Shooting an Elephant
Shooting an Elephant by George Orwell
The short story, Shooting an Elephant by George Orwell was written about Orwell’s experience in the early Twentieth Century. At that time India was ruled the British. While he was there, he had to do something that had caused some ethical conflicts in him. Orwell’s job was to kill an elephant that had ran rampant in lust throughout a village in Burma. “It had already destroyed somebody's bamboo hut, killed a cow and raided some fruit-stalls and devoured the stock; also it had met the municipal rubbish van and, when the driver jumped out and took to his heels, had turned the van over and inflicted violence upon it” (Orwell 897). The villagers were obviously upset about the trial and he was called upon to restore the order before anything, or anyone got hurt. While he got there he decided that it was best to kill the animal. His reasons for doing so, however, were not as clear-cut. “The older men said I was right, the younger men said it was a damn shame to shoot an elephant for killing a coolie, because an elephant was worth more than any damn Coringhee coolie”(Orwell 901). His final decision was not to look bad in front of the villagers; that gave him a degree of shame. Orwell was in conflict with himself about his justification, otherwise there would be no justification. What had been seen was how he justified in shooting the elephant, regardless of what the ethical and moral issues he had suffered. Orwell needed to show the people that he was a man of authority. If he had not shown that, then he would be taken over by the villagers. The elephant had trampled a hut, killed a man, a cow, destroyed a fruit stand and ate the contents, and destroyed a van. These were some reasons to kill the it, and nothing like this will ever get out of control with another animal like this elephant.
First let’s look at the man who was killed by the elephant in a harsh way, “well in most countries when a man kills another, he or she is
The short story, Shooting an Elephant by George Orwell was written about Orwell’s experience in the early Twentieth Century. At that time India was ruled the British. While he was there, he had to do something that had caused some ethical conflicts in him. Orwell’s job was to kill an elephant that had ran rampant in lust throughout a village in Burma. “It had already destroyed somebody's bamboo hut, killed a cow and raided some fruit-stalls and devoured the stock; also it had met the municipal rubbish van and, when the driver jumped out and took to his heels, had turned the van over and inflicted violence upon it” (Orwell 897). The villagers were obviously upset about the trial and he was called upon to restore the order before anything, or anyone got hurt. While he got there he decided that it was best to kill the animal. His reasons for doing so, however, were not as clear-cut. “The older men said I was right, the younger men said it was a damn shame to shoot an elephant for killing a coolie, because an elephant was worth more than any damn Coringhee coolie”(Orwell 901). His final decision was not to look bad in front of the villagers; that gave him a degree of shame. Orwell was in conflict with himself about his justification, otherwise there would be no justification. What had been seen was how he justified in shooting the elephant, regardless of what the ethical and moral issues he had suffered. Orwell needed to show the people that he was a man of authority. If he had not shown that, then he would be taken over by the villagers. The elephant had trampled a hut, killed a man, a cow, destroyed a fruit stand and ate the contents, and destroyed a van. These were some reasons to kill the it, and nothing like this will ever get out of control with another animal like this elephant.
First let’s look at the man who was killed by the elephant in a harsh way, “well in most countries when a man kills another, he or she is