Analysis Of George Orwells Shooting An Elephant

Unexpected 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 difficult to figure out which is the right thing to do, a valuable work animal has to die to save his reputation. Orwell is a sad young policeman who lives in mentality being completely separate from others. He hates British imperialism, he hates Burmese†¦show more content†¦When he goes to check a report that a tame elephant has broken loose and is causing damage, Orwell takes a medium gun size rifle which is much too small to kill an elephant, but I thought the noise might be useful in terrorem. Upon finding that a low-paid, unskilled worker has been killed by the elephant, Orwell trades his .44 rifle for a much larger gun simply for self-defense. This is a critical mistake; the Burmese who are following him assume that, since he now has an elephant gun, Orwell has decided to kill the elephant. The crowd quickly grows to over two thousand, which makes Orwell nervous. This is especially true for a young representative of the Queen who knows the crowd will be critically watching his every move. When he arrives, the elephant is peacefully eating grass. Orwell did not in the least want to shoot him and knew that to do so would be to destroy a valuable and useful creature. On the other hand, the huge crowd of Burmese silently demand a show; they expect a sahib to act like one. One option is to walk away, let the elephant live, and suffer the humiliation of the Burmese. The other option is to ignore his sense of right and wrong and shoot the elephant. Orwell is backed into a corner and must choose between the life of the beast and his own reputation. The elephant must be killed so that Orwells pride can live. Walking closer to the elephant can get Orwell killed, or worse, make the elephant rogue again. Orwell says,Show 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 Elephant879 Words   |  4 PagesIn the story â€Å"Shooting an Elephant† George Orwell says, â€Å"The people expected it of me 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 MoreAnalysis of George Orwells Shooting an Elephant Essay example1050 Words   |  5 PagesTechnique Analysis of ‘Shooting a n 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 themesRead 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