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Shooting an Elephant - Papers Online

Shooting an Elephant

Shooting an Elephant

George Orwell immediately begins the essay by first claiming his perspective on British Imperialism. He claims that it is evil and he is fully against the oppressors, the British. Although he is a British officer himself at the time in Burma, he feels a certain hatred and guilt towards himself, his empire, and the �evil-spirited little beasts,� (Orwell, Page 852) the Burma people. In the essay he writes not just about his personal experience with the elephant but how metaphorical the experience is to Imperialism and his views on the matter. Orwell�s feelings are the hostile feelings toward the British, Imperialism, and Britain's justification for their actions in ...

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itself showing the destructive power of imperialism: the elephant�s rampaging spree destroying homes, food shelves, and even killing a man whom Orwell described to have an expression of unendurable agony. Upon finally finding the elephant, Orwell says �I knew with perfect certainty that I ought not to shoot him.�(Orwell, Page 854) But when he lays eyes at the huge mass of people behind him he changes his stance to ��but I did not want to shoot the elephant.� (Orwell, Page 855) Orwell then repeatedly states how guilty it is to shoot the elephant. Despite the some reasons to not shoot the elephant such as how it is worth more alive rather than dead, or how he is a �poor shot,� (Orwell, Page 855) he ultimately falls into the expectations of the Burma people. Against his will and moral belief he decides to kill the elephant. Orwell uses the death of the elephant as another metaphor of British Imperialism in Burma. On a side-note, Burma was a free kingdom until British expansion came ...

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Shooting an Elephant. (2011, March 31). Retrieved November 29, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Shooting-an-Elephant/97250

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PAPER DETAILS

Added: 3/31/2011 04:34:23 AM
Submitted By: legend1972
Category: Book Reports
Type: Premium Paper
Words: 699
Pages: 3

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