Imperialism In George Orwell's Burmese Days

Incendiary Imperialism: Britain’s Racial Relegation Amidst economic malaise, crumbling foreign influence and polarizing domestic turmoil, the inception of British ‘New Imperialism’ spurred large scale overhauls of economic and foreign policy and even larger scale ramifications in overseas assets. The birth of ‘New Imperialism’ maintained heavy racial underpinnings implying that a “civilization” should be comprised of Crown-loyal, ‘civilized’ subjects, otherwise known as a predominantly white society—native populations were frequently deemed barbaric, savage and most notably, inferior. The popularization of scientific racism, or eugenics, provoked a widespread sentiment of desiring racial ‘purity’ in foreign territories, justified by the ‘White …show more content…
In emphasizing tensions between the Imperialist Englishmen living in Burma and the natives, Orwell harnesses Flory’s relentless identity crisis between fulfilling his role as an Imperialist subject of the Crown and his reverence for Burmese culture. Upon entering the club, Flory engages in the banter between Ellis and the other Englishmen in deriding the insolent natives and reminiscing about the glory days of the British Raj, yet he is quickly disgusted by their subhuman characterization of the “Orientals” and leaves.6 After Flory’s departure, Ellis recognizes Flory’s sympathy toward the Burmese and dubs him a “niggers’ pal” and furthermore labels him “too Bolshie” to conform with the remainder of the group.7 Orwell accentuates the vehement contempt of the Englishmen toward the Burmese through Ellis’ strong rhetoric in reaction to the slightest hint of Flory’s approval of Burmese culture—Orwell’s characterization of the group as the ‘typical Englishmen’ strongly suggest that national perception of foreigners is that they are subhuman, deceitful and frivolous beings. This racism further manifests itself when Flory takes Elizabeth to the pwe in order to expose her to Burmese culture and the wonders of the ‘Orient’ that Elizabeth so desired upon embarking for the East; as Elizabeth watches the dance, she looks on with “something approaching horror,” and feels disgusted next to U Po Kyin.8 Given Elizabeth’s Europeanized background and her jealousy for the affluent upper class during her days at boarding school, Orwell emphasizes the cultural disparity between the Burmese and the English coupled with Elizabeth’s abhorrent reaction to reveal the