George orwell shooting an elephant summary. Shooting an Elephant by George Orwell 2022-10-08
George orwell shooting an elephant summary
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"Shooting an Elephant" is a short story by George Orwell, first published in 1936. The story is set in Burma, where Orwell was serving as a colonial police officer in the 1920s.
The story begins with Orwell describing the hatred and resentment he felt towards the Burmese people, who he saw as "a vast mass of stupid, downtrodden beasts." Despite this, Orwell is called upon to deal with a rogue elephant that has been causing havoc in the town. At first, Orwell is hesitant to shoot the elephant, as he does not want to be seen as a "savage" by the Burmese people. However, as the elephant becomes more agitated and dangerous, Orwell feels pressure from the crowd of Burmese people who are urging him to shoot the animal.
In the end, Orwell decides to shoot the elephant, feeling that it is his duty as a colonial officer. However, as he watches the elephant dying in agony, Orwell reflects on the irony of the situation: he has killed the elephant not out of any sense of duty, but rather to avoid being seen as a coward by the Burmese people and his fellow Europeans.
Throughout the story, Orwell explores the theme of imperialism and the problems it creates. He shows how the colonial system relies on the maintenance of power and control, and how this often leads to cruelty and injustice. In this case, Orwell is forced to act against his own moral code in order to maintain his position as a colonial officer.
In conclusion, "Shooting an Elephant" is a powerful critique of imperialism and the ways in which it can corrupt and dehumanize those who participate in it. Orwell's vivid portrayal of the elephant's suffering serves as a poignant reminder of the cost of colonialism, and the importance of standing up for what is right, even when it is difficult.
Shooting an Elephant Summary
With the description of "arms crucified" there is the connotations of one of the most excruciating deaths; being crucified. He did not want to kill the elephant, and he only did so because he felt the will of the crowd bullying him into this course of action against his better judgment. There's some discussion among the other police officers about whether or not he did the right thing. That is the paradox of colonialism—that colonial propriety comes to force the colonizer to act barbarously. So too is the vivid and disturbing I perceived in this moment that when the white man turns tyrant it is his own freedom that he destroys.
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Shooting an Elephant by George Orwell
The officer's decision to shoot the elephant tugs at the reader's emotions. In the narrative technique, it tells that to save from their hatred and to show his boldness, he has to kill the elephant. Rhetorical Analysis Of Shooting An Elephant 836 Words 4 Pages Hannah Edmiston Boudreau AP Language Friday 25 September, 2015 Shooting an Elephant Analyzing Rhetorical Devices Shooting an Elephant, written by George Orwell in 1936, describes his experience working as a British officer located in Moulmein, Burma. When he was experienced with the choice of whether or not to capture the elephant he could of created the decision to not to capture it. The young Buddhist priests torment him the most.
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Shooting an elephant summary Flashcards
It is clear that Orwell hates his job as a colonial police officer because of the way locals treat him. The crowd reaches the rice paddies, and Orwell spots the elephant standing next to the road. What was the right way of shooting an elephant? Evidently, colonialism and the power dynamics it entails are too convoluted to be contained within a single straightforward point of view. The Power Of Peer Pressure In George Orwell's Shooting An Elephant 1480 Words 6 Pages The power of peer pressure can evidently raise an error in judgement as it allows you to act in a manner to please others before pleasing yourself. This leads to the true climax of the narrative - the shooting of the elephant. What did the natives think of Orwell? He knows that the locals despise him.
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George Orwell
Orwell notes that he is lucky the elephant killed a man, because it gave his own actions legal justification. But the elephant looked like he was in a world where no other pain could reach him. It has destroyed a hut, killed a cow, and raided some fruit stalls for food. The relationship between the mahout and the elephant mirrors that of the officer and the natives. Besides he had to consider the owner also.
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A Summary and Analysis of George Orwell’s ‘Shooting an Elephant’
All they saw was a police officer chasing after an elephant with his rifle, and to them it seemed as if Orwell wanted the elephant to die. For , the huge crowd of natives was expecting him to shoot the elephant and he, as the representative of the omnipotent British Imperial Rule, was bound to live up to that expectation. People still discriminate, still conform to other's standards against their will. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, Orwell himself did not want to shoot the elephant; a moral choice, that he felt it was 'wrong'. Who's actions, in turn, are dictated by the audience - else how could the puppeteer survive, without a livelihood? He knew it had calmed down and was not threatening at that time.
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Shooting an Elephant by George Orwell [Summary and Question Answer]
While remaining ambiguous about the truth of his story, Orwell hinted that, ''An autobiography is only to be trusted when it reveals something disgraceful. Orwell is a didactic writer and is often at his best drawing lessons from the scenes he describes. I mperial rulers and despots actually care deeply about how their colonized subjects view them colonizes and the one who colonizes loses his own freedom. No choice, subjugated to the will of others completely. Ans: A working elephant is equal to a huge and costly piece of machinery. He fires at its heart, but the elephant hardly seems to notice the bullets. And from this point, Orwell extrapolates his own experience to consider the colonial experience at large: the white European may think he is in charge of his colonial subjects ironically, the white man turns a tyrant for freedom and becomes a sort of hollow.
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SHOOTING AN ELEPHANT BY GEORGE ORWELL
However, the people around him did not know that. Even then, he was not dead, and Orwell could see him breathing rhythmically. It grabs the attention immediately, compelling the reader to wonder why the author was so hated. He was regarded as a wise ruler, but on the other hand, he knew that he was wrong in what he did. The essay explores the idea that there is a fundamental difference between how Europeans see themselves and how they are seen by others.
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Shooting An Elephant George Orwell Summary Essay
Why is it important to "avoid looking a fool"? Orwell clearly depicts his shooting of the elephant as an act of moral cowardice. Being trampled to death by the elephant might be something that Orwell could live with, but being laughed at? The essay explores an apparent paradox about European behaviour: they supposedly have control over their colonial servants, yet they use it to bully them. He wonders if others knew that he had done it to avoid looking like a fool. The essay explores an apparent paradox about the behavior of Europeans, who supposedly have power over their colonial subjects. . If he attacked, Orwell would shoot.
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Shooting an Elephant by George Orwell Plot Summary
Though the Burmese never stage a full revolt, they express their disgust by harassing Europeans at every opportunity. The elephant lies on the ground, breathing laboriously. That was the irony of imperialist domination, the author felt. Peer pressure can lead people to do bad things for what they think are good reasons but are actually not. What happened to the elephant at the first shot? He was working as a police officer in Moulmein, Burma. The three bullets could not kill the elephant, however, which continues to gasp in pain as it lies in the field. First and foremost, Orwell establishes his ethos.
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George Orwell Shooting An Elephant Summary
Rule 4 Orwell symbolizes himself as the British imperialists, who were the ruling authority in Burma, and the Burmese people as the elephant. Burmese would think that he is cowardice and cannot maintain peace and security in Burma. The narrator expresses a deep-seated hatred for imperialism. Not only did the narrator hate his job because it was part of the imperialistic schema, but he also hated it for the way he was treated by the people of Burma. Unthinkable … And from this point, Orwell extrapolates his own experience to consider the colonial experience at large: the white European may think he is in charge of his colonial subjects, but ironically — even paradoxically — the coloniser loses his own freedom when he takes it upon himself to subjugate and rule another people: I perceived in this moment that when the white man turns tyrant it is his own freedom that he destroys.
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