The essay “Shooting an Elephant” is a self-portraying, non-fiction entry written by George Orwell, in which he is forced to shoot an elephant. In the essay he talks about struggle amongst his own belief and society’s needs, which he ought to fulfil being an imperial police officer. Also, this essay is a symbol of oppression that can be seen through Burmese people towards Orwell Jun 09, · In this essay, Shooting an Elephant, George Orwell, comes face to face with the effects of peer pressure and imperialism. While under constant scrutiny by the people who did not want to be ruled, he felt “stuck between the hatred of the empire I serve and my rage against the evil-spirited little beasts who tried to make my job impossible” (Orwell) Orwell’s relationship to the Burmese people as described in his work “Shooting an Elephant” is one of an outsider who has empathy but little understanding of the specific cultural identities of the colonized people. He favors the idea of the Burmese people being free of the British Empire, but simultaneously is a citizen of the Empire
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Shooting an Elephant. This often leads him in to uncomfortable situations requiring him to take actions against his will. In the essay, Orwell realizes that he must shoot the elephant because as a representative of the British imperialism essay shooting an elephant the small town, not doing so would have shown the British Empire to be a foreign oppressor that could not be trusted to protect the locals when needed, essay shooting an elephant. So even though the Burmese saw him as an enemy and tried to harm him in inconspicuous ways, Orwell actually empathized with their cause. As such, essay shooting an elephant, his duties as police officer often meant that he had to carry out orders that at a personal level he found distasteful.
It also meant that the locals, who had no way of knowing how he really felt, judged him based on the actions that he carried out as an instrument of the British rule. As a result, Orwell realizes that he must always act in way that is expected of a white man, even though he may not personally agree with those actions. Killing the elephant was not only morally wrong since it was a source of income to its owner but even legally it bordered on the gray, essay shooting an elephant. Orwell was well aware of this even before he laid his essay shooting an elephant on the elephant. He never really intended to kill the elephant and when he borrowed the elephant rifle, it was more as an act of self defense than with any intention to shoot at the elephant.
As more and more natives gathered, the pressure to do what was expected of him and impress the natives grew, until Orwell was left with no other option but to shoot the elephant, against his better judgment. As a white man in the colony, he is by definition supposed to be superior to those he colonizes. He cannot afford to show any kind of weakness which would in any way compromise his superiority over the colonized. If he had not killed the elephant, he would have come across as a weak person and become a laughing stock among the locals. By killing the elephant, essay shooting an elephant, he made sure that the superior white mask of the colonizer that he wore in his interactions with natives remained firmly in place.
Thus, Orwell contends that even though he was supposedly the free white man ruling the native Burmans, in reality he was not really free as he could not do what he really wanted to do but must always to what was expected of him as a representative of the British government. The British Empire is just an abstract system but it is the actual people, whether the colonized or the colonizer, who must give up their freedom in order to live within this system. Bertonneau, Thomas. Detroit: Gale, Literature Resource Center. Tyner, James A. Academic Search Complete. Oedipus, the King of Thebes was married to Jocasta. At the start of the play, he was not aware that he had slept with his mother or that he had […].
Psychology and literature are united by a common intent in searching for the universal answers. The literary work is a reflection of what is happening in the society. Authors normally voice their opinions about issues affecting the society through various themes. These themes are closely […]. The play is designed to […]. Studies on ancient Greek literature and mythologies indicate that the Greeks were deeply searching for knowledge. Characters often worked hard to gain knowledge, especially divine and mythical revelations. Although most […]. Introduction The literary work is a reflection of what is happening in society.
Oedipus is swift and confident throughout the play, essay shooting an elephant. He cross-examines Creon, asks for Tiresias, makes threats about sending Creon and Tiresias to exile, asks to see the servant who ran […]. Introduction Oedipus explores a rich Greek Mythology casting Oedipus as a strong, young man with great determination in all his undertakings Bagg 5. However, one outstanding feature of these qualities […]. Literature should not exist for its own sake but should be a mirror through which the society looks at itself. It should therefore imitate the truth and portray it to […]. This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful, essay shooting an elephant.
Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings. If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies essay shooting an elephant. Works Cited Bertonneau, Thomas. Orwell, George. Orwell and Hsun Essay. Oedipus the King — Characters and Performance Essay. How does Oedipus exhibit weakness of character? Oedipus Essay. September 29, by Essay Writer, essay shooting an elephant. Close GDPR Cookie Settings. Powered by GDPR Cookie Compliance. Privacy Overview This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user essay shooting an elephant possible.
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Graham Holderness - 'Shooting an Elephant'
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Orwell’s relationship to the Burmese people as described in his work “Shooting an Elephant” is one of an outsider who has empathy but little understanding of the specific cultural identities of the colonized people. He favors the idea of the Burmese people being free of the British Empire, but simultaneously is a citizen of the Empire Jun 09, · In this essay, Shooting an Elephant, George Orwell, comes face to face with the effects of peer pressure and imperialism. While under constant scrutiny by the people who did not want to be ruled, he felt “stuck between the hatred of the empire I serve and my rage against the evil-spirited little beasts who tried to make my job impossible” (Orwell) Feb 17, · Shooting An Elephant Essay. George Orwell was a police officer in the British authority in Burma, in the story of Killing an Elephant; he clearly shows how he opposed the idea of imperialism. He begins the story by telling us how he had made up his mind that imperialism was evil and he wished to get out of his job
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