In George Orwell’s essay “Shooting an Elephant” (1936)‚ he reveals that he despises the very idea of imperialism. Orwell shows this by using an extended metaphor throughout the entire essay. The metaphor is shown through the story of him shooting an elephant. He is representing the entire British nation‚ and their imperialistic values. He shows that he does not really want to shoot this elephant if it is not necessary but the Burmese people keep pressuring him to do something and to do it right
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showed three different stories‚ and they all demonstrated
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reading the essay “Shooting an Elephant”‚ it gives away many symbols and a very important life lesson. The essay has many symbols‚ but three stick out like a sore thumb. These include the gun‚ the Burmese people‚ and the elephant. A main symbol that is easily noticed is the gun he uses. A small powerful rifle against a huge elephant. Orwell even noted “an old .44 Winchester and much too small to kill an elephant” (324). The gun isn’t mad to kill a giant beast like this elephant. It was all he had
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From Alice Walker’s story‚ she recounts her experience watching Blue’s life. She recalls the feeling she had when she looked into the horse’s eyes. She described the feeling as one of horrible loneliness‚ which was shocking to her. Even a simple animal can convey so much emotion
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George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant‚” deals with the evil side of imperialism. The shooting of the elephant in Orwell’s story is the central focus from which Orwell builds his argument through the two dominant characters‚ the elephant and the British officer. The British officer‚ acts as a symbol of the imperial country and the elephant is the victim of imperialism. Together‚ the solider and the elephant turns this into an attack on the evils of imperialism. The shooting of the elephant shows the different
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Imperialism in ‘Shooting an Elephant’ by George Orwell Shooting an elephant is a short story about the speaker’s experience in working as a colonial officer in Burma‚ a previous conquered province by Britain‚ and facing a pressure to shoot an innocent elephant to please a large Burmese crowd. Throughout the story Orwell makes clear to readers how Imperialism causes misery and pain. To a clear definition for Imperialism‚ I sum up the important points according to my understanding as
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“Shooting an Elephant” by George Orwell in 1936 Imperialism is “the creation and/or maintenance of an unequal economic‚ cultural‚ and territorial relationship‚ usually between states and often in the form of an empire‚ based on domination and subordination”[1]. During the British colonial period from the late 16th century to the 19th century‚ Britain assembled an empire which in 1922 held sway over a population of about 458 million people. The United Kingdom had several colonies‚ dominions‚ protectorates
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Narration: “Shooting an Elephant” To narrate is to describe an experience or a story that is linked in time. An effective narration “usually relates a sequence of events that led to new knowledge or had a notable outcome” (Aaron 60). George Orwell uses narration in “Shooting an Elephant” to support his thesis that imperialism is an immoral relationship of power because it compels the oppressor to act immorally to keep up appearances that he is right‚ just like his experience of shooting an elephant. Orwell
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Reaction to shooting an elephant This time tables are turned for Orwell. In A hanging Orwell was the oppressor but in shooting an elephant I felt that Orwell was oppressed by the Burmese people as he mentions that "In Moulmein‚ in lower Burma‚ I was hated by large numbers of people" and he emphasizes on that fact by adding "As a police officer I was an obvious target and was baited whenever it seemed safe to do so" and was also oppressed by the empire as he was forced to do a job that he doesn’t
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Trystan Tomco Mr. Stone English 110 12/03/13 Shooting an Elephant Essay George Orwell wrote “Shooting an Elephant” to teach readers about imperialism and its effects on not only those ruled but also those charged with maintaining order above them. Orwell’s narrator is a British colonial official stationed in Burma who is charged with keeping the local populace from rioting. The officer speaks of how he is frightened by the Burmans and even by his own people rulers. Fear is one of the ways
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