Summary of “Shooting an Elephant”
In his work essay, “Shooting an Elephant”, famous 20th Century British author George Orwell experienced the real nature of British imperialism as evil, when he was sub-divisional police officer in Burma. The story happened in Moulmein, in Lower Burma. Orwell hated his job and was against the Imperialism. He stated, “I was young and ill-educated and I had to think out my problems in the utter silence that is imposed on very Englishman in the East.” All the Burmese people did not like the British; Orwell was a representative of the oppressor. Something happened in Orwell’s job that was enlightening, and it was defining moment of his life. It was about his job answering to a report of a man who was dead. The crime had been committed by an elephant and the body was badly trampled. At first, Orwell wanted to kill the elephant, but then he realized it was not dangerous. He began to feel compassion for the creature, but he felt he must shoot it or he would be shamed in front of more than two thousand Burmese people. Using an old .44 Winchester rifle, Orwell shoots the elephant three times, and the elephant did not die. He fired his two remaining shots into the elephant’s heart, and he did not see if the elephant died or it died after he left. Later, there were numerous arguments about shooting the elephant. The Burmese people and Europeans opinion were divided. Orwell stated, “I often wondered whether any of the others grasped that I had done it solely to avoid looking a fool.” “Shooting an Elephant” is all about the effect of imperialism on the oppressed and oppressor (Orwell).
Work Cited
Orwell, George. "Shooting an Elephant." George Orwell 1903-1950. Web. 21 Apr. 2015.
<http://www.k-1.com/Orwell/site/work/essays/elephant.html>.
