"A white man mustn't be frightened in front of ‘natives’; and so, in general, he isn't frightened.". This is not the case in Orwell's short story "Shooting an Elephant" from 1936. This story takes place during the period of extreme anti-european feeling.
Orwell shows that sometimes, the desire to be accepted will often negatively influence a person's moral principles, no matter what authority you got, and presents the insights of the human na-ture, and how a person sometimes bend to the public in order to become an successful leader. Orwell begins the story with describing his job as a police officer in Burma, and how the natives hates him. Although his sympathies lies with the natives, his official role makes him an enemy in their eyes, as he is a symbol of the …show more content…
Just like the elephant, the empire is very dominant. The murder by the elephant on the coolie, represents the British suppressing the Burmese. At the same time the dead coolie is a symbol of the oppressed Burmese. After being trodden by the elephant the coolie's arms very outstretched, "He was lying on his belly with arms crucified and head sharply twisted to one side.", just like the crucified Jesus. Also the coolie laid under a layer of mud after being trodden down. This can symbolize the circumstances the Bur-mese lived in under the British rule. The fact that it took one and a half hour for the elephant to die, symbolize how hard is was to gain independence from the British empire. The main theme in short story "Shooting an elephant" according to me, is the 'Loss of freedom under colonization'. By occupying a country you will automatically take away the freedom of its inhabitants, but you will also reduce your own freedom, as you will try to avoid provoking the in-habitants. This stands very clear in "Shooting an elephant" as the narrator doesn't want to shoot the elephant, but still ends up doing it to "satisfy" the
Orwell shows that sometimes, the desire to be accepted will often negatively influence a person's moral principles, no matter what authority you got, and presents the insights of the human na-ture, and how a person sometimes bend to the public in order to become an successful leader. Orwell begins the story with describing his job as a police officer in Burma, and how the natives hates him. Although his sympathies lies with the natives, his official role makes him an enemy in their eyes, as he is a symbol of the …show more content…
Just like the elephant, the empire is very dominant. The murder by the elephant on the coolie, represents the British suppressing the Burmese. At the same time the dead coolie is a symbol of the oppressed Burmese. After being trodden by the elephant the coolie's arms very outstretched, "He was lying on his belly with arms crucified and head sharply twisted to one side.", just like the crucified Jesus. Also the coolie laid under a layer of mud after being trodden down. This can symbolize the circumstances the Bur-mese lived in under the British rule. The fact that it took one and a half hour for the elephant to die, symbolize how hard is was to gain independence from the British empire. The main theme in short story "Shooting an elephant" according to me, is the 'Loss of freedom under colonization'. By occupying a country you will automatically take away the freedom of its inhabitants, but you will also reduce your own freedom, as you will try to avoid provoking the in-habitants. This stands very clear in "Shooting an elephant" as the narrator doesn't want to shoot the elephant, but still ends up doing it to "satisfy" the