Orwell’s autobiographical account of shooting and eventually killing an elephant presents the animal and its death sympathetically as it died a slow‚ painful death. Through the language‚ the author evokes sympathy towards the elephant and a slightly more complex feeling towards the author who‚ although he kills the elephant‚ suffers inwardly during the process and appears to be affected by the Burman crowd’s greed to strip the carcass. In the society Orwell lived in‚ hunting was common amongst
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We are trapped in a never ending war‚ a war with ourselves and with others. In this war‚ each side is fighting for power. This is the case in the essay‚ “Shooting an Elephant‚” by George Orwell‚ where it can be interpreted that “when the white man turns tyrant‚ it is his own freedom he destroys… he wears a mask‚ and his face grows to fit it.” Through the beginning of the essay‚ a person can consider this thesis to follow yet disagree with the essay. Depending on the way that a person interprets
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"Shooting an Elephant" is about the encounters of an English officer in Burma‚ then a state of England. Here‚ Orwell plainly portrays the contentions that colonialism conveys to various people groups. Government‚ it appears‚ has cons for both sides. The persona is despised by most‚ if not all‚ of the locals in Burma. He‚ then again‚ feel compassion and blame for the conditions on the Burmans however can’t make a move since he is relied upon to act with the power and pride of an Englishman. Despite
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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
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In Shooting an Elephant‚ George Orwell explores the ideology of imperialism. Throughout the essay it is established that Orwell is not in favor of imperialism. By using an officer from the British empire as the narrator‚ Orwell uses the officer to show the evils of imperialism on not only the Burmese but also on the enforcers. Orwell develops his argument against British imperialism through his use of rhetorical strategies such as symbolism‚ similes/metaphors‚ and imagery. One rhetorical strategy
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Reflection on “Shooting an Elephant” “I was hated by… people” and “the only time…been important enough” are words that jump out at me revealing Orwell’s low self-esteem and low self-worth. His essay describes the events that turn his luck enabling him to feel a pseudo-sense of control and authority over the Burmese. Opportunity presents itself in the form of an elephant running amok‚ leaving a trail of destruction and death behind. Unfortunately he gives in to pressure exerted by the locals and does
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In the essay “Shooting an Elephant”‚ George Orwell uses the elephant as an extended metaphor for Orwell’s morality and the outside forces challenging it. In the second paragraph‚ Orwell makes it clear that he “was stuck between [George Orwell’s] hatred of the empire [he] served and [his] rage against the evil-spirited little beasts who tried to make [his] job impossible.” Deep down‚ Orwell despised imperialism and sympathized with the oppressed Burmese people as a whole. His morality is clouded
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forms of government. His two most famous works (1984 and Animal Farm) both exemplify this point‚ but at the same time weaken it. These two works were written in protest of those governments‚ but in a fictional back ground. In Orwell’s essay Shooting an Elephant‚ he uses a personal experience to more clearly emphasize the impact of imperialism at the sociological and psychological level‚ in conjunction with other literary elements. This symposium of devices help drive the purpose of his paper and
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In the beginning of his essay he was against shooting the elephant. Once he saw the opportunity of acceptance‚ he decided to take action towards the elephant. Throughout this essay the author doubts himself. He feels a sense of guilt towards the end of the essay. Orwell had three perspective in this essay guilt‚ doubtful‚ and acceptance. In this situation acceptance took over his feelings‚ and this is why Orwell was not justified in shooting the elephant. In the beginning of the essay the author said
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“evil-spirited little beasts‚” the Burma people.Secretly‚ though‚ he agreed with them‚ and he knew that the government he was working for was unfairly oppressing the Burmese. As he says in his essay‚ "imperialism was an evil thing‚" and he was "all for the Burmese and all against their oppressors‚ the British". Feeling “stuck between his hatred of the empire he served and his rage against the evil-spirited little beasts who tried to make his job impossible” he knew that “the sooner he chucked up the job and
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