Elephant
In "Shooting an Elephant" by George Orwell, the author recalls an incident from his days as an English imperial officer in Burma, where he finds himself at the mercy of a hooting crowd of Burmese villagers eager to see him shoot an elephant gone "must". If it deals with, as Orwell himself states, "a tiny incident in itself"(118) why should we care about the day Orwell shot an elephant? What is Orwell really shooting? That is the question. The real story is not about an elephant at all. It's a story of the "evils of imperialism." The "tiny incident" Orwell reflects upon, gave him, in his own words, "a better glimpse than I had had before of the real nature of imperialism - the real motives for which despotic governments act"(Orwell, 118).Orwell comes right out and tells us how much he hates imperialism and the British political views "For at that time I had already made up my mind that imperialism was an evil thing... Theoretically - and secretly of course- I was all for the Burmese and all against their oppressors the British"(Orwell, 118). His numerous references to imperialism throughout the story should automatically trigger that he is not just shooting an innocent elephant but something of much more important significance.
It's the reflection of a man possessed and haunted. He did it only to prevent being laughed at. At this point, he is stuck in between two states: a master of his dominion and a slave to the villagers. He is very happy that an innocent man was killed, trampled to death by an elephant, because it puts him "legally in the right" and gives him "sufficent pretext for shooting the elephant"(Orwell,123) which doesn't need shot. As the story progresses, we learn about the "ravaging" elephant, the trampling death of a "coolie" who gets in the way of the huge animal, and of Orwell's summoning to come and destroy the beast. Why was the "coolie" killed? He got in the way of the animal. Orwell is possessed by the fact that he sold his soul, was able to sink so low as to enjoy the death of a man, which is measured against a moment of personal embarrassment. "As soon as I saw the elephant I knew with perfect certainty that I ought not to shoot him. I thought then and I think now that his atack of 'must' was already passing off"(Orwell,120). It's not an elephant at all that Orwell is talking about. What is going on here? Orwell is jumping from one thought to another to portray his unneasiness, nervousness, and indecisiveness. Note how long it takes the elephant to die.
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Acceptance Essays
