Shooting an Elephant Life unexpected choices we’re forced to make‚ for the fear that one bad decision may have everlasting effects. In "Shooting an Elephant" by George Orwell‚ is set at a time during the 1800’s when the country of Burma was overruled and the British imperialist rule took over. Orwell expresses his internal battles when he recalls an event that changed him forever‚ how his pride was influenced by other forces and the true symbolism of the effect of imperial control. The first thing
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SG Orwell ’s Relationship with the Burmese in “Shooting an Elephant” The relationship between Orwell and the Burmese in George Orwell ’s “Shooting an Elephant‚” is a complex relationship filled with hatred. Regardless of Orwell ’s personal morals and beliefs on imperialism‚ he still upholds the duties of his job and has desire to show he is not in any shape or form inferior to any Burman‚ while the Burmese show nothing but ridicule and loathe for Orwell. This relationship shared between Orwell
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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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reading the essay‚ at the first sight of browsing through the title ”Shooting an elephant‚” it stroke me as an issue discussing the protection of extinct animals and what came to my mind is the impression of how human beings ravage the habitat of animals. With the story moving ahead‚ I assumed that the narrator would not yield to the external pressure he had been given. Nevertheless‚ it turned out that he eventually shot the elephant in a brutal and cruel way. What happens in the story? The story took
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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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shoot an elephant or not. From the very beginning the officer is saying that he is hated by a large number of people. He starts off as an honest man in my opinion. Will he continue being an honest man throughout the story? The officer was a subdivisional police officer of a town and the officer describes himself as an easy target. This officer even admits that he does not like his job. Like the officer‚ I too had a choice to make‚ whether to shoot an elephant or not. I shot the elephant just as the
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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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The act of shooting the elephant is a culmination of the officer’s ignorance of what he knows should be done. Firstly‚ the officer rationally decides that he should not shoot the elephant because “it is comparable to destroying a huge and costly piece of machinery” (Orwell par. 6). He also decides that the elephant “is no more dangerous than a cow” (par. 6). Secondly‚ the officer knew that shooting the elephant was morally wrong. He personified the elephant by describing it as having
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the transitivity system is employed to analyze George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant” in attempt to uncover the underlining imperialistic theme that occurs throughout the text‚ with relation towards the positionality of the narrator. In taking a linguistic approach‚ the paper intends to use stylistic analysis to substantiate literary interpretation. Building upon that plane‚ there will be illumination upon the actuality of an elephant with the symbolistic representation of imperialism as the driving
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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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