George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant” 1. On page 517 of The Norton Reader‚ Shorter Edition‚ the first question asks‚ “Why did Orwell shoot the elephant? Account for the motives that led him to shoot. Then categorize them as personal motives‚ circumstantial motives‚ social motives‚ or political motives. Is it easy to assign his motives to categories? Why or why not * Orwell did shoot the elephant because he felt the pressure that came from thousands of native people behind him when he
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Analysis of a narrative text: Shooting an Elephant (George Orwell) “Shooting an Elephant” is an autobiographically influenced short story written by George Orwell and published in 1936. It deals with the inner conflict of an imperial police officer in Burma who feels pressured by the Burmese and forced to kill an outraged elephant in order to prove himself and his status as an imperial police officer. The short story can be divided into two parts. In the first two paragraphs the narrator introduces
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Mikhail Shimonov Professor Kaufman March 28‚ 2011 Critical Analysis of Hills like White Elephants At first glance‚ Hills like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway‚ may allude to many interpretations‚ however‚ the short story has a clear purpose. Set in the Ebro River valley in Spain‚ the story looms around the issue brought forth by Jig and the American‚ who is nameless throughout the whole story. The issue here being the ‘simple operation’ that Jig is about to undergo which happens to be an
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Three’s a Crowd: A Summary of an Analysis on “Hills Like White Elephants” The article “Moving to the girl’s side of “Hills Like White Elephants.” by Stanley Renner‚ appears in The Hemingway Review. Renner leads a solid argument that the girl may have not aborted the child. The following is a summary of his analysis. At first‚ the girl is sitting with “the American” on the side of the station that is out in the sun where the land is described as having “no shade and no trees” and is “brown
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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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Name Instructor English 15 October 2010 "Death of an Elephant": Symbolism in Orwell As a former business major‚ whenever I read‚ whether fiction or non-fiction‚ I tend to focus too much on the surface meaning—the facts—and I often miss the subtle symbolism and deeper meaning of a piece of literature. As an English major‚ I am attempting to change‚ but I am often skeptical of symbolism‚ fearing that we may be reading too much into an author’s words. For
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In an analysis of the story “Hills like white elephants” by Ernest Hemmingway‚ one is forced to take a deep look at the hidden meanings embedded in the story. Considering the point of view‚ the significance of the location and its relevance to the story‚ the structure of the text‚ the symbolic meaning of the two landscapes and the title of the story‚ the entrails of the story are exposed. Hemmingway’s story is written in an objective or dramatic point of view. The story is told primarily through
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George Orwell’s Shooting an Elephant: a Summary George Orwell‚ from a first person narrative perspective of a British officer in Moulmein‚ Burma‚ writes an autobiographical essay titled Shooting an Elephant‚ confessing the inner conflict of a British police officer. From his experience in British-ruled India in the early Twentieth Century‚ his essay shows feelings in the area and the East against Europe‚ and faults of the imperialism. While he was there he is having to do something that caused ethical
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topic‚ did George Orwell want to assassinate the elephant? George Orwell was a sub-divisional police officer in Burma that was hated by the Burmese because of his association with the British. Despite several claims‚ George Orwell actually opposed imperialism and its rules‚ yet his actions have muddled several and have caused them to think otherwise. One day‚ he is notified that an elephant had broken free from its chains in a rage of “must”. The elephant had caused havoc‚ destroyed property and killed
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Shooting An Elephant – George Orwell Orwell begins his essay by describing the intense hatred of the Burmese for their European masters. In Moulmein‚ in Lower Burma‚ I was hated by large numbers of people‚ the only time in my life that I have been important enough for this to happen to me. Europeans were spit at‚ jeered at‚ and insulted. As a police officer I was an obvious target and was baited whenever it seemed safe to do so. I feel his sympathies were on the side of the Burmese‚ and
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