“Shooting an Elephant,” by George Orwell is a story about the narrator himself is recalling an event that happened in his younger years which strongly deal with imperialism. The narrator is an English officer who hates his job, and is “Theoretically and secretly” for the Burmese who are being oppressed by the British’s. The narrator believes feeling like these are results of imperialism on both the oppressed and the oppressor, and most importantly, it exposes the true human nature. Of all the possible themes Orwell’s story conveys, imperialism is definitely a part of it; as it reveals the evils of imperialism and its negative effect on the oppressed. For instance, the Burmese people have been oppressed by the British’s ever since they took
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Clearly stated in the story, the narrator admits to be against imperialism, and secretly with the oppressed; however, he undoubtedly enjoys the potential of absolute power. The narrator’s favor of absolute can be seen at the beginning of the story when he told the readers “One day something happened which in a roundabout way was enlightening.” The previous statement made by the narrator shows his true feeling about the incident; which he actually considers a “tiny incident in itself.” Knowing this about the narrator, he can be consider an hypocrite that hides under his own words; after all, he appears to be an imperialist in all aspects and can be seen mostly in his actions. He himself indicates he was wearing a mask that his “face grows to fit” especially when he finds himself in a dilemma; in this case, whether to shoot or not to shoot the elephant (Murphy 3). As stated by the narrator, he hesitated from shooting the elephant at first sight; however, he wants a sense of approval from the Burmese mob, and do what they expect of him, and that is to shoot the elephant (Fennelly 183). For the satisfaction and enjoyment of the Burmese who are also oppressed, the elephant became a victim of imperialism through human’s evil deeds. With no doubt, imperialism is morally unacceptable, but the narrator seems to care about himself and his public appearance as a human though they did not view him any
Clearly stated in the story, the narrator admits to be against imperialism, and secretly with the oppressed; however, he undoubtedly enjoys the potential of absolute power. The narrator’s favor of absolute can be seen at the beginning of the story when he told the readers “One day something happened which in a roundabout way was enlightening.” The previous statement made by the narrator shows his true feeling about the incident; which he actually considers a “tiny incident in itself.” Knowing this about the narrator, he can be consider an hypocrite that hides under his own words; after all, he appears to be an imperialist in all aspects and can be seen mostly in his actions. He himself indicates he was wearing a mask that his “face grows to fit” especially when he finds himself in a dilemma; in this case, whether to shoot or not to shoot the elephant (Murphy 3). As stated by the narrator, he hesitated from shooting the elephant at first sight; however, he wants a sense of approval from the Burmese mob, and do what they expect of him, and that is to shoot the elephant (Fennelly 183). For the satisfaction and enjoyment of the Burmese who are also oppressed, the elephant became a victim of imperialism through human’s evil deeds. With no doubt, imperialism is morally unacceptable, but the narrator seems to care about himself and his public appearance as a human though they did not view him any