The Burmese Perspective
Orwell's essay entitled "Shooting an Elephant" is a recollection of a rather poignant event in Orwell's life. He describes in detail an event that happened while he was living in Moulmein, a part of Burma. Orwell was forced to shoot a domesticated elephant that had broken loose during an attack of must (sexual heat). Although he asked for a high-powered gun, Orwell comments that he never had any intention to kill the animal. The local crowds made him feel as if he had to shoot it. He felt sorry for the elephant and for what he unfortunately had to do to it. However, I think this action was seen as a necessity to the Burmese. According to Orwell, the Burmese never liked him but after this event, I believe that the Burmese appreciated Orwell's presence in Moulmein. They would have been thankful that he exacted revenge on a horrible creature that had scarred their town and killed one of their own. Orwell says that even from the beginning the Burmese disliked him. After reading about Orwell in "The Norton Reader," I could understand why. Orwell was a man born in India but was educated in England and had a very English name, Eric Blair. Suddenly he was back in India working as a police officer
I think the animal's death greatly pleased the Burmese who stripped the elephant for meat before long. It must have seen as a noble act uncharacteristic of a European. If I were a Burmese person in that situation, I would think he had intent to kill it and I would want the elephant to be killed too. Many Indians and Burmese wanted independence and Anti-European sentiments were very high. Since he lived and was educated in England and not his home country, the Burmese hospitality would have been sparse at best. He even says that he was glad the Indian was killed because it gave him the legal right to shoot the elephant. After it had killed a man, in the eyes of the Burmese, the elephant would be a horrible beast; an evil monster that needed to be slaughtered. Once the elephant is found, it seems to have calmed down and Orwell is even more hesitant to shoot it. Because police force was minimal, I bet the Burmese were used to handling things themselves. Many wanted to break free from England and an English police officer would have been seen as England trying to exercise some measure of control over them. The response usually is to shoot it. They might have thought that Orwell believed the living conditions and education in India were not respectable or of good quality. There are hints that Orwell regrets his decision to kill the animal and how he hates that he made the animal suffer before it died.
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