Analysis Of Shooting An Elephant

By George Orwell

I.Intro

A.Title To Shoot or not to Shoot

B.Introduction Sentence (Hook Sentence)

C.About the author, George Orwell (1903–1950) British author his pen name was Eric Arthur Blair

D.The story is "Shooting an Elephant" published in 1946

E.Story is about a Burma village where an elephant got loose and wreaked havoc on the town and kills a villager (a man). George Orwell is the sheriff and ultimately makes the choice to kill the elephant.

F.THESIS: Although Orwell is justified, legally shooting the elephant is wrong because, the elephants "must" period was over, the way the animal was shot caused the animal to suffer, and Orwell violated his own beliefs because of peer pressure.

II.Body Par 1 (The elephants must was over)

A.When Orwell found the elephant the "must" period seemed to be over. "must" is when a bull elephant becomes highly aggressive due to a rise in reproductive hormones. Testosterone can rise 60 times higher than normal.

B.The elephant was now in a field peacefully eating grass.

1.Orwell states, "And at that distance, peacefully eating, the elephant looked no more dangerous than a cow. I thought then and I think now that his attack of "must" was already passing off: in which case he would merely wander harmlessly about until the mahout came back and caught him (275).

C.The elephant had been chained up which is normal when they are about to enter the "must" time.

D.Since the elephant was no longer a threat, there is no need to shoot it. The elephant should have been left alone in the field until its owner came to claim him.

III.Body par 2 (The way the animal was shot caused it to suffer)

A.The manor to which the elephant was shot caused it to suffer. Orwell shot the elephant five times, it then took the elephant half an hour to die.

B.When Orwell first heard of the incident he took his .44 Winchester with him knowing that this was not the gun that was appropriate for this kind of problem.

C.When Orwell realized he would probably need to shoot the elephant he had the orderly go to a nearby friend's house to borrow an elephant gun.

D.Orwell should have had someone else soot the animal because he knew he was a bad shot, and he was not sure where he needed to aim to kill the elephant

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Human nature is a quality controlled by free will. We can choose to do good or bad, help or harm, save or end, raise up or belittle. In the essay "Shooting an elephant" by George Orwell, he shows how human nature is governed by choice. Each part of his story can be taken as an allegorical reference to concepts concerning human nature. "When the white man turns tyrant it is his own freedom that he destroys." This paradox is somewhat enlightening yet gruesome at the same time. Orwell is referencing the white man to Europeans. More specifically, Great Britain. In the 17th, 18th, and early 19th centuries, Britain controlled a lot of countries spanning from North America, South America, Asia, and Africa. In the story the setting is Burma witch Britain

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Thematic Interpretation of George Orwell's "Shooting and Elephant"

In George Orwell's "Shooting an Elephant", the narrator experiences three main conflicts. One conflict being with the British Empire, due to it's unjust occupation of Burma, another with the Burmese people because of their mockery and disrespect toward him, and finally, he is in conflict with himself due to his struggle with his conscience and self–image. All three conflicts complicate his ability to make objective, clear–headed decisions. There are multiple themes in this story but I believe the theme that suits the story best is the evil and disfunction in Imperialism. It is the main cause of all of the narrators conflicts. Just one of the many things imperialism does is it humiliates the occupied people. It then provokes the occupiers into making immoral decisions. Imperialists also colonize countries and in doing so, it restricts the freedom of the natives....show more content...

Through out the entire time that Imperialism existed, imperialists have changed their grounds and strategies in imperialistic rules, but the ultimate objective has remained the same; to rule and exploit the natives. Imperialism is a state of mind, fueled by the arrogance of superiority that could be adopted by any nation irrespective of it's geographical location in the world. "Shooting an Elephant," is of importance because in it, lies how the incident depicts the different aspects of imperialism. In the essay the elephant and Orwell help to prove that Imperialism is a double edged knife, so to speak. The killing of the elephant is the incident that reveals that Imperialism inflicts damage on both parties in imperialistic relationships. The British officer, Orwell displays many aspects of being the ridiculous puppet under the institution of

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In George Orwell's "Shooting an Elephant," Orwell kills the elephant who had been destroying the town bazaar as well as killing a coolie. Although knowing he had the option to not kill or hurt the animal but instead find a way to get him back to his owner, he still killed the elephant. The reasoning behind this is that Orwell did not want to feel humiliated if he did not kill it. He did not kill the elephant to take care of the situation, he did it to not make a fool of himself, making everything that occurred in the story a reason to justify for his actions. He had known that the people of Burma were not fond of him since he was an imperial police officer, so by killing the elephant he was expecting the Burmans to respect him. As reading

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If put in a situation where you were expected to do something you did not want to do, would you be able to do it? This situation occurs in "Shooting an Elephant" written by George Orwell. This story recounts the events Orwell faced during his time as an Imperial police officer in Burma, India. "Shooting an Elephant" focuses on a day where an elephant was causing mayhem in Burma. The elephant destroyed houses, food stands, and even killed a laborer while roaming the city. Orwell was called by sub–inspector, from the other side of the town, to come take care of the elephant. At the end, Orwell ends up shooting the elephant when he really does not want to. To begin with, Orwell shot the elephant because he was pressured in doing so. After the laborer was found dead, one of the Burmese told Orwell that the elephant was by the paddy fields. Once the Burmese heard Orwell ask to be brought a rifle, they were excited and followed him to the paddy field. Orwell noticed that it was an intense crowd of about two thousand people and there were still more people showing up (Orwell 136). "I looked at the sea of...show more content...

"To come all that way, rifle in hand, with two thousand people marching at my heels, and then to trail feebly away, having done nothing– no, that was impossible" (137). Orwell felt that the Burmese would laugh at him and throughout his whole life; every white men's life would be one long struggle not to be laughed at (137). During his time in Burma, Orwell had to deal with many of the locals being mean to him and getting laughed at for it. He knew if he did not shoot the elephant, it would give the people an opportunity harass him even more. Shooting the elephant gave him a chance to show the people that he was not the fool they all made him out to be. "I often wondered whether any of the others grasped that I had done it solely to avoid looking like a fool"

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In George Orwell's Shooting An Elephant, he compromises his belief on British imperialism and even his belief on shooting the elephant. It is implied in the essay that Orwell thinks that British imperialism is bad, and he compromises this belief by being a police officer for the advantage of the British in the country of Burma, now known as Myanmar. Likewise, he compromises his belief on what he should do about the elephant, and ultimately decides that he has to shoot it. "Has to shoot it." I say this because the Burmese people do not like Orwell, and he wants to gain their trust and friendship, and get rid of the hate against him. But is gaining someone's trust and friendship really more important than an animal? I have to "shoot my elephant" almost every single night. I do not believe that homework is right. We go to school for eight hours a day, but we still have an extra two to five hours worth of homework to do after school? I do not see where this is right. I hardly ever get to talk to my parents or watch television, because I am up until 9:00 every night rushing to finish all of the homework that I have! Every day after school, I trudge through the garage door of my house. I sling my backpack off of my shoulder into the red and green plaid armchair. I sit down on the couch and procrastinate doing my homework. I finally...show more content...

I "shoot the elephant" and power on through all of the homework that may bog me down. All of my teachers care for us and just want the best for us, and I remember that while I am writing down the answer to that math problem, reading that essay, studying for my science exam, working on that history project, and freaking out about that essay that I have not written. Homework is a part of school, and even though I may not agree with it, I have to accept

Shooting an Elephant

DISCUSS ORWELL'S USE OF PERSUASIVE TOOLS SUCH AS, SYMBOLISM, METAPHORS AND IRONY IN THIS ESSAY AND EXPLAIN HOW HE USES EACH OF THESE TO CONVEY HIS ARGUMENT OR MESSAGE

In the extract, "Shooting An Elephant" Orwell conveys his message through the use of various persuasive tools. He wants the reader to identify when somebody assumes power. This technique is used to show that the powerful are also a captive to the will of people they control. Everyone involved in the situation becomes affected. In this instance, imperialism has a negative affect on them all. The various persuasive tools identified are, symbolism, metaphors and irony throughout the extract.

Through the use of symbols, Orwell conveys his message powerfully. The elephant...show more content...

During the killing of the elephant, Orwell only cared not to be seen as a fool by his people, who he sees as judges: "I often wondered whether any of the others grasped that I had done it solely to avoid looking a fool." Ironically, the British actually control the British officer instead of being the other way around. Even though, Orwell initially didn't want to hurt the elephant, the killing event actually makes him feel important. He lost his freedom

Amna Umair Bajwa

Aqila Zaman

Writing and Communication SS100

30th November, 2015 Shooting an Elephant by George Orwell George Orwell, pseudonym of Eric Arthur Blaire, the writer of "Shooting an Elephant", was an English essayist, novelist and critic. His goal, as he stated in an essay explaining why he started writing, was "to make political writing into an art" ("Why I Write"). The rules he laid out for this art form are still used today. Orwell is famous for his opposition to totalitarian rule, profound realization of social injustice and forthright support of democratic socialism. Called the "conscience of the generation" ("George Orwell Biography"), his two best–selling masterpieces, Nineteen Eighty–Four and Animal Farm, are examples...show more content...

The most important word is "must", which plays a crucial role in the essay. Yet, throughout the text, the reader finds no explanation of what this word might mean. The word "must" which is actually spelled as "musth" is defined by the Merriam–Webster dictionary as the "frenzied state of certain male animals that is associated with the rutting season" ("Musth"). The word "mahout" (2), who is a person who works with elephants, also fails to be explained. In the sentence "Burmans were bringing dahs and baskets..." (5), it is not clear what dahs are. They are, in fact, long swords used to cut off meat. Throughout the essay, the word "coolie" is used frequently without there being any implication of what it may mean. As stated by Dictionary.com, "coolie" is "an unskilled laborer employed cheaply, especially one brought from Asia" ("Coolie"). Then there are the Latin phrases which have to be understood in order to grasp the entire meaning of the sentence. The first phrase is "in saecula saeculorum" which means "forever and ever" ("in–saecula–saeculorum"). The second phrase is "in terrorem" which means "to frighten" ("In Terrorem"). As a result of not explaining all these words, the writer fails to effectively get his point across to the audience and also makes it difficult for the audience to easily comprehend the meaning of the text. Also, by failing to explain such