In his writing, Orwell reveals his motivations and actions as if revealing the traits of a fictional character. In my opinion, readers are meant to see the personality Orwell describes of himself as sympathetic. Orwell mentions that he was “hated by large numbers of people,” and yet we are told that he did not return this hatred as he states he was “all for the Burmese and all against their oppressors.” In this way, Orwell presents himself as empathetic to the Burmese, even though he continually refers to them as “yellow faces,” and seems not to value the lives of individual Burmese, if his reaction to the death of the ‘coolie’ is any indication. By revealing hidden thoughts and motives, Orwell develops a character his audience can feel comfortable with, even though the character’s actions are not something some people would find appealing. Orwell shoots and elephant for no firm reason aside from a kind of peer pressure, and refers to the Burmese in ways that many modern people would view as racist. Yet readers still feel sorry for the man and understand his dilemma of being caught in a job he does not enjoy or agree with. This use of characterization to garner empathy from the audience is something common in fiction and it makes the story of the essay far more
In his writing, Orwell reveals his motivations and actions as if revealing the traits of a fictional character. In my opinion, readers are meant to see the personality Orwell describes of himself as sympathetic. Orwell mentions that he was “hated by large numbers of people,” and yet we are told that he did not return this hatred as he states he was “all for the Burmese and all against their oppressors.” In this way, Orwell presents himself as empathetic to the Burmese, even though he continually refers to them as “yellow faces,” and seems not to value the lives of individual Burmese, if his reaction to the death of the ‘coolie’ is any indication. By revealing hidden thoughts and motives, Orwell develops a character his audience can feel comfortable with, even though the character’s actions are not something some people would find appealing. Orwell shoots and elephant for no firm reason aside from a kind of peer pressure, and refers to the Burmese in ways that many modern people would view as racist. Yet readers still feel sorry for the man and understand his dilemma of being caught in a job he does not enjoy or agree with. This use of characterization to garner empathy from the audience is something common in fiction and it makes the story of the essay far more