shooting an elephant

Shooting an Elephant Orwell battles a constant struggle between his role as a British Police Officer and as a citizen who can recognize the error of the dominating, imperialistic government whose rules he must enforce. Orwell dislikes the tyrannical ways of British imperialism and is also discontent with the “evil-spirited little beasts who try to make his job impossible”. Orwell details the struggle between the misconception that he is another white tyrant in the British regime and the reality that he is just a puppet being controlled by strongholds of the government who employs him. Orwell must also face the strongly opinionated and oppressed natives who misjudge him and his moral compass. Orwell shoots the elephant because he cracks under the pressure to maintain his authority as a British officer and because of his inner conflict with the tyranny of imperialism which the elephant represents. The empire, like the elephant, is very powerful and has enormous strength over the people. The elephant’s sudden attack on the marketplace symbolizes the British Empire’s reign over the Burma economy. When the elephant kills the man it represented the British’s oppression of the Burmese people and their village. This destruction put Orwell in a position to either allow this elephant, the representation of the tyranny of the empire, to continue its reign, or to be compelled by the Burmese people to act now and do something to put an end to everyone’s suffering. An inner conflict stirred within Orwell between his ethical integrity as an officer, and his awareness of his moral duties to the people. Orwell did not want to kill the elephant because it was like contradicting his position as an officer under the British regime, but he had to because it was the only logical way to keep his authority over the Burmese people and show that he in some bizarre way had the interest of the people in mind too. Orwell was balancing the pressure of what the villagers wanted to see him do with the elephant and what he thought should happen in this situation. Orwell had to convince himself that shooting the elephant was the right thing to do for the people who expected a British officer to behave like this. Orwell hoped the elephant had calmed down a bit. Orwell was trying to convince himself that he needed to shoot the elephant because it was destroying things. He was trying to justify that killing the elephant was going to be on his own accord, but in reality he knew why he was shooting the elephant. He was shooting because everyone was there to witness him do it and that’s what they wanted him to do. Orwell fell under peer pressure. From some aspects it may seem that Orwell shot the elephant solely because he despised the enormous power that the elephant represented; this is completely false. If this was the sole reason for Orwell’s actions towards the elephant, he would not have hesitated to pull the trigger. Throughout the essay Orwell was constantly contemplating what he should do. He wasn’t sure if it was ethically or morally correct to kill the elephant. All he knew was that hundreds of natives which he implies to be somewhat of an army of people being there; were impatiently, if not aggressively implying that the elephant must die. He could not present himself as a coward and avoid shooting the elephant. With all those people around it only seemed logical to kill the elephant and save face with the Burmese villagers while at the same time, not making the British regime seem as oppressive. Orwell was presented with a situation that made him question his own integrity as an officer and as a decent human being. Unfortunately, he really did not have much of a choice in the matter. He would shoot the elephant for neither the purpose of being right or wrong. Orwell refused to bow down and show weakness in the face of the Burmese people. However, by feeling as if he had to prove himself to the people and behaving in way to gain their approval, Orwell only further proves that he is a puppet on as string and can be twisted and turned by those around him. Shooting the elephant showed his devotion to his role as a police officer outweighed his commitment to moral integrity.