George Orwell is the pen name of Eric Arthur Blair, a novelist, essayist and critic. He spent his childhood in England, where he attended Eton College from 1917 to 1921. In Burma, today’s Myanmar, the 19-year-old introduced himself as a colonial police officer.
The short story “Shooting an Elephant” describes Orwell’s time as a police officer in Burma. In the story it is the police officer’s job to bring an eloped, aggressive elephant under control. Taking out his rifle the officer seems to shoot the elephant, which he actually doesn’t want to. The crowd put pressure on him which causes Orwell to shoot the elephant.
Although Orwell is sympathising with the oppressed natives, he has to represent the British power and is forced to act according to imperial aims. It can be said that Orwell is caught between his hatred for the Empire and the rude behaviour of the Burmese.
He is struggling with being a representative of the Empire, demonstrating power, and his job as the police officer but also his own feelings. Besides his inner struggles concerning the elephant, Orwell is also facing exclusion. As a representer of the British Empire he is not respected and the natives hate him.
A few years later, Orwell returned to Europe due to health problems and his critical attitude towards the colonial regime. Orwell’s critical attitude towards oppression, colonialism and imperialism is expressed in his works, which he wrote in France and England in search of casual jobs.
From his dystopia entitled “1984” comes the famous quote “Big brother is watching you”. The author describes the total surveillance of citizens and describes a comprehensive surveillance system. Considering various video cameras in supermarkets, gas stations, public places or the use of credit cards, the comprehensive surveillance system has become largely a reality today.
In 1938, Orwell was diagnosed with tuberculosis and died of it in London in 1950. Orwell is best known for his novels “Animal Farm” and “1984.” The Animal Farm satire is an anti-Soviet satire that refers to Joseph Stalin and Leon Trotsky.
The story of Orwell describes colonial imperialism in India and shows what it means to manage the country’s affairs under British leadership. At the end of the 19th century, the British monarchy took control of India from the East India Company. The British nation brought India under its own control and exploited the country for its own profit. This resulted in India’s dependence on Britain. Britain saw India as a very valuable colony, due to the great supply of spices, textiles, cotton and opium. Extremely negative effects of imperialism included the cruel treatment and exploitation of the native people.
George Orwell describes this situation and his feelings in his historical essay “Shooting an Elephant”. In the book, Orwell describes how humiliating it can be to suffer from the hatred and distrust of the inhabitants. Orwell suffers under the gap that was created between the colonizers and the colonized.
The story takes place in time of the British Imperial Leadership in India.
Orwell works as a police officer in Moulmein, a town that is part of the British colony. As a military occupier he is despised and insulted by the local population. Orwell seems confused because he wants to take a stand on the side of the local population and is against the oppressive British Empire. He feels guilt and is horrified by the empire’s tyranny, but at the same time he is angry at the mocking of the locals.
The main part of the story is set in Moulmein and is about an elephant who is supposed to be killed by Orwell because he is said to have wreaked havoc and killed a men. Finally, Orwell discovers a peaceful elephant that doesn’t look aggressive. The elephant has calmed down, but by that time a huge crowd of local Burmese have gathered to watch the killing.
Orwell does not want to disappoint the residents and feels like a kind of marionette in this situation. He feels compelled to shoot the elephant in order to escape the laughter and disappointment of the people, as it would be very humiliating for him. He needs several shots with an elephant rifle to kill the animal. The shots have little effect and it takes the elephant half an hour to die. After firing the elephant gun, Orwell also uses a smaller gun to finally kill the elephant. He leaves the dying animal and is surprised how long it takes the elephant to die.
As soon as the elephant died, the villagers pulled the meat from the bones. Orwell was not the only one undecided about whether to kill the elephant; many sections of the population had a different opinion. Many Britons agreed with Orwell’s decision, but the younger settlers did not see the need for the killing. The owner of the elephant was very upset about the killing, but could not do anything about it.