George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant” describes Orwell’s time spent in Lower Burma under the control of British Imperialism as a police officer. A rifle, shooting an elephant, and a mask are all symbols Orwell uses to represent how imperialism affects him as in officer of the Imperial Police. Orwell’s hunting rifle is used to represent the difference in power he had with and without the gun in his hands. Orwell never wanted to harm the elephant, his .44 Winchester rifle was only to be used as a deterrent. Immediately after seeing what the elephant was capable of Orwell upgraded to an elephant rifle but still had no intent on killing the animal, just to protect himself. Orwell says,” They did not like me, but with the magical rifle in my
