Elephant

what reason? What purpose does it serve? George Orwell uses the journey in his autobiographical short story, Shooting an Elephant to develop our awareness of life's struggles, through the inner conflict faced by Orwell. The book is set in the British colony of Burma, and it details Orwell's physical and mental journey of completing the aforementioned task of shooting an elephant. The story is written in first person, and is a reflective piece of writing, both of which give the impression of a…

questions about our morals at the time of the decision. We can see this quite clearly in George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant”. His popular essay uses imagery to recount a moral dilemma he had faced early in life. “There are two Orwells in the story. Each having their own perspectives of the events. The young police officer who undertakes his own journey to meet and shoot the rampaging elephant sees things without the distance that the older author does. This…

George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant” and “A Hanging” are two literary works describing a man’s experiences in the country of Burma (now known as Myanmar) under British rule. Both works reflect on a man’s first-hand experiences and address key moral issues. They also explore life under British imperial rule. While Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant” and “A Hanging” have much in common, they are also quite different. “Shooting an Elephant” and “A Hanging” have quite a lot in common. For starters,…

In George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant”, Orwell is caught between many of the painful ironies of British Imperialism and discovers that the bizarre circumstances he faces led to the dramatic killing of the elephant. In other words, Orwell kills the elephant only because it was the effortless method to justify all endings. This idea can be seen throughout Orwell’s narrative as these particular opportunities allow Orwell to escape resentment, disrespect, and to carry out his moral obligations.…

Shooting an Elephant was a short story written in 1950 by George Orwell. The story is an excerpt from his book called, “1984”. In this story, Orwell explains a situation in which he was working as an officer in Lower Burma, where he was forced to shoot an elephant that was having an attack of must. In this story, he uses very good symbolism, including the elephant, the gun and multiple shots he fired, and a dead unskilled worker, called a coolie. In the excerpt, Orwell uses the elephant…

fool to others? Some of you may say yes and some may say no. In Orwell’s “Shooting and Elephant” he puts his personal experience as a police officer in Burma and an insight on the imperialism during this time. Orwell goes into detail how he hated his job and he was against the corruption and inhumanity that was going on. Until one day an incident happened, which Orwell was called to take care of an aggressive elephant that had escaped and killed “an Indian, a black Dravidian coolie” and Orwell…

tones in the two essays, Shooting an Elephant and A Hanging. In Shooting an Elephant he expresses his anger towards the Burmese people, referring to them as, “evil little spirited beasts who tried to make my job impossible.” In A Hanging Orwell shows how the people around him take their job seriously and it's a very grim tone, but after they hang the man the tone lightens as they make jokes and laugh together. Orwell’s life influenced his essay Shooting an Elephant, an example is when he…

To Kill A White Elephant Many people at times don’t think before they act or speak. They don’t make the choice to reevaluate their thoughts and actions. Some don’t care about other views and opinions and when it comes to making rational and important decisions. Some do take the time to think about making their important decision especially when it comes to a white elephant. In “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway presents a story of a girl named Jig, who has to make a decision at a…

you would not be forced to anything; you would overall make smart choice to better yourself and even others around you. The essay, Shooting an Elephant, by George Orwell vividly allows one to analyze the question, "How free is the will of the individual within society?" Orwell presents the issue of whether or not a police officer should shoot an elephant. Various reasons go along with this, allowing one to determine whether the shooter is “free” or if he is…

In George Orwell's Shooting an Elephant the narrator finds himself forming to the mask or role of an idol, a police officer. His previous identity attempts to prevent the drastic transformation, but with the influence of society, change is hard to abstain. The narrator feels like he has little say in the matter of the elephant; his original opinion on the matter is influenced by common sense, he "... [has] no intention of shooting the elephant... [he has] merely sent for the rifle to defend…