George Orwell’s Shooting an Elephant George Orwell writes of his experience in British-ruled India in the early twentieth century as a sub-divisional police officer in the sovereign Southeast Asia state of Burma. His essay presents a powerful theme of inner conflict. Orwell’s strong inner conflict lies between what he believes as a human being and what he should do as an imperial police officer. Orwell immediately claims his perspective on British imperialism saying that it is evil and that he
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My Interpretation of "Shooting An Elephant" By Christina Harry 06/19/2013 English Composition 111 "Shooting An Elephant" by George Orwell (1903-1950) is to me‚ a memoir of the time he spent in Moulmein‚ Burma‚ as a European sub-divisional police officer of the town. He was sent there to attempt control of the unruly Burmese people by the British Empire. Orwell was a white European and was hated by the people because
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Reaction to shooting an elephant This time tables are turned for Orwell. In A hanging Orwell was the oppressor but in shooting an elephant I felt that Orwell was oppressed by the Burmese people as he mentions that "In Moulmein‚ in lower Burma‚ I was hated by large numbers of people" and he emphasizes on that fact by adding "As a police officer I was an obvious target and was baited whenever it seemed safe to do so" and was also oppressed by the empire as he was forced to do a job that he doesn’t
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understanding of how a person from a different background see things. Unfortunately‚ in “Shooting an Elephant” the Burmese perspective was limited being that they were happy for an elephant to die for immediate satisfaction‚ ignoring that the Elephant is a symbolism for power and dignity within their culture “However‚ the white man and enforcer of imperialism was able to experience what it feels like to be oppressed. Orwell‚ being a man of privilege‚ aware of how “evil” imperialism is going against his personal
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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
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character Orwell was a sub-divisional police officer. One day there was a rampaging circus elephant going through the town‚ and Orwell went with his old .44 Winchester so he could go scare it away. During the elephants rampage throughout the town it destroyed a hut‚ killed a cow and raided some fruit stalls. Later on they realized the elephant trampled a man to death and that’s when Orwell went and got an elephant rifle from a friend because he thought it was needed at the moment. Orwell tracked down
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Imperialism in ‘Shooting an Elephant’ by George Orwell Shooting an elephant is a short story about the speaker’s experience in working as a colonial officer in Burma‚ a previous conquered province by Britain‚ and facing a pressure to shoot an innocent elephant to please a large Burmese crowd. Throughout the story Orwell makes clear to readers how Imperialism causes misery and pain. To a clear definition for Imperialism‚ I sum up the important points according to my understanding as
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Shooting an Elephant Summary: Set during the early 1900’s‚ the narrator recount his experiences as an English police officer stationed in Burma. He often describes that the British presence there were greatly despised and that he himself has been a target multiple times by the Burmese people. “As a police officer I was an obvious target and was baited whenever it seemed safe to do so.” (229) Being there to do the dirty work of the British empire‚ the narrator gets to see what imperialism really
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ghed at.” Seeing as Westerners have been the perpetrators of imperialism for the past several centuries‚ it is to them that his message is directed. Purpose: Orwell’s purpose in “Shooting an Elephant” is to persuade his audience that imperialism is harmful to all parties involved. The harms of imperialism are illustrated with Orwell’s words‚ “I perceived in this moment that when the white man turns tyrant it is his own freedom that he destroys.” This evidences the harms of imperialism by showing
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In the story “Shooting and Elephant” by George Orwell‚ the essay is based on the authors experience with the Indian Imperial Police. The narrator had begun to question the presence of the British who were located in the Far East. Orwell was for the Burmese and against their oppressors the British. He described himself as being a “young ill-educated‚” who bitterly hated his job. I think that the narrator was writing this story to inform about how the natives hated the British as any country would
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