Shooting An Elephant American Colonialism
In its heyday, colonialism was often celebrated as a means to spread the values of advanced civilizations to people considered uncivilized. The great irony of this notion is that once the European colonial powers drew the lines over the newly discovered continents, their own civilized values were, in many cases, completely disregarded. The British writer Anthony Burgess, coincidentally the author of A Clockwork Orange, a book containing scenes of extreme violence not unlike some of the instances of European brutality in the colonies, is quoted as saying that if colonialism is “the enforced rule of reason”, “who is going to spread it among the colonizers?” In other words, the Europeans ignored the values that justified their conquest and control
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The act of shooting the elephant is a culmination of the officer’s ignorance of what he knows should be done. Firstly, the officer rationally decides that he should not shoot the elephant because “it is comparable to destroying a huge and costly piece of machinery” (Orwell par. 6). He also decides that the elephant “is no more dangerous than a cow” (par. 6). Secondly, the officer knew that shooting the elephant was morally wrong. He personified the elephant by describing it as having “a grandmotherly air” (par. 8). He also equated shooting the animal as being “murder” (par. 8). The officer has already drawn his moral boundaries, yet he still crosses it. Finally, and most importantly, the officer becomes indifferent to his role as an officer. An officer is supposed to protect and serve his community. He is supposed to make informed decisions as an authoritative figure. This officer finds that in reality, all he is just “an absurd puppet pushed to and fro by the will of those yellow faces behind” (par. 7). An authoritative European officer in the colony “wears a mask”, and “his face grows to fit it” (par. 7). The officer finds that he must be indifferent to who he really is to keep control. By the end of the story, it is evident that the indifference towards values and identity has become the norm in the colonies; the realization that this indifference hurts the colonizers as much as the colonized is what brings about the downfall of
The act of shooting the elephant is a culmination of the officer’s ignorance of what he knows should be done. Firstly, the officer rationally decides that he should not shoot the elephant because “it is comparable to destroying a huge and costly piece of machinery” (Orwell par. 6). He also decides that the elephant “is no more dangerous than a cow” (par. 6). Secondly, the officer knew that shooting the elephant was morally wrong. He personified the elephant by describing it as having “a grandmotherly air” (par. 8). He also equated shooting the animal as being “murder” (par. 8). The officer has already drawn his moral boundaries, yet he still crosses it. Finally, and most importantly, the officer becomes indifferent to his role as an officer. An officer is supposed to protect and serve his community. He is supposed to make informed decisions as an authoritative figure. This officer finds that in reality, all he is just “an absurd puppet pushed to and fro by the will of those yellow faces behind” (par. 7). An authoritative European officer in the colony “wears a mask”, and “his face grows to fit it” (par. 7). The officer finds that he must be indifferent to who he really is to keep control. By the end of the story, it is evident that the indifference towards values and identity has become the norm in the colonies; the realization that this indifference hurts the colonizers as much as the colonized is what brings about the downfall of