Imperialism - an Irony - Shooting an Elephant Essay Example
Imperialism an irony.
Imperialism is a nowin situation:
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Throughout the short text we see Orwell as a character torn between two completely juxtaposed ideals: that in support of the oppressed and the colonial.
We are barely halfway through the opening sentence when Orwell declares how he was “hated by large numbers of people” and we quickly learn of the immense anger he has towards his tormentors.
Initially, we learn of Orwell’s personal experience of power and how he is “hated by large numbers of people”. ●
We quickly see how much of a struggle it is for Orwell to endure the bitterness of the locals. ○
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Orwell paints the “sneering yellow faces of young men” and talks of the insults “hooted” at his back.
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Orwell talks of the football crowds “hideous laughter” after he was tripped up by a
Burman on the football pitch.
The word hideous suggests his disgust at the crowds jeering and equally gives us a sense that he found it intolerable.
Word choice of “hooted” portrays a loud yobbish uncivilised shout.
Animalistic representative of an owl or a monkey, suggesting the men are subhuman and inherently barbaric.
Suggests Orwell’s hatred towards those who make his life a living hell.
We see Orwell as a european at his wits end from the drip effect of torment.
Endless little jibes are having a large emotional impact upon the colonial sparking a deepseated hatred for those who bully him incessantly.
This hatred he directs particularly towards the young Buddhist priests of whom none
“seemed to have anything better to do except stand on street corners and jeer at europeans”. However, Orwell goes on to explain, that he is actually “all for the Burmese”, in apparent contradiction with his opening depiction.
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Orwell describes seeing the “dirty work of empire at close quarters”.
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Suggests the idea of a contrast between colonialism near and far that we see in
Heart of Darkness.
Imperialism is a nowin situation:
●
●
●
Throughout the short text we see Orwell as a character torn between two completely juxtaposed ideals: that in support of the oppressed and the colonial.
We are barely halfway through the opening sentence when Orwell declares how he was “hated by large numbers of people” and we quickly learn of the immense anger he has towards his tormentors.
Initially, we learn of Orwell’s personal experience of power and how he is “hated by large numbers of people”. ●
We quickly see how much of a struggle it is for Orwell to endure the bitterness of the locals. ○
○
●
Orwell paints the “sneering yellow faces of young men” and talks of the insults “hooted” at his back.
○
○
○
●
●
●
●
Orwell talks of the football crowds “hideous laughter” after he was tripped up by a
Burman on the football pitch.
The word hideous suggests his disgust at the crowds jeering and equally gives us a sense that he found it intolerable.
Word choice of “hooted” portrays a loud yobbish uncivilised shout.
Animalistic representative of an owl or a monkey, suggesting the men are subhuman and inherently barbaric.
Suggests Orwell’s hatred towards those who make his life a living hell.
We see Orwell as a european at his wits end from the drip effect of torment.
Endless little jibes are having a large emotional impact upon the colonial sparking a deepseated hatred for those who bully him incessantly.
This hatred he directs particularly towards the young Buddhist priests of whom none
“seemed to have anything better to do except stand on street corners and jeer at europeans”. However, Orwell goes on to explain, that he is actually “all for the Burmese”, in apparent contradiction with his opening depiction.
●
Orwell describes seeing the “dirty work of empire at close quarters”.
○
○
○
○
Suggests the idea of a contrast between colonialism near and far that we see in
Heart of Darkness.