“Shooting an Elephant”
“Shooting an Elephant” is about the guilt of British colonialism that George Orwell faces as a sub-divisional police officer. Based on his experiences, he has seen the real wickedness of imperialism. In “Shooting an Elephant”, Orwell displays the evil of imperialism as harsh, belligerent, and provoking.
First, Orwell encounters the harshness of imperialism. Orwell says, “ the sneering yellow faces of young men… the insults hooted me when I was at a safe distance.”(323) The evil of imperialism has made the Burmese furious. Imperialism has resulted into the in the Burmese to lash out. Because they are impoverished, they’re reacting in the only way they know how. The Burmese lacks the extra resources; they can’t fight back …show more content…
In particular Orwell says, “ It had already destroyed somebody’s bamboo hut, killed a cow and raided some fruit stalls…”(324) As a result, the evil of imperialism has taken over all of their belongings. They are already poor because of the taking over of England. Orwell even mentions that these things happened in the poor quarter of Moulmein, Burma. The elephant is killing their food and shelter. Orwell shows the parallelism between the elephant and the British empire; the British has invaded their country just like the elephant has invaded the town. They have already lost so much to the evil of imperialism, and it has become very aggressive and hostile. Because of their loss, they also were eager to get to the elephant. Thereafter Orwell states, “ Burmans were bringing dahs and baskets even before I left…”(330) The Burmese no longer get to just live; they now have to survive. They not only look at the elephant as a harm to the town, but they look at it as a resource of food since everything is so limited, and everyone is on edge and is very hostile. It becomes every person for themselves, yet the Burmese has to take care of their families. Because everything is so limited, the resources mean so much more to them. Due to the elephant being a resource for food, the Burmese become more combative towards the elephant. Later Orwell says, “the scarred …show more content…
For instance Orwell says, “ they had seen the rifle and were all shouting excitedly that I was going to shoot the elephant.”(325) Due to all the chaos, he is put into the position where he is starting to feel the pressure from the Burmese. Orwell wants to do the right thing; the evil of imperialism has restricted how far he’s willing to go. Orwell displays the good versus evil and he is placed in the middle. The evil of imperialism has caused Orwell to do things that he never thought he would do. The pressure of the shouting people is provoking; however, he wants the Burmese to know that he is on their side. Because when he first saw the elephant and it was minding its own business, he didn’t want to shoot the elephant. Orwell doesn’t want them to perceive that he agrees with what’s going on, and he wants to feel accepted and portrayed a better light from the Burmese. Then Orwell later says, “It was an immense crowd, two thousand at the least and growing by the minute.”(326) The intensity that the Burmese has forced upon him became very congesting. He is put in a tough position; he can’t find a way out. He is facing the peer pressure from the Burmese. This leads Orwell into shooting the elephant three times. The people and the environment have led Orwell into this moment. He shot the elephant because he thought he was doing the Burmese a favor. He convinced himself that he was doing the right thing. In
“Shooting an Elephant” is about the guilt of British colonialism that George Orwell faces as a sub-divisional police officer. Based on his experiences, he has seen the real wickedness of imperialism. In “Shooting an Elephant”, Orwell displays the evil of imperialism as harsh, belligerent, and provoking.
First, Orwell encounters the harshness of imperialism. Orwell says, “ the sneering yellow faces of young men… the insults hooted me when I was at a safe distance.”(323) The evil of imperialism has made the Burmese furious. Imperialism has resulted into the in the Burmese to lash out. Because they are impoverished, they’re reacting in the only way they know how. The Burmese lacks the extra resources; they can’t fight back …show more content…
In particular Orwell says, “ It had already destroyed somebody’s bamboo hut, killed a cow and raided some fruit stalls…”(324) As a result, the evil of imperialism has taken over all of their belongings. They are already poor because of the taking over of England. Orwell even mentions that these things happened in the poor quarter of Moulmein, Burma. The elephant is killing their food and shelter. Orwell shows the parallelism between the elephant and the British empire; the British has invaded their country just like the elephant has invaded the town. They have already lost so much to the evil of imperialism, and it has become very aggressive and hostile. Because of their loss, they also were eager to get to the elephant. Thereafter Orwell states, “ Burmans were bringing dahs and baskets even before I left…”(330) The Burmese no longer get to just live; they now have to survive. They not only look at the elephant as a harm to the town, but they look at it as a resource of food since everything is so limited, and everyone is on edge and is very hostile. It becomes every person for themselves, yet the Burmese has to take care of their families. Because everything is so limited, the resources mean so much more to them. Due to the elephant being a resource for food, the Burmese become more combative towards the elephant. Later Orwell says, “the scarred …show more content…
For instance Orwell says, “ they had seen the rifle and were all shouting excitedly that I was going to shoot the elephant.”(325) Due to all the chaos, he is put into the position where he is starting to feel the pressure from the Burmese. Orwell wants to do the right thing; the evil of imperialism has restricted how far he’s willing to go. Orwell displays the good versus evil and he is placed in the middle. The evil of imperialism has caused Orwell to do things that he never thought he would do. The pressure of the shouting people is provoking; however, he wants the Burmese to know that he is on their side. Because when he first saw the elephant and it was minding its own business, he didn’t want to shoot the elephant. Orwell doesn’t want them to perceive that he agrees with what’s going on, and he wants to feel accepted and portrayed a better light from the Burmese. Then Orwell later says, “It was an immense crowd, two thousand at the least and growing by the minute.”(326) The intensity that the Burmese has forced upon him became very congesting. He is put in a tough position; he can’t find a way out. He is facing the peer pressure from the Burmese. This leads Orwell into shooting the elephant three times. The people and the environment have led Orwell into this moment. He shot the elephant because he thought he was doing the Burmese a favor. He convinced himself that he was doing the right thing. In