Shooting An Elephant Imperialism

Imperialism is established by more economically powerful nations interfering with the affairs of a weaker country. While many white men may often think of Imperialism as a form of civilizing the savages of a foreign land, George Orwell condemns it and thinks of it as only a façade of power. In ”Shooting an Elephant”, he conveys the ironic, powerless and evil nature of Imperialism through the experience of himself as a young British officer shooting the elephant against his own will in order to maintain the image of the imperial power in Burma. This is shown specifically through the relationship between the British and Burmese, the portrayal of the elephant as well as development of the inner conflicts of the protagonist. The major role in
contributing in author’s illustration of the ironic nature of Imperialism is shown through the relationship between the British and Burmese. In the beginning, the author gives the information that the natives hate the imperial power. They would use subtle little tricks to convey their loathing towards the officers such as tripping over the British players in football games and jeering at Europeans from afar (948). As a result, the prideful British officers, although not a supporter of Imperialism, also come to abhor the natives. This is shown in the quote “…I thought that the greatest joy in the world would be to drive a bayonet into a Buddhist priest’s guts” (949). This mutual hatred and the dirty actions is the primary result of the power relationships between the conqueror, the British, and the conquered Burmese; and this would not have existed without the implementation of Imperialism in Burma. The natives also play a role in manipulating the officer as the he never once observes the violence of the elephant in person but rather always led running around by the words of the natives. Also later on during the shooting of the elephant, the natives serve as the major source of manipulation of the officer’s mind. With two thousands in number, the natives would shout and clamor that compelled the officer in killing the elephant even against his own will. “Here was I, the white man with his gun…seemingly the leading actor…but in reality I was only an absurd puppet pushed to and fro by the will of (the natives)” (952). Although the British is supposedly more powerful, the author carefully says otherwise by illustrating the ironic power relationship between the conqueror and the conquered. Aside from creating the perplexing power relationship between the British and Burmese, Imperialism is also not as powerful as it seems to be. This is revealed primarily with portrayal of the elephant as a metaphor of Imperialism. At first the elephant is described to “have gone must” (949), destroying the huts, the food stocks and killing one of the Indian civilian.
This is almost a microscopic parallel to how when first Britain came to Burma and established its power through oppression and violence. The author also describes the elephant as a “powerful machinery” (950) which represents the economic foundation of the working Burmese and should not be destroyed. However, the elephant is hated by its people, and is demanded to be killed. During the critical moment during which it falls, the author uses the phrase “powerless to move, yet powerless to die” (951) and words such as “senile” to imply a true feeble state of Imperialism. The author lastly reveals the evil nature of Imperialism through the inner conflict of young Orwell as he faces the moral dilemma of whether or not he should kill the elephant. How young Orwell comes to form his decision is very paradoxical. This is because the officer himself does not want to kill the seemingly innocent elephant when he finds it eating in the field. Also on top of that, Orwell hates the imperialistic power as shown in quote “For at that time I had already made up my mind that Imperialism was an evil thing…and I was all for the Burmese and all against their oppressors, the British”
(949). Yet with all these in mind, Orwell still shoots the elephant in order to sustain the “mirage” of Imperialism in front of the natives. He has to do what the natives expect of him and he describes this as a lost of freedom, “I perceive in this moment that when the white man turns tyrant it is his own freedom that he destroys; he becomes a sort of hollow, posing dummy” (952).In the end, Orwell is glad that he is not legally accountable for killing the elephant despite the fact that he feels immersed in guilt and in shame for he committed something wrong to avoid looking like a fool. It is evident that a form of evil is born from the mind of the young officer as he conceals the truth behind the killing. All in all, through intricate details of the young officer’s struggle and decision in killing the elephant, George Orwell pokes through the façade of Imperialism exposing the underlying irony, powerlessness and evil. The author cleverly reveals Imperialism as a mask that destroys the freedom of whomever that upholds its image. Although with subtlety, it is without doubt that George Orwell condemns British Imperialism and thinks it as a futile dominance in the Far East.