Shooting an Elephant: George Orwell
4. Essay
‘Shooting an Elephant by George Orwell
About
the Essayist
Main Gist of
the Essay
The main thesis of "Shooting an Elephant" by George Orwell revolves around the conflict between personal conscience and societal expectations. Orwell, who is a colonial police officer in British-ruled Burma, deals with the moral dilemma of shooting an elephant to follow the expectations of the local crowd. The narrative explores the pressures of imperialism, the dehumanizing impact of power dynamics, and the internal struggle between individual beliefs and societal pressures.
Shooting
an Elephant: Analysis
‘Shooting
an Elephant’ is about more than Orwell’s killing of the elephant: the whole
incident was, he tells us, a tiny incident in itself, but it gave me a better
glimpse than I had had before of the real nature of imperialism – the real
motives for which despotic governments act.’ The surprise is that despotic
governments don’t merely impose their iron boot upon people without caring what
their poor subjects think of them, but rather that despots do care
about how they are judged and viewed by their subjects. Among other things,
then, ‘Shooting an Elephant’ is about how those in power act when they are
aware that they have an audience. It is about how so much of our behavior is
shaped not by what we want to do, nor even by what we think is the right thing
to do, but by what others will think of us. Orwell confesses that
he had spent his whole life trying to avoid being laughed at, and this is one
of his key motivations when dealing with the elephant: not to invite ridicule
or laughter from the Burmese people watching him.
Note
how ‘my whole life’ immediately widens to ‘every white man’s life in the East’:
this is not just Orwell’s psychology but the psychology of every imperial
agent. Orwell goes on to imagine what grisly death he would face if he shot the
elephant and missed, and was trampled like the hapless coolie the elephant had
killed: ‘And if that happened it was quite probable that some of them would
laugh. That would never do.’ The stiff upper lip of this final phrase is
British imperialism personified. Being trampled to death by the elephant might
be something that Orwell could live with (as it were), but being laughed at?
And, worse still, laughed at by the ‘natives? Unthinkable … 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 colonizer loses his freedom when he takes
it upon himself to subjugate and rule another people: So, at the heart of
‘Shooting an Elephant’ are two intriguing paradoxes: imperial rulers and
despots care deeply about how their colonized subjects view them (even if they
don’t care about those subjects), and the one who colonizes
loses his freedom when he takes away the freedom of his colonial subjects
because he is forced to play the role of the ‘sahib’ or gentleman, setting an
example for the ‘natives’, and, indeed, ‘trying to impress’ them. He is the
alien in their land, which helps to explain this second
paradox, but the first is more elusive.
However,
even this paradox is perhaps explicable. As Orwell says, aware of the absurdity
of the scene: ‘Here was I, the white man with his gun, standing in front of the
unarmed native crowd – seemingly the leading actor of the piece; but in reality,
I was only an absurd puppet pushed to and fro by the will of those yellow faces
behind.’ The Burmese natives are the ones with the real power in this scene,
both because they are the natives and because they outnumber
the lone policeman by several thousand to one. He may have a gun, but they
have the numbers. He is performing for a crowd, and the most powerful elephant
gun in the world wouldn’t be enough to give him power over the situation. There
is a certain inevitability conveyed by Orwell’s clever repetitions (‘I did not
in the least want to shoot him … They had seen the rifle and were all shouting
excitedly that I was going to shoot the elephant … I had no intention of shooting
the elephant … I did not in the least want to shoot him … But I did not want to
shoot the elephant’), which show how the idea of shooting the elephant
gradually becomes apparent to the young Orwell.
These
repetitions also convey how powerless he feels over what is happening, even
though he acknowledges it to be unjust (when the elephant no longer poses a
threat to anyone) as well as financially wasteful (Orwell also draws attention
to the pragmatic fact that the elephant while alive is worth around a hundred
pounds, whereas his tusks would only fetch around five pounds). But he does it anyway, in an act that is purely for
show and which goes against his own will and instinct.
Understanding
1.
What is the purpose of the first two paragraphs? in what ways do they
introduce the incident Orwell narrates in his essay?
The main purpose of these two paragraphs is
to reveal the hatred of the Burmese toward the British Empire. Orwell opens the
essay by explicitly describing the hatred that the Burmese people felt for him
during his time as a police officer for the British Raj in Moulmein, Lower
Burma. This hatred forms part of a general anti-European sentiment in the area
at the time. Though the Burmese aren’t ready to riot, they are hostile toward
their colonizers. The main way that their hostility shows itself is through
ridicule and bitter laughter. The Buddhist priests, he says, are the worst.
They openly mock Europeans.
2.
What thesis about ‘the real nature of
imperialism’ does Orwell prove by narrating this ‘tiny incident?
Throughout the essay, Orwell explicitly
discusses the nature of British imperialism, specifically the way that he, as a
police officer, both represents and internalizes the imperial project. He opens
by revealing the brutality of British colonialism in Burma, with images of
tortured prisoners, and he discusses his distaste for the empire's impact in
Burma. He says that he's on the side of the "Burman," yet he also
resents Burmese people for the way they perceive him. Orwell's
self-consciousness as the face of British imperialism is central to his
internal conflict as he tries to uphold the image of the impenetrable empire
while going against his inclination and killing an elephant that he doesn't
want to kill.
3.
What are the reasons Orwell considers
when he tries to describe what to do? What, does he conclude, was his main
purpose in shooting the elephant?
Orwell discusses
various factors that influenced his decision-making process in the essay. Some
of the key reasons he considers include the pressure to conform to the
expectations of the local population, the desire to maintain control and
authority as a colonial officer, and the fear of appearing weak or indecisive.
He also explores the broader themes of imperialism, the abuse of power, and the
dehumanizing effects of colonization. In the end, Orwell reluctantly decides to
shoot the elephant, even though he opposes the killing. The main purpose of his
action, as he concludes in the essay, was to avoid looking like a fool in front
of the local crowd and to assert his authority. The essay serves as a powerful
critique of imperialism and the moral compromises individuals make in the face
of oppressive systems.
4.
What kind of people does Orwell
imagine will read his essay?
Orwell imagines his audience for
"Shooting an Elephant" as reflective individuals, likely
intellectuals or those interested in the complexities of colonialism. He thinks
readers who appreciate nuanced explorations of personal moral dilemmas and the impact
of oppressive systems. The essay appeals to those interested in the
psychological and ethical challenges faced by individuals in colonial contexts.
5.
Why did he shoot the elephant?
Orwell shot the elephant due to peer
pressure and the fear of appearing weak in front of the local crowd. Despite
his internal conflict and moral objections, he surrendered to the expectations
placed on him as a colonial authority, illustrating the dehumanizing impact of
imperialism on both the colonizers and the colonized.
***
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