Trystan Tomco Mr. Stone English 110 12/03/13 Shooting an Elephant Essay George Orwell wrote “Shooting an Elephant” to teach readers about imperialism and its effects on not only those ruled but also those charged with maintaining order above them. Orwell’s narrator is a British colonial official stationed in Burma who is charged with keeping the local populace from rioting. The officer speaks of how he is frightened by the Burmans and even by his own people rulers. Fear is one of the ways
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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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“Shooting an Elephant” by George Orwell in 1936 Imperialism is “the creation and/or maintenance of an unequal economic‚ cultural‚ and territorial relationship‚ usually between states and often in the form of an empire‚ based on domination and subordination”[1]. During the British colonial period from the late 16th century to the 19th century‚ Britain assembled an empire which in 1922 held sway over a population of about 458 million people. The United Kingdom had several colonies‚ dominions‚ protectorates
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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 the elephant and the whole town followed because they
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George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant‚” deals with the evil side of imperialism. The shooting of the elephant in Orwell’s story is the central focus from which Orwell builds his argument through the two dominant characters‚ the elephant and the British officer. The British officer‚ acts as a symbol of the imperial country and the elephant is the victim of imperialism. Together‚ the solider and the elephant turns this into an attack on the evils of imperialism. The shooting of the elephant shows the different
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Narration: “Shooting an Elephant” To narrate is to describe an experience or a story that is linked in time. An effective narration “usually relates a sequence of events that led to new knowledge or had a notable outcome” (Aaron 60). George Orwell uses narration in “Shooting an Elephant” to support his thesis that imperialism is an immoral relationship of power because it compels the oppressor to act immorally to keep up appearances that he is right‚ just like his experience of shooting an elephant. Orwell
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30/10/11 ‘Shooting an Elephant’ Rebecca Bonner 2. Choose an essay which puts across a strong personal belief in a clear and convincing manor. George Orwell’s ‘Shooting an Elephant‚’ is an essay which takes place in imperial Burma where he is a police officer working on behalf of the British Empire. He is resented by the people who pressures him into shooting an elephant‚ where he describes himself as being a meaningless puppet in front of the Burmese crowd. Throughout this essay he also
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In George Orwell’s essay “Shooting an Elephant” (1936)‚ he reveals that he despises the very idea of imperialism. Orwell shows this by using an extended metaphor throughout the entire essay. The metaphor is shown through the story of him shooting an elephant. He is representing the entire British nation‚ and their imperialistic values. He shows that he does not really want to shoot this elephant if it is not necessary but the Burmese people keep pressuring him to do something and to do it right
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The similarity between both stories of Georges Orwell in shooting an elephant and Langston Hughes in the salvation showed that they both dealt with the issue of ‘’fitting in’’ in a very similar ways. Georges described to us the struggle that he faced when winning the mobs approval and respect when he shot down an innocent animal and sacrifices what he believed to be right while Hughes shows himself as a little boy at a church revival where he showed his owns behavioral tendencies toward obedience
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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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