In its heyday‚ colonialism was often celebrated as a means to spread the values of advanced civilizations to people considered uncivilized. The great irony of this notion is that once the European colonial powers drew the lines over the newly discovered continents‚ their own civilized values were‚ in many cases‚ completely disregarded. The British writer Anthony Burgess‚ coincidentally the author of A Clockwork Orange‚ a book containing scenes of extreme violence not unlike some of the instances
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Response to George Orwell’s Shooting an Elephant The first time I found myself reading the short story “Shooting an Elephant” by George Orwell was during my senior year of high school. As an animal lover‚ the title was as intriguing as it was unappealing. Why would you want to shoot an elephant? That question is one that the character‚ the author himself‚ asks throughout the story as it’s told. It starts by introducing himself as a white sub-divisional police officer serving in Moulmein‚ a town
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story “Shooting an Elephant‚” demonstrates the total dangers of the unlimited authority a state has and the astounding presentment of “future dystopia”. In the story‚ Orwell finds himself to be in an intricate situation that involves an elephant. Not only does the fate of the elephant’s life lie in Orwell’s hands‚ he has an audience of people behind him cheering him on‚ making his decision much more difficult to make. Due to the vast crowd surrounding his thoughts‚ Orwell kills the elephant in 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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In George Orwell’s first places hort story‚”Shooting An Elephant”‚ written in 1936‚ George explains his experience of working with the Indian Imperial Police. The story takes place in Moulmein‚ in Lower burma. George is working there as a sub-divisional officer where he is seen as a target due to the fact that he is English and works for the British. He was constantly picked on and had felt guilty about the job since he hated imperialism‚ but he just wanted to get his job over with as soon as possible
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Shooting an Elephant: Imperialism When the word“dictator” comes to mind‚ humans are dolorous and empathetic. A great proof of this fact was observed during the early parts of the 20th century when oppression and iron fisted rule was established as a social normalcy in much of the world. The oppressive days of totalitarianism have passed and were marked by the death of the infamous and grandiose era of imperialism. Nonetheless‚ it left a bad imprint upon the countries and people that were involved
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Shooting an Elephant is one of the most famous essays by George Orwell that presents the situation of preindependence era in Burma. There are very subtle instances that act as a window for the readers into the social setup of that time. One could see that the Burmese hated the British in a pity and helpless manner. One of the few opportunities they had to express their anger was during the soccer game where the rules of society were over ruled by the rules of the game. The psychology of the author
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An Analysis of Orwell’s "Shooting an Elephant" Erika Moreno-Dalton In "Shooting an Elephant‚" George Orwell finds himself in a difficult situation involving an elephant. The fate of the elephant lies in his hands. Only he can make the final decision. In the end‚ due to Orwell’s decision‚ the elephant lay dying in a pool of blood. Orwell wins the sympathy of readers by expressing the pressure he feels as an Anglo-Indian in Burma‚ struggling with his morals‚ and showing a sense of compassion
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George Orwell George Orwell was a legendary english novelist‚ essayist‚ and journalist‚ who writes mostly about his political views and understandings. When Orwell was an imperial police officer he wrote an essay “Shooting an Elephant”‚ When the russian revolution was going on he wrote a children’s book “Animal Farm”. After Orwell’s career of writing he writes an essay “Why I Write” 1946 after he wrote animal farm. He wanted to tell readers about why he wrote and what he liked to write about.
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An Elephant-Sized Dilemma Everyone‚ of all ages and time periods‚ faces a moral dilemma. This may be about a smaller problem or matters of life and death that have a far more wide-ranging impact‚ such as imperialism. In George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant‚” an unnamed narrator‚ despite his initial reluctance‚ succumbs to collective pressures to shoot a marauding elephant in Lower Burma. Orwell comments on the dangers of collective pressure and the horrors of imperialism in order to explore the
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