer is hated he feels "Imperialism, [is] an evil thing" and he "[is] all for the Burmese and against their oppressors, the British," his own kind. (para. 2)…

    • 573 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    George Orwell “Shooting an Elephant”
    • 397 Words
    • 2 Pages

    George Orwell “Shooting an Elephant”

    In the essay “Shooting an Elephant” George Orwell argues that imperialism ruins and hurts not just a countries’ economic, cultural and social structure, but has other far reaching consequences; oppression undermines the psychological, emotional and behavioral development of mankind. Orwell served his country, the British Empire, in Burma during the early 20’s as a police officer. The country was colonized by the most powerful economical leader in Europe. The only person who can have an insight look and empathy into what it felt like to be oppressed is Orwell, who lived in Burma for five years. On a daily basis he agonized over three significant issues; entering into a working field where he had insufficient knowledge, felt hatred or bullied by Burmese, and he was disgusted as a human being by recognizing what life meant for a nation that was colonized. History had enough examples of empires violating not just human rights, but intervening forcefully into other countries, robbing their natural resources, and suppressing its people for the sake of their own prosperity. Throughout his essay, Orwell logically illustrates different elements of allegory such as an elephant that symbolizes the British Empire, which was enormous, powerful, and dauntlessly conquered anything that was in his way. The Burmese represent any oppressed nations on the globe that struggles to keep their culture and values alive; moreover, constantly resist against the conqueror even though that withstand was ineffective. The allegory of Indians who were colonized by Brits also symbolize a typical victim who attacks another lower ranked prey, as Albert Memmi in his thesis “Racism and Oppression” asserts that “If the French proletarian wants to feel a little taller, whom is he step on if not on the immigrant worker…”. (Memmi, pp. 183, p. 22). Orwell’s description shows a clear picture of his emotional struggles from hatred, to pressured, to stunned, to…

    • 397 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    View from the Top
    • 699 Words
    • 3 Pages

    View from the Top

    Johnathon Reckford is the prime example of a good leader and educated professional. Beginning his career as a senior executive in the private sector, moving on to become executive pastor of a Presbyterian church and into his final and current role as CEO of a global religiously based non-profit organization better known as ‘Habitat for Humanity’. He explains his experiences in depth within his lecture, sharing his own personal milestones and animating the particular steps necessary to becoming a great leader.…

    • 699 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics