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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Messages in Short Stories (Three Messages from‚ “Shooting an Elephant” and “No Witchcraft for Sale”) George Orwell was born in India and was extremely familiar with elephants. He joined the police force in 1923 and resigned only after five years. His story‚ “Shooting an Elephant”‚ is his most famous writings and is based on one of his experiences during his career as a policeman. On the other hand‚ Doris Lessing‚ wrote the short story‚ “No Witchcraft for Sale.” Lessing wanted to influence
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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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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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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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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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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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Composition~Orwell Analysis In the excerpt from Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant”‚ the author uses similes‚ syllepsis‚ and connotation to appeal to the readers sense of pathos in order to convey his attitude of remorse and fluster in regards to shooting the elephant so as to comment on imperialism. Orwell uses Similes to convey his remorse and fluster towards shooting the elephant. He compares the elephant to “…a huge rock toppling…” and paints the scene by saying “The thick blood welled out of
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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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George Orwell’s "Shooting an Elephant" is an essay about a British police officer living in Lower Burma who goes through the trial and error process of making the right decisions while still trying to maintain an image and position of authority. The officer is hated by the Burmese people‚ which is clearly shown when he would play football. The Burmese were extremely unfair to the officer due to the fact he was part of the Imperialist group which was oppressing Burma. (para. 1) Although the officer
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