Shooting an Elephant
Shooting an Elephant
A price is payed to save oneself from humiliation, but, being pressured into doing something that one doesn't want to do, makes people feel lost and pushed into a big problem. In the story "Shooting an Elephant" by George Orwell, he himself goes through a struggle in being the one to shoot an Elephant. In the beginning he knew what he had to avoid of being laughed at from the Burmese people that surrounded him, since he is an imperial policeman. Throughout the story, Orwell uses rhetorical tools such as: metaphors, connotation, and irony to give his readers a better perspective in what's going on in the story. Seeing different forms of writing can help readers see the relationship between these tools and what Orwell is saying about imperialism.
First of all, George Orwell uses the rhetorical tool metaphor in story. In the story “Shooting an Elephant” Orwell wrote that “They were watching me as they would watch a conjurer to perform a trick.” This metaphor meant that the Burmese who was following behind were waiting for Orwell to shoot the elephant. If Orwell shot the elephant then it would be like he was putting on a show since they were watching him. Another metaphor that he uses in the story is when he wrote that he was “seemingly the leading actor of the piece; but in reality I was only an absurd puppet pushed to and fro by the will of those yellow faces behind.” This metaphor meant that Orwell was the center of attention because he was being followed by two thousand Burmese people waiting for him to kill the elephant, and he was being controlled by the Burmese when he said he was an “absurd puppet.” Another metaphor he wrote, “He wears a mask, and his face grows to fit it...” meaning that Orwell pretended that he was strong and powerful, but he really didn’t want to shoot the elephant, he was just being pressured into doing it because if he didn’t then he would pay the price of being humiliated by the Burmese.
Another rhetorical tool
A price is payed to save oneself from humiliation, but, being pressured into doing something that one doesn't want to do, makes people feel lost and pushed into a big problem. In the story "Shooting an Elephant" by George Orwell, he himself goes through a struggle in being the one to shoot an Elephant. In the beginning he knew what he had to avoid of being laughed at from the Burmese people that surrounded him, since he is an imperial policeman. Throughout the story, Orwell uses rhetorical tools such as: metaphors, connotation, and irony to give his readers a better perspective in what's going on in the story. Seeing different forms of writing can help readers see the relationship between these tools and what Orwell is saying about imperialism.
First of all, George Orwell uses the rhetorical tool metaphor in story. In the story “Shooting an Elephant” Orwell wrote that “They were watching me as they would watch a conjurer to perform a trick.” This metaphor meant that the Burmese who was following behind were waiting for Orwell to shoot the elephant. If Orwell shot the elephant then it would be like he was putting on a show since they were watching him. Another metaphor that he uses in the story is when he wrote that he was “seemingly the leading actor of the piece; but in reality I was only an absurd puppet pushed to and fro by the will of those yellow faces behind.” This metaphor meant that Orwell was the center of attention because he was being followed by two thousand Burmese people waiting for him to kill the elephant, and he was being controlled by the Burmese when he said he was an “absurd puppet.” Another metaphor he wrote, “He wears a mask, and his face grows to fit it...” meaning that Orwell pretended that he was strong and powerful, but he really didn’t want to shoot the elephant, he was just being pressured into doing it because if he didn’t then he would pay the price of being humiliated by the Burmese.
Another rhetorical tool