"Shooting an Elephant"

SUBJECT

            The subject of George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant” is imperialism. In his essay, George Orwell explains that he personally would not have liked to kill the elephant, however to prevent ridicule and humiliation from the natives, he shot the elephant. This is all connected to imperialism because, the British tyranny in Burma at the time caused the natives to despise Europeans, and George Orwell (being a European) was highly disliked. To maintain his superiority to the natives, George Orwell presented them with what they asked of him, he killed the elephant.  

OCCASION

            “Shooting an Elephant” was set during the 1920’s in Burma (or present day Myanmar). The action of the story takes place in the town of Moulmein, in Lower Burma. Through George Orwell’s writing, it is made pretty clear to the audience that his narration was set in a time of British oppression. For example, George Orwell states that while in Moulmein, “[he] was sub-divisional police officer of the town, and in an aimless, petty kind of way anti-European feeling was very bitter,” from this we can infer that there was a general hatred towards Europeans in the area. Also, George Orwell straight up claims the tyranny of the British by saying, “I thought of the British Raj as an unbreakable tyranny, as something clamped down, in saecula sauculorum, upon the will of prostrate peoples,”

AUDIENCE

            George Orwell’s specific audience for “Shooting an Elephant” is Europeans in general. The author’s target audience is revealed by his constant inner-debate about who he hates more, the oppressive British, or the jeering Burmese natives. George Orwell hated the Burmese because they made his life difficult and harassed him. At the same time, he hated the British tyranny because it caused the Burmese’ hatred towards Englishmen. This shows that his essay is geared towards Europeans because it shows that he’s trying to suggest to them that major issues lie within British imperialism.

PURPOSE

            George Orwell’s purpose in “Shooting an Elephant” is to express his opinions on imperialism. George Orwell most blatantly points this out when he says “I had already made up my mind that imperialism was an evil thing and the sooner I chucked my job and got out of it the better.” He also supports his opinion throughout the text. He suggests that British oppression is degrading to the natives of the country and that it also causes Englishmen to act on the favor of the natives in order to maintain their superiority.

SPEAKER

            George Orwell believes that conquerors of a foreign land should not oppress the natives of that land. George Orwell emphasizes that when he claims that “[he] was all for the Burmese and all against their oppressors, the British.” He supports his opinion when saying this because, as the readers, we know that George Orwell hated the Burmese and for him to be able to agree with them on their anger towards the British oppressors was a big deal.

            George Orwell expresses his opinion through the format of a short story. By making his statement through his story about shooting an elephant, he was able to retain the readers’ attention. It also made his essay a lot more entertaining. All this, helped to attract more readers and thus, spread his opinion.

TONE

            George Orwell’s tone throughout “Shooting an Elephant” was friendly yet stern. George Orwell was friendly through his use of a personal experience. Also, in the beginning, he writes as if he were speaking to his reader one-on-one. At the same time, George Orwell’s voice is stern because he is addressing an issue that is serious to him and of concern to him.