However, when his assistance is needed by the townspeople, the two very different populations show similar responses to the bloody scene of shooting an elephant, "It was a bit of fun to them, as it would be to an English crowd; besides they wanted the meat," (Orwell, 649).
Orwell furthers this blend of modern and primitive as seen through the use of his language. The narrator describes the scene of the village as using the native terms, yet juxtaposes this with eloquent English adjectives, "It was a very poor quarter, a labyrinth of squalid bamboo huts, thatched with palmleaf, winding all over a steep hillside," (Orwell, 650). It is the description of a scene as witness from an outsider, (Rodden, 390). The narrator's response to the eastern village is combined with his own distain based on being familiar with more "civilized" representations of society. This is also apparent through the slurs in which he references the local people, "He was an Indian, a black Dravidian coolie, almost naked, and he could not have been dead many minutes," (Orwell, 650). This is the view of a man who views himself as superior to those his job posits he protect -- typical of many imperialist situations.
Ultimately Orwell uses the imagery to show the nature of imperialism, along with the concept that it created puppets which were forced to commit crimes never originally intended. However, it is an interesting twist that the narrator moves...
The scene of the elephant collapsing after being shot is so poignant it can move any reader to tears. The look of extreme shock and betrayal on the face of the animal expressed through his dying body caused intense anguish to the narrator as he decided to leave without finishing his job completely. "I felt that I had got to put an end to that dreadful noise. It seemed
George Orwells short story "Shooting Elephant" Henry Louis Gates' "What's in a name" versus George Orwell's "Shooting an Elephant" Henry Louis Gates' essay "What's in a name" and George Orwell's short story "Shooting an Elephant" both present central characters who are part of a minority group present in a society that is inclined to discriminate them. Orwell is the narrator in his short story and he discusses in regard to an
Thomas Paine in his essay The Rights of Man suggests that the morality of an issue is based on the equality of an issue. For the existence of all men should be seen as equal. The Monarchy and imperial ways detracts from the equality of mankind and creates a suggestive loophole which gives the rights of man to a select few and thus creates an imbalance. The imbalance can be
He hates what he has become and what he does. He confesses that he secretly roots for the Burmese and roots against "their oppressors (335). He admits he is "stuck between my hatred of the empire I served and my rage against the evil-spirited little beasts who tried to make my job impossible" (335). He is like those in oppression in that he is not free to do what
So, the reader of this essay was set up by Orwell perfectly: blast away at the stinking rotting, drunken social scene in Paris, frequented in large part by Americans pretending to have talent, and mention that Miller thought this was cool to write about. Then bring in the terrible, frightening and bloody realities happening elsewhere in Europe, and you have shown what a rascal Miller was. But wait, Orwell admits
" For this reason, "Shooting an Elephant" is a bold political essay. Colonialism and imperialism were waning trends when the essay was written, but the author understood that the structures of political and economic power put in place by colonial governments were long lasting. From the British East India Company and the Dutch East India Company to British Petroleum, the ravages of colonialism are felt at ever level of every
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