George Orwell’s Representation of What Imperialism Really is Like
There are always people who do not follow the crowd and those who think outside the box. George Orwell, also known as Eric Blair, is an English novelist who enlists in the English police force in 1922. Orwell’s time as a policeman in Burma shows him the British empire in a different light. It is what prompted him to write the stories,” The Hanging” and “Shooting an Elephant”. In “The Hanging”, a tiny Indian man is being hung. The events leading up to his hanging shows the reader the injustice and ruthlessness of the English policemen. The story “Shooting an Elephant” tells the reader about a mad elephant and what must be done to stop the animal. Orwell compares killing the elephant to “the real nature of imperialism”. How did George Orwell feel about the British government? …show more content…
In “Shooting an Elephant” his exact feelings about imperialism was that it is an “evil thing”; thus the reader knows his position right away. The story begins with a mad elephant running loose and the Burmese call on Orwell to kill the animal. Therefore, Orwell makes a troublesome decision on the hunt for the elephant. In the end, he shoots the elephant to, in a way save face from the locals. As a result, the elephant dies slowly and painfully. Could this be a metaphor for the English Empire?
At times, innocent men can be killed by capital punishment. “The Hanging” shows the heartless ways of the English police. Orwell describes the prisoner due to hang: “a puny wisp of a man”. The man has his hands handcuffed and chained to his sides as he leaves his cell. Do the guards really believe this man is a threat? Then, the prisoner prays loudly as he is going to be hung. Each police officer at the hanging is in shock. However, the police tell jokes and funny stories after the hanging. The reader sees that hangings happen
There are always people who do not follow the crowd and those who think outside the box. George Orwell, also known as Eric Blair, is an English novelist who enlists in the English police force in 1922. Orwell’s time as a policeman in Burma shows him the British empire in a different light. It is what prompted him to write the stories,” The Hanging” and “Shooting an Elephant”. In “The Hanging”, a tiny Indian man is being hung. The events leading up to his hanging shows the reader the injustice and ruthlessness of the English policemen. The story “Shooting an Elephant” tells the reader about a mad elephant and what must be done to stop the animal. Orwell compares killing the elephant to “the real nature of imperialism”. How did George Orwell feel about the British government? …show more content…
In “Shooting an Elephant” his exact feelings about imperialism was that it is an “evil thing”; thus the reader knows his position right away. The story begins with a mad elephant running loose and the Burmese call on Orwell to kill the animal. Therefore, Orwell makes a troublesome decision on the hunt for the elephant. In the end, he shoots the elephant to, in a way save face from the locals. As a result, the elephant dies slowly and painfully. Could this be a metaphor for the English Empire?
At times, innocent men can be killed by capital punishment. “The Hanging” shows the heartless ways of the English police. Orwell describes the prisoner due to hang: “a puny wisp of a man”. The man has his hands handcuffed and chained to his sides as he leaves his cell. Do the guards really believe this man is a threat? Then, the prisoner prays loudly as he is going to be hung. Each police officer at the hanging is in shock. However, the police tell jokes and funny stories after the hanging. The reader sees that hangings happen