The oppression faced by the Burmese in Orwell's "Shooting an Elephant" and by the African natives in Lessing's "No Witchcraft for Sale" made them virtually defenseless to the whims of the whites with whom they lived. In "Shooting an Elephant", the persecuted Burmese sneered and mocked the British officers, including the narrator. This is because it is all they could do. If they tried to rebel to any greater extent, they would be severely punished, possibly even killed. As seen in the story, the life of a Burmese meant almost nothing to the Europeans."...men said it was a damn shame to shoot an elephant for killing a coolie, because an elephant was worth more than any damn Coringhee coolie." (p. 14) The narrator, who to an objective person at
