Diction In Shooting An Elephant

George Orwell’s essay, Shooting an Elephant, chronicles Orwell’s experiences in Moulmein, Burma. Orwell describes his growing hatred for British imperialism and his hardship shooting a wild elephant. Orwell states the incident of shooting the elephant “in a roundabout way was enlightening. It was a tiny incident in itself, but it gave me a better glimpse than I had had before of the real nature of imperialism.” The incident made Orwell aware that, “governments act from the same petty impulses” that drove Orwell to shoot the elephant.

George Orwell describes to us in “Shooting an elephant” the struggle that his character faces when to win the mobs approval and respect when he shoots down an innocent animal and sacrifices what he believes to be right. Orwell is a police officer in Moulmein, during the period of the British occupation of Burma. An escaped elephant gives him the opportunity to prove himself in front of his people and to be able to become a “somebody” on the social

“Shooting an Elephant” is an essay written by George Orwell, first published in the journal New Writing in 1936. In this essay, the author tells his own story about when he was working as a police officer for the Indian Imperial Police in Burma.

Haley Collins Professor Henery English 100 February 17, 2016 Shooting an Elephant The essay “Shooting an Elephant,” by George Orwell is set in time during the 1800’s when the country of Burma had been conquer and then controlled by the British. In “Shooting and Elephant,” the essay is illustrated through the eyes of a British Imperial Officer who undergoes a life-changing event that demonstrates the true effects Imperial control. In this essay Orwell describes the horrific killing of an elephant and the emotions and frustrations the Officer endures while deciding the initial fate of the animal.

“Shooting an Elephant” is an essay written by George Orwell, who was an Assistant Superintendent in the British Indian Imperial Police in Burma from 1922 to 1927. The essay was published in 1936. Burma was occupied by the British over a period of 62 years (1823-1886) and it was directed as a province of India until it became a separate colony in 1937. In the essay, Orwell narrates the scene of the killing of an elephant in Burma and expresses the feelings that he goes through during the event. The writer’s theme is that imperialism is not an effective way of governing. It can be decoded through his

Well known author and journalist, George Orwell, in his essay, Shooting an Elephant, describes his experiences as a Policeman in Moulmein, Burma during European Imperialism. Orwell’s purpose is to convey the ideal that what is right and what is accepted don’t always align. He adopts a remorseful tone in order to convey to the reader the weight of his actions. By looking at George Orwell’s use of imagery and figurative language, one can see his strongly conflicting opinions on Imperialism.

The quest for power is one which has been etched into the minds of men throughout history. However, it can be said that true power is not a result of one’s actions but comes from the following one’s own beliefs without being influenced by others. This principle sets up the story for Shooting an Elephant by George Orwell. The protagonist, Orwell himself, is a sub divisional police officer in Burma, a British colony. Orwell must try to find and use his inner power when he is faced with the decision of whether or not to kill an elephant which has ravaged the Burman’s homes. The state of power established through the imperialistic backdrop show that Orwell, as a colonist, should be in control. As well, the perspective and ideas given by Orwell

The glorious days of the imperial giants have passed, marking the death of the infamous and grandiose era of imperialism. George Orwell's essay, Shooting an Elephant, deals with the evils of imperialism. The unjust shooting of an elephant in Orwell's story is the central focus from which Orwell builds his argument through the two dominant characters, the elephant and its executioner. The British officer, the executioner, acts as a symbol of the imperial country, while the elephant symbolizes the victim of imperialism. Together, the solider and the elephant turns this tragic anecdote into an attack on the institution of imperialism.

George Orwell’s 1930 short story “Shooting an Elephant,” demonstrates the total dangers of the unlimited authority a state has and the astounding presentment of “future dystopia”. In the story, Orwell finds himself to be in an intricate situation that involves an elephant. Not only does the fate of the elephant’s life lie in Orwell’s hands, he has an audience of people behind him cheering him on, making his decision much more difficult to make. Due to the vast crowd surrounding his thoughts, Orwell kills the elephant in the end, not wanting to disappoint the people of Burma. Orwell captures the hearts of readers by revealing the struggles he has while dealing with the burden of his own beliefs and morals.

George Orwell, author of, "Shooting an Elephant" gives detailed scenarios to help the audience discover different interpretations of his inner conflicts. He then connects his piece to historical events in India that involved the British empire, he does so by using symbolism in place of description in his story. Narration is used to aid in interpreting Orwell's inner conflicts throughout the story such as killing the elephant, his conflict with the Burmese people, and finally the imperialism Britain had over

In George Orwell’s essay, “Shooting an Elephant”,George explores the complexities of imperialism–and how they are mutually pernicious to both people involved. He wrote, “A story always sounds clear enough at a distance, but the nearer you get to the scene of events the vaguer it becomes.” The idea is demonstrated when he hunts down the elephant. Though the Burmese people warn him of the elephant’s rampage and tell him he’s in danger, he finally finds the elephant peacefully grazing–and it is an entirely different creature than what the people described to him.The idea is noteworthy to the essay because, on a prodigious scale, it uncovers the complex characters of imperialism.

Killing animals is one of the most selfish things you could possibly do. It requires crazy mentality, and awful characteristics. Orwell is a cheerless policeman who lives in mental solitude. He is unattended with his thinking since he can not share his idea that “imperialism was an evil thing” with his fellow citizens. Orwell sees the British rule as “an unbreakable tyranny, as something clamped down...upon the will of prostrate peoples” because he is an eyewitness of the cruel confinement and beatings that they use to invoke their force. Throughout the story, an innocent chain of events makes Orwell choose between two unsatisfactory options. When he goes to check a report that a tame elephant that had gone “must” has broken loose, Orwell takes a medium caliber rifle which is “much too small to kill an elephant, but I thought the noise might be useful in terrorem.” When he finds out a coolie had been killed by the elephant, Orwell trades his rifle for a bigger gun just for self-defense. This ends up being a crucial mistake because now the Burmese think, now that he has an elephant gun, he has decided to kill the elephant. Orwell in fact, “did not in the least want to shoot him” but

The short essay Shooting an elephant is based off of Orwell’s personal experiences. In the essay, Orwell starts off being quite frank with the readers by revealing some of the uglier aspects of the British Empire. He gives visuals of the jails acting as cages trapping people. He also mentions the anti-British feelings among the population. This is a layered essay; the first layer is Orwell’s story about his feeling of shooting an elephant during his time in Burma as an officer. The underlining point of the essay is about imperialism itself and the brad contradictions it makes. Orwell understands their feelings since the British invaded and destroyed their homes and life’s. “In a job like that you see the dirty work of Empire at close quarters.” (Orwell, Shooting an

George Orwell's 1936 "Shooting an Elephant," is a nonfiction narrative essay about an incident that occurred during the time of Orwell’s service as a police officer in Burma. The essay is centered around an event in which he was forced to shoot an elephant, resulting in a battle between his own personal beliefs and the expectations of those around him. In human nature, often times, humans will play certain roles which are dictated by what others expect of them. Humans will adapt to the environment by any necessary means to survive. The moral dilemma Orwell struggles with is clear through all stages of the essay, from beginning to end.

In the autumn of 1836, 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 Imperialism collapsing. In this essay Orwell describes his experience of being pressured into shooting an ancient elephant. He graphically describes watching the gigantic creatures’ agony as it slowly dies. the sadistic and dramatic scene of watching an elephant dying, shot by him, but pushed by the Burmanist. The story of Shooting