Shooting an Elephant by George Thesis

However, when his assistance is needed by the townspeople, the two very different populations show similar responses to the bloody scene of shooting an elephant, "It was a bit of fun to them, as it would be to an English crowd; besides they wanted the meat," (Orwell, 649).

Orwell furthers this blend of modern and primitive as seen through the use of his language. The narrator describes the scene of the village as using the native terms, yet juxtaposes this with eloquent English adjectives, "It was a very poor quarter, a labyrinth of squalid bamboo huts, thatched with palmleaf, winding all over a steep hillside," (Orwell, 650). It is the description of a scene as witness from an outsider, (Rodden, 390). The narrator's response to the eastern village is combined with his own distain based on being familiar with more "civilized" representations of society. This is also apparent through the slurs in which he references the local people, "He was an Indian, a black Dravidian coolie, almost naked, and he could not have been dead many minutes," (Orwell, 650). This is the view of a man who views himself as superior to those his job posits he protect -- typical of many imperialist situations.

Ultimately Orwell uses the imagery to show the nature of imperialism, along with the concept that it created puppets which were forced to commit crimes never originally intended.However, it is an interesting twist that the narrator moves from one puppeteer to another, from the British crown to the Burmese people, "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 wall of those yellow faces behind," (Orwell, 650). Orwell himself was helpless in a foreign land, (Stevens, 2008). The actions of the Burmese also represent the symbolic idea that in a way, imperialism forced these horrible situations on many; but at the same time it was true that none were strong enough to raise out of the crowd and stop it.

Through the intimate nature of the first person recollection of this event, Orwell draws on the concept of the hopelessness and uselessness of the institution of imperialism. Although we are all alike, imperialism enforced derogatory conceptions of who is inferior and who is superior. Along with this concept, imperialism also isolated not only those who were conquered, but also those who were made to enforce such horrid governmental practices.

Works Cited

Orwell, George. "Shooting an Elephant." Mixing the Methods.

Rodden, John. George Orwell. Transaction Publishers. 2002.

Stevens, J.P. "Shooting an Elephant: Rhetorical Analysis." Bookstove.….....