Shooting An Elephant Imperialism

Imperialism is established by more economically powerful nations interfering with the affairs of a weaker country. While many white men may often think of Imperialism as a form of civilizing the savages of a foreign land, George Orwell condemns it and thinks of it as only a façade of power. In ”Shooting an Elephant”, he conveys the ironic, powerless and evil nature of Imperialism through the experience of himself as a young British officer shooting the elephant against his own will in order to maintain the image of the imperial power in Burma. This is shown specifically through the relationship between the British and Burmese, the portrayal of the elephant as well as development of the inner conflicts of the protagonist. The major role in
This is almost a microscopic parallel to how when first Britain came to Burma and established its power through oppression and violence. The author also describes the elephant as a “powerful machinery” (950) which represents the economic foundation of the working Burmese and should not be destroyed. However, the elephant is hated by its people, and is demanded to be killed. During the critical moment during which it falls, the author uses the phrase “powerless to move, yet powerless to die” (951) and words such as “senile” to imply a true feeble state of Imperialism. The author lastly reveals the evil nature of Imperialism through the inner conflict of young Orwell as he faces the moral dilemma of whether or not he should kill the elephant. How young Orwell comes to form his decision is very paradoxical. This is because the officer himself does not want to kill the seemingly innocent elephant when he finds it eating in the field. Also on top of that, Orwell hates the imperialistic power as shown in quote “For at that time I had already made up my mind that Imperialism was an evil thing…and I was all for the Burmese and all against their oppressors, the British”