Analysis of George Orwells Shooting an Elephant Essay...

Technique Analysis of ‘Shooting an elephant’ Written by George Orwell Essay by Arthur Diennet In 1936, George Orwell published his short story ‘Shooting an elephant’ in an English magazine. Since then, it has been republished dozens of times and holds a place as a definitive anti-colonial piece of literature, in an era where the British Empire was at its peak and covered almost 1/3 of the Earth’s surface. George Orwell believed that â€Å"†¦imperialism was an evil thing...† and uses much themes, symbolism and irony to convey his strong anti-colonialist feelings. Theme is an integral part of this story and is mostly presented through the narrator. One of the major themes of the story is conscience, in which many of the conflicts in the†¦show more content†¦By popular thinking of that day, disorientating violence exacted on the community can only be dealt with through an equal and opposite reaction of violence toward the exacter. An old saying throughout Europe goes ‘Do not hunt monsters, lest you wish to become one yourself.’ Yet, his order and disorder themes lend greatly to the senses of symbolism in the story. Orwell employs symbolism as a major literary technique, aiding our understanding of his stance against colonialism and our understanding of the setting. From the start, it is clear that he represents the modern, the western industrial English, at complete odds with the rural and primitive Burmese. It is believed that the focal symbolic point would be the narrators stand against the elephant. In the paragraph in which the narrator fires at the elephant, it is seen as docile, not bothering anyone anymore and having only made a sporadic wrong. The narrator then fires at the quite calm elephant once, but it does not fall and so, while it is still weak, he fires two more shots, bringing the magnificent creature down. Burma (The country in which the story is situated) has a long history of wars with the British Empire before finally giving in to Colonialism; three wars to be exact. It can be seen in the history books that Burma only wronged the British in a minor way an d in fact was not directly bothering the British Raj and much like the narrator, itShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of George Orwells Shooting An Elephant1154 Words   |  5 Pagesauthority? Are we sheep’s who only do what we are told. Is that the same in Orwell’s case? John F Kennedy once said, â€Å"A man does what he must - in spite of personal consequences, in spite of obstacles and dangers and pressures - and that is the basis of all human morality.† Shooting an Elephant by George Orwell he touches base on morality which makes the reader question their beliefs. In Shooting an Elephant, George Orwell’s works as a sub-divisional police officer in the British colony of BurmaRead MoreAnalysis Of George Orwells Shooting An Elephant856 Words   |  4 PagesUnexpected choices one is forced to make can have long-lasting effects. In Shooting an Elephant, by George Orwell, the author remembers an event from his life when he was about twenty years old during which he had to choose between two evils. Many years later, the episode seems to still haunt him. The story happens at some time during the five unhappy years Orwell spends as a British police officer in Burma. He hates his situation in life, and when he is faced with a problem where its difficultRead MoreAnalysis Of George Orwells Shooting An Elephant879 Words   |  4 PagesIn the story â€Å"Shooting an Elephant† George Orwell says, â€Å"The people expected it of m e and I had got to do it; I could feel their two thousand wills pressing me forward, irresistibly†. By him saying this it reminded me of a time I was once pressured into doing something that I really didn’t want to do. Giving into pressure whether it’s you being pressured by your peers, or even pressured by people you don’t know, you should never do something or give into doing something if it goes against what youRead MoreRhetorical Analysis Of George Orwell s Shooting An Elephant 1272 Words   |  6 PagesRhetorical Analysis of George Orwell’s â€Å"Shooting an Elephant† George Orwell, a journalist and an author of 1903 through 1950, is not only the author of â€Å"Shooting an Elephant,† but surprisingly, he is also the narrator and the main character. Orwell’s narrative essay of 1936 takes place in squalid, British-occupied Moulmein, lower Burma. To begin, in the opening of his piece, Orwell describes himself as a young, British police officer who, ironically, despises the British imperial project in BurmaRead MoreIn the autumn of 1836, George Orwell, a British author, novelist, essayist, and critic wrote an1000 Words   |  4 Pages1836, George Orwell, a British author, novelist, essayist, and critic wrote an essay called Shooting an Elephant. In the essay, he describes his experiences as a white British imperial police officer in Burma. The story takes place in British-ruled Burma. This essay portrays Orwell’s discomfort about Imperialism. In shooting an Elephant, Orwell uses different literary techniques to portray the Impe rialism collapsing. In this essay Orwell describes his experience of being pressured into shooting an ancientRead MoreAnalysis Of George Orwell s Shooting An Elephant 941 Words   |  4 PagesWilson WR 122 5 February 2015 Analysis Essay   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   George Orwell’s  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Shooting an Elephant† is a story about the experience of the narrator who was asked to shoot a wild elephant. He was a police officer who worked for British imperialists and killing the elephant would help him receive good judgement from the villagers in Burma. Orwell says that imperialism is evil and should be eliminated while others think that it is good for the public. The purpose of Orwell’s story is to show the audienceRead MoreEssay about Shooting an Elephant by George Orwell1527 Words   |  7 PagesShooting an Elephant by George Orwell Few supervisors experience lack of respect and denunciation from workers because of their positions in a company. Supervisors take actions to preserve the image of authority before subordinates and from being ridiculed by their workers, even if the supervisors object these types of actions. The essay Shooting an Elephant relates to this situation. The author of this essay is George Orwell. The author talks about his work and personal experience that emphasizesRead MoreEssay An Analysis of Orwells quot;Shooting an Elephantquot;2832 Words   |  12 PagesShooting an Elephant is one of the most popular of George Orwells essays. Like his essays A hanging and How the Poor Die, it is chiefly autobiographical. It deals with his experience as a police-officer in Burma. After having completed his education, Orwell joined the Indian Imperial Police, and served in Burma, from 1922 to 1927, as an Assistant Superintendent of Police. His experiences as an officer in Burma were bitter. He was ofte n a victim of the hostility and injustices at the handsRead MoreConflict of Convictions1695 Words   |  7 PagesSection 4: Analysis page 7 Section 5: Conclusion page 9 Section 6: Works Cited page page 10 Introduction The literary piece â€Å"Shooting an Elephant† by George Orwell, highlights the apprehensions of a colonial officers obligation to shoot a rogue elephant. The author does not want to shoot the elephant, but feels pressured by a crowd of indigenous residents, before whom he does not wish to appear indecisive or cowardly. â€Å"Shooting an Elephant†, by George Orwell, utilizesRead MoreEssay about Ethical Decision Making3074 Words   |  13 Pagestheir choices, no matter what the income. In George Orwells Shooting an Elephant Orwell is confronted with a situation in which the latter statement directly applies. While in Burma, working as a police officer for the British, Orwell is called upon to contain an escaped pet elephant. While searching for the animal a villager is trampled to death. The villagers become scared and look towards Orwell to maintain control. He sends for an elephant rifle to show the people that he does have the