"Shooting an Elephant" is a striking example of how a government official uses the language of narration to convey political ideas. What political ideas does Orwell convey? How does he convey them? Is his message conveyed directly or indirectly? Explain.
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George Orwell’s piece “Shooting and Elephant” expresses the idea that imperialism has negative outcomes and how it can affect the country that is being run. He directly states this in paragraph 2 by saying “…imperialism is an evil thing…” He also talks about how he sides with the people living in Burma because they are being oppressed by the British. This idea is depicted by the elephant dying. Orwell, being the police officer, represents the British and the elephant represents Burma. The British hold the power over the Burmese people and the officer held the power over the elephant.
-Alese
Throughout the story "Shooting an Elephant", Orwell indirectly conveys his political beliefs. He does this by expressing his feelings toward his position and then by making symbolic connections between the subjects in the passage and in political world. The tame elephant gone astray represents a country that needs some form of guidance and restraint. Orwell symbolized a despotic government and the ideology of imperialism. Because he didn't believe in imperialism, Orwell's original intentions were to frighten the elephant into submission; however, his intentions changed whenever he realized that the inhabitants of the town were expecting him to kill the elephant. He had to sacrifice his own beliefs for his own country's political conquest.
In Orwell's "Shooting an Elephant" one political idea that he conveys is the act of pleasing the people. This principle is presented when he is debating whether or not to actually shoot the elephant. Orwell, himself, does not want to kill the animal, but he knows thats what the people want from him. He says, "I could feel their two thousand wills pressing me forward, irresistibly". This quote shows the immense pressure that the people were placing on Orwell. In the end, he does shoot the elephant but has some regrets. This idea is portrayed pretty directly. A second political proposal is having power. It is known, that to be a successful politician, for example a president, one must posess some form of power over the people. Orwell indirectly presents this idea when he speaks about the rule he has in the town to keep things under control. He is able to use force to do this, something that many others can't do. Orwell communicates his ideas both directly and indirectly.
Orwell writes about specefic political ideas as well as universal ones. For example, Or well writes "...every white man's life in the East, was one long struggle not to be laughed at." This is a political idea specefically about white men in the East, but it can also stand for a bigger, more universal idea. Ultimately, the main idea that Orwell is trying to show in "Shooting an Elephant" is that of trying to impress the "natives" or a group of people, even if it means sacrificing what you believe it. He conveys this through the whole story, a long metaphor, relating back to the main idea. The story is tragic, a story of one man's struggle with his mind, trying to fit in and not be made fun of, versus doing something he didn't believe in. The beginning of the story almost makes it seem like a narrative against imperialism, but I disagree with this in that it is not the main idea. While he sneaks in a few sentences about how he became oppressed himself by oppressing these people, the story of the elephant greatly overpowered this. I thought this was an extremely tragic, sad story. "I often wondered whether any of the others grasped that I had done it solely to avoid looking a fool."
All throughout Orwell’s story he speaks very descriptively like when he recalls the day he shoots the elephant, he says, “I remember that it was cloudy, stuffy morning at the beginning of the rains.” He is very descriptive in giving details in his narrative. The political details that Orwell conveys is the fact that he shot an elephant that wasn’t worth killing and he didn’t want to kill, only because that is what the thousands of yellow faces behind him wanted to him to do. This conveys the political idea of not following your own thoughts in making actions but listening to what the minority wants even if it seems wrong in the leaders eyes. For example Orwell says “I was not thinking of my own skin only of the watchful yellow faces behind.” He also says he was glad the collie died it put him in the right and gave him sufficient pretext for shooting, then he says “I often wondered whether any of the others grasped that I had done it solely to avoid looking a fool.” This is the political idea he captures in his narrative. This message is pretty straight forward he continuously says how he did not want to shoot the elephant and how agonizing it was to watch. He is pretty direct in the idea that shooting the elephant was an action he only took to avoid criticism and because it was what the minority wanted. He end the story with saying he didn’t was to look foolish this is him being very direct about his idea.
All throughout Orwell’s story he speaks very descriptively like when he recalls the day he shoots the elephant, he says, “I remember that it was cloudy, stuffy morning at the beginning of the rains.” He is very descriptive in giving details in his narrative. The political details that Orwell conveys is the fact that he shot an elephant that wasn’t worth killing and he didn’t want to kill, only because that is what the thousands of yellow faces behind him wanted to him to do. This conveys the political idea of not following your own thoughts in making actions but listening to what the minority wants even if it seems wrong in the leaders eyes. For example Orwell says “I was not thinking of my own skin only of the watchful yellow faces behind.” He also says he was glad the collie died it put him in the right and gave him sufficient pretext for shooting, then he says “I often wondered whether any of the others grasped that I had done it solely to avoid looking a fool.” This is the political idea he captures in his narrative. This message is pretty straight forward he continuously says how he did not want to shoot the elephant and how agonizing it was to watch. He is pretty direct in the idea that shooting the elephant was an action he only took to avoid criticism and because it was what the minority wanted. He end the story with saying he didn’t was to look foolish this is him being very direct about his idea.
In "Shooting an Elephant" Orwell's conveys political ideas. He stated that, "No one had the guts to raise a riot but, but if a European woman went through the bazaars alone somebody would probably spit betel juice over her dress," (979). This is extremely political. Everybody is way too nervous to start a riot, but woman arenb't allowed to be alone. This is not like our society at all. He conveys his ideas by just out and stating them. It is very directly. He just wants the audience to know his political ideas, and that's why he wrote this in the first place. Whenever writers write indirectly, not everybody takes in the same idea so it would not work in the same way. Thepoint was that people are politically afraid to do some things because of society, but they are not afraid to say others. In reality if a woman goes alone, that should be her own buisness but over there this it seems to be everybodies buisness. So that is how Orwell states his point of politicalness.
Orwell uses reflection on the incident he’s narrating and sarcasm to criticize imperialism in his essay “Shooting an Elephant.” He comes out and says “imperialism was an evil thing” in paragraph 2, setting up the critical tone of the essay. He also notes how feelings of “hatred of the empire I served” and “rage against the evil spirited little beasts,” the natives are “normal by-products of imperialism.” (para 3). After this brief introduction to his view on imperialism, Orwell launches into the meat of the issue he’s narrating. He describes how he “knew with perfect certainty that [he] ought not to shoot him” but was forced to because of the “two thousand wills pressing [him] forward.” (para 6). This, he reflects, is the true nature of imperialism: that “when the white man turns tyrant it is his own freedom that he destroys” (para 6). Thus, Orwell comes out and directly states that imperialistic and tyrannical governments end up destroying the freedom of the people who should be in power. In addition, Orwell ponders at the end of the essay “whether any of the other grasped that I had done it solely to avoid looking the fool.” (para 14), adding a touch of sarcastic humor that pokes fun at the pompous dignity of the imperialistic Europeans.
In Orwell's essay, "Shooting an Elephant", political ideas are conveyed through the action George Orwell, himself. Even though he does not want to shoot the elephant, he knows that he will kill it anyway. The political message relates to his views with respect to his position as a police officer. "For at that time I had already made up my mind that imperialism was an evil thing and the sooner I chucked up my job and got out of it the better. Theoretically- and secretly, of course- I was all for the Burmese and all against their oppressors, the British." Although Orwell did not agree with the oppression, he continued to be a puppet with the British were pulling the strings. "All I knew was that I was stuck between my hatred of the empire I served and my rage against the evil-spirited little beasts who tried to make my job impossible." This is related to Orwell's morale judgement because it's compared to the slow, agonizing and painful death of the elephant. "He was dying, very slowly and in great agony, but in some world remote from me where not even a bullet could damage him further." The message is conveyed indirectly because the elephant's death symbolizes the morale battle Orwell was fighting during the situation. The situation was not simply a matter of shooting the elephant. The matter was remaining a puppet for a cause that he did not believe. The result of remaining the puppet was the elephant's death..
Orwell's narrative, autobiographical essay "Shooting an Elephant" has numerous ties between the incident, and politics. In this piece, his views on politics and imperialism are torn.He expresses his disgust in regards to this subject in by stating, "I hated it more bitterly that I can perhaps make clear. In a job like that you see the dirty work of Empire at close quarters." (para 2) During his stay in Burma, Orwell had a first hand experience on the effects of imperialism on the natives, and what he saw disturbed him. He saw prisioners huddling in filthy conditions and the markings on men who had been beated with bamboo. Although his view on imperialism was that it was wrong, he was still torn between two thoughts. "All I knew was that I was stuck between my hatred of the empire I served and my rage against the evil-spirited little beasts who tried to make my job impossible." He also goes on to say "Feelings like these are the normal by-product of imperialism;" (para. 2) These excerpts from the text clearly show that Orwell conveys imperialism as two things. Dreadful in the sense that imperialism is wrong, and irritating because the natives had a immense distaste for him. The way in which he conveys his thoughts about imperialism and politics are direct. In the quotes from the text above, he is blunt with his feelings on the subject. "Shooting an Elephant" demonstrates the views Orwell had during his stay with the Burmese, that he was "all against their oppressors, the British."(para 2)Yet still felt that "the greatest joy in the world would be to drive a bayonet into a Buddhist priest's guts." (para 2) Orwells direct feelings convey the conclusion of though he is against the politics of why he is in Burma, working for imperialistic Britian, the Burmese make his job their extremely problematic and challenging.
In “Shooting an Elephant,” George Orwell conveys a political meaning through narration. He works as a police officer and is stationioned in British controlled Moulmein, in Lower Burma. The story is centered with the killing of an elephant that has become savage. Everyone perceives that he is going to kill the elephant and a crowd begins to form around him as he goes to see if the elephant was really any danger. He ends up killing the elephant because he wanted to avoid “...looking [like] a fool.” Orwell uses the intense imagery of the death of the elephant and the crowd’s reaction to show the seriousness of the situation in Lower Burma. “I got up. The burmans were already racing past me across the mud. It was obvious that the elephant would never rise again, but he was not dead. He was breathing rhythmically…his great mound of a side rising painfully up and down.” After this he continues to shot into the elephant but the elephant does not die for at least another half hour. The three paragraphs that take up the shooting of the elephant are graphic and intense in their description. The burmans however are excited and “…were bringing dahs and baskets even before I left…they had stripped his body almost to the bones by the afternoon.” The Burmans actions show the gravity of the situation in Burma, a situation of deteriorating control, and suffering in Lower Burma. Although this message is indirect he wanted to show how the Burmans were in trouble. He does this in the act of shooting the elephant.
Orwell's political ideas are conveyed quite directly. He clearly talks about how the white men are actually controlled by the natives on page 982. You can see this when he says "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." His messages are conveyed through his time spent in British-occupied Burma.
In "Shooting an Elephant", Orwell conveyed political ideas of a government offical. Orwell believes that a government offical is only as good as his followers and the people above him. The government offical feels pressure from both sides and usually has to side with the higher power. The people, if they don't agree with this idea, put the pressure on the government offical. In this quote, Orwell uses the word puppet to desribe himself, "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 realitiy I was only in absurb puppet pushed to and fro by the wheel of those yellow faces behind."
It is indirect because the moral situation was expressed through the death of the elephant. He used emotion and symbolism to represent those morals. The elephant's death was drawn out because he couldn't decide what he wanted to do. He had to shoot the elephant because of his political status. It was his job and duty versus his own morals. This quote decribes his inner battles and proves the point above, "For at that time I had already made up my mind that imperialism was an evil thing and the sooner I chucked up my job and got out of it the better. Theoritically- and secretly, of course- I was all for the Burmese and all against the opressors, the British."
While it is definite that Orwell's piece was against the British imperialization of Burmah, I think his point was not only to exhibit this political idea, but to convey to the people, indirectly, that the British should cease their imperialization, for their own freedom. Orwell's narrator says in his own words that "...imperialism was an evil thing... I was all for the Burmese and all against their oppressors, the British", and later compares himself to being a "puppet" of the 2,000 people who he felt he had to impress by killing the elephant. Because he felt so enslaved to these people by really being the dictator, he felt he had lost his own freedom.
Orwell's "Shooting an Elephant" shows the political ideas of the early 20th century. The most noteable idea is that imperialism was evil. This idea is simply brought on by raunchy and ignorent officers who were mistreated by those whom they mistreated. The natives didn't care too much for the Europeans because they imprissoned their people and lashed out on them. Therefore they mistreated the officers which to them made them thing imperialism was evil. The feeling of power is most felt by Orwell. In his indecisiveness whether to shoot the elephant or whether to let it live, he gets the feeling of power and superiority. Even though the people disliked him he was now the center of attention. In order for him to keep this power he had to go against his will and shoot the elephant even though he didnt want to. In that moment he had become a a one man government. There were people who supported his decision and those who did not. Orwell conveys these meanings rather directly. He outright states imperialism is evil and he mentions his sense of power and urgency among the people." he becomes a sort of hollow, posing dummy, the conventionalized figure of a sahib" This quote describes his power because he was the only one with a weapon and he was greatly influenced by the people to shoot the elephant. Somewhat ironic being that in an imperialistic country he was persuaded my a democratic gesture from the people.
Orwell diplays politcal ideas very indirectly throughout his essay. He talks about imperialism with direct force, but uses the ego of Europeans to show the true meaning of imperialism. He says, "A white man must not be frightened in front of natives; and so, in general he isn't frightened." This shows that Europeans had a superior mentality to the people of Lower Burma and this is what Orwell considers the basis for imperialism. The British felt that they were superior to the people of Burma and wanted to help them. When in reality they were only doing this to benefit themslves. That is what Orwell is trying to portray in this story. He was helping the natives by getting rid of the elephant who was endangering the people, but in reality he only killed the animal to protect his ego. That is how Orwell subtly talks about political issues in his paper.
Orwell's experience in the British-occupied Burma in the 1920's exposed him to a type of society in which political differences separated the people: the Burmans and the Europeans. Orwell claimed to be "hated by large numbers of people". He was a sub-divisional police officer and his job was considered dirty work. Basically, he was stuck in the middle of two worlds. His every actions and words could determine his standards in this world. In my opinion, Orwell's main political idea in this passage is that sometimes one must act in a manner that is pleasing to the whole instead of oneself. For example, he didn't want to kill the beautiful beast, but to prevent humiliation, death, and disapproval from the Burmans, he had to simply shoot the elephant. Coming from a European based background, Orwell found it odd to take the life of such a large creature. In my opinion, his message is conveyed somewhat indirectly through the whole process and apprehension of killing the elephant. He describes the "yellow faces looking back at him" and how he did not want to get laughed at if failing to complete this task that would satisfy the Burmans. This symbolizes how he needs to feel accepted in the society and although the Burmans "hate" him, doing this task may sway their views about him and make him more likeable in their world. Each shot or pull of the trigger could symbolize a hurdle that Orwell was overcoming and how shooting the elephant made him more susceptable to the Burman society.
In George Orwell's "Shooting an Elephant" he uses the language of narration to convey political ideas. By examining the passage, it can be assumed that the elephant represents a foreign power. At first, the elephant appears to be wild and dangerous because the natives do not know much about it. Like a foreign country in some situations, one wrong move and we might take it as a huge threat of terrorism. After observation, the elephant seems calm and kind when not messed with. Again, what may come off as a terrorist threat from a different country, can really be an accident of some sort. Another form of political ideas Orwell conveys is between the natives and himself. After hearing about a crazy elephant, Orwell obtains his gun for safety and to shoot the elephant down. When finding the elephant, he refused to shoot it, for it was not doing any wrong. The natives said he had to shoot it because his first intentions were to do so. Having to complete the task, the natives are almost declaring that what one says he is going to do, has to be followed. In other terms, when stating an action, it has to be performed. This is political because like the law, you must follow it. Although Orwell did not want to commit the crime of shooting the elephant, he had to keep his word in order to stay out of trouble. George Orwell's message is conveyed indirectly. It does not state any names or specific audience; therefore, individuals are not disappointed. "Shooting an Elephant" is an indirect political message to all.
Orwell conveys the political idea that a government cannot control another countrys government. One of the obvious reasons he shows how he feels is by the way he discusses his time in Burma. Orwell is obviously against imperialism when he says, "For at the time I had already made up my mind that imperialism was an evil thing and the sooner I chucked up my job and got out of it the better." Also, Orwell doesnt feel like he belongs in a foreign country at all, because of the way the natives treated him. He expresses his hate for imperialism and his life in Burma when he says, "All I knew was that I was stuck between my hatred of the empire I served and my rage against the evil-spirited little beasts who tried to make my job impossible." Not only did Orwell hate his job and the native land he was currently living in, but he also hated his own country of Britain,or at least the way his government was run. He also implies that the people hate him only because of his race because of what englishman had done to their country in the past. For these reasons taken from the text, I think his message is conveyed directly.
Orwell uses narration to convey political ideas throughout his story of "Shooting an Elephant." At first he states directly imperialism was an evil thing. He was hated his entire life. As the story continues he goes on to tell readers that he had finally got the chance to change things around with this elephant and imperialism was no longer evil. He indirectly says that not everyone is out to get him and when the time came he could shine just like the other officers had done. When he shot the elephant some Europeans were in a dispute but that is an everyday political conflict. "The older men said I was right, the younger men said it was a damn shame to shoot an elephant for killing a coolie..." He indirectly states that there will always be political conflicts whether one does the right thing or not.
In this writing Orwell is describing the art of imperialism. He viewed the British as the oppressors, the British was controlling the burmese people. Yet, as he sets out on his mission to protect the people from the elephant he realizes that the British are not in control. Orwell says, " I first grasped the hollowness, the futility of the white man's dominion in the East." He realizes that the white man is not in charge, the white man becomes an, "absurd puppet" controlled by the people oppressed under the tyranny of the British. The British "destroy their own freedom" they do what the people they are opressing expect, they want to impress them.
In George Orwell’s essay entitled Shooting an Elephant, he conveyed his political opinions about the British rule through narration in a very straightforward way. He clearly stated in the second paragraph how he disagrees with imperialism. Orwell explains how he is a European police officer in British ruled Burma. He dislikes the British imperialism in Burma and is secretly in support of the Burmese people because of the oppression they undergo. Orwell used specific examples of this openly. He said that prisoners were kept in bad smelling cages while “long-term” convicts were beat with bamboo. These unfair actions diminished Orwell’s opinion of the government even more. He expresses his opinion very openly in his essay, illustrating his political ideas very clearly.
In George Orwell’s essay entitled Shooting an Elephant, he conveyed his political opinions about the British rule through narration in a very straightforward way. He clearly stated in the second paragraph how he disagrees with imperialism. Orwell explains how he is a European police officer in British ruled Burma. He dislikes the British imperialism in Burma and is secretly in support of the Burmese people because of the oppression they undergo. Orwell used specific examples of this openly. He said that prisoners were kept in bad smelling cages while “long-term” convicts were beat with bamboo. These unfair actions diminished Orwell’s opinion of the government even more. He expresses his opinion very openly in his essay, illustrating his political ideas very clearly.
In George Orwell’s essay entitled Shooting an Elephant, he conveyed his political opinions about the British rule through narration in a very straightforward way. He clearly stated in the second paragraph how he disagrees with imperialism. Orwell explains how he is a European police officer in British ruled Burma. He dislikes the British imperialism in Burma and is secretly in support of the Burmese people because of the oppression they undergo. Orwell used specific examples of this openly. He said that prisoners were kept in bad smelling cages while “long-term” convicts were beat with bamboo. These unfair actions diminished Orwell’s opinion of the government even more. He expresses his opinion very openly in his essay, illustrating his political ideas very clearly.
In Orwells " Shooting an Elephant" he conveys political ideas. In This i see the polititcal idea of using brute force and shoot first and try the eay way later. It says, " The only person who could manage it when it was in that state, had set out in pursuit, but had taken the wrong direction and was now twelve hours’ journey away" , Here it basicly says they do not want to wait 12 hours so they can tame the animal without brute force. But instead they chose to shoot the animal.
In "Shooting an Elephant", George Orwell effectively uses the language of narration to convey his political ideas. In the story, he recounts an incident of shooting an elephant in a town in Burma. Orwell admits that he did not want or need to kill the elephant, but did anyway because a few thousand villagers were watching. This conveys his idea that people, white, European people specifically, are compelled to do things by their desire to impress and remain superior to the rest of the world and in turn become controlled by it. He says "And my whole life, every white man's life in the East, was one long struggle not to be laughed at"(p 982). This shows his belief that men who place themselves above others are then trapped and forced to maintain the standards that they've created for themselves. Orwell's approach is indirect; rather than simply saying how he feels, he sets up a situation and story that allow the reader to witness firsthand the problems that he is addressing.
Orwell's essay focuses on imperialism. As a police officer in Burma, he experienced the effects of a despot government firsthand. Orwell first acknowledges Burmanese hatred of Westerners. He is the constant of object of jeers and insults; locals despise his presence. The author early on resolves "that imperialism was an evil thing and the sooner I chucked up on my job and got out of it the better." Still, his hatred of colonialism is dimmed by his hatred of the jeering locals. He qualifies that he was "young and ill-educated"; his political views were narrow. The tragic elephant incident introduces him to the harsh reality of imperialism. Orwell writes, "I perceived in this moment that when the white man turns into a tyrant it is his own freedom that destroys". Europeans, who projected themselves as superior, must maintain illusion. They must bend to the will of locals to stay on the pedestal. After Orwell shoots the elephant to please the pressing crowd, he says, "I often wondered whether any of the others grasped that I had done solely to avoid looking like a fool". The author couples the elephant incident with his previous perceptions to convey his political views directly. Orwell always hated imperialism. It oppressed locals to the point where he couldn't walk among them peaceably; though they were powerless, their anger was fierce. However, Orwell never realizes how the oppressor's freedom is diminished until he shoots an elephant
In “Shooting an Elephant” Orwell conveys his political beliefs. One main thing he talks about is imperialism. He says in paragraph 2, “imperialism was an evil thing”. He also talks about his dislike for the British by saying things about his feelings of “hatred of the empire I served”. Orwell also talks about how he feels a need to go with what the majority feels is right. This is shown when he doesn’t actually want to or intend to shoot the elephant. There is a large crowd behind him. He states, "I could feel their two thousand wills pressing me forward, irresistibly”. He ultimately decides to shoot the elephant because of the large group of people urging him to do so.
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