ENC-1101: Analyzing Imperialism in Orwell's Elephant Essay

This essay presents a critical response to George Orwell's 'Shooting an Elephant,' focusing on what Orwell's experiences teach him about the nature of imperialism. The essay argues that the British officer in the story is a symbol of imperialism, while the elephant represents Burmese society. Orwell's role as a police officer allows him to witness the atrocities committed by the British against the Burmese people, leading him to side with the Burmese and critique British rule. The shooting of the elephant is interpreted as a metaphor for British imperialism, reflecting the performative nature of colonial power and the fear of humiliation that drives the British to maintain their oppressive rule. The essay references several academic sources to support its analysis of Orwell's work and its commentary on imperialism.

Kruse 1
Prof.beck
ENC-1101-244077
September 24, 2018
Critical Response Chapter 1
What does Orwell’s experience teach him about the nature of imperialism?
Answer 1:
‘Shooting an Elephant’ by George Orwell portrays the negative effects of imperialism. In
the essay, the British officer is a symbol of imperialism, while the elephant represents Burmese
society and the people of Burma who needs to be ‘tamed’ by the British and who unfortunately
have to withstand the worst of imperialism. George Orwell’s job as a police officer for the
British enables him to see the atrocities committed by the British officers on the Burmese people
wherein they are subjected to immense torture in prisons. George Orwell describes the whipped
bodies of the Burmese people in dirty, stinking cells and describes how the British rule is
oppressive and tyrannical. George Orwell states how he sides with the Burmese people and how
he is against the British rule in Burma.
The essay entitled, ‘Shooting an Elephant’ is a metaphor for British imperialism and is a
critique on British imperialism (Doyle 2015). George Orwell’s experience in shooting an
elephant reflects an understanding of colonial power. When George Orwell realizes that he has to
shoot the elephant in order to prevent being belittled, jeered and mocked at by the Burmese
people, he realizes the underlying principle of performance in the relationship between the
British people and the oppressed people of Burma, between the colonizer and the colonized. The

Kruse 2
fear of humiliation, of not being able to perform is a powerful motivating factor for the British
people to treat the Burmese people inhumanely. Even though George Orwell abhors the British
rule in Burma, he feels it is necessary for him to uphold the British rule, the imperialistic image
of power, because he is scared of being ridiculed and laughed at by the people of Burma. He
feels that if he does not kill the elephant, the Burmese people will see through him, see through
his weakness and ridicule him. Thus, he decides to kill the elephant out of the fear of being
ridiculed by the Burmese people.
The actual shooting of the elephant is symbolic of the British rule in Burma (Stephens
2017). The British rule symbolizes imperialism and the elephant symbolizes the people of Burma
and the Burmese society, while the act of killing the elephant represents the colonial rule of
taming or killing the Burmese people. Shooting the elephant does not kill the elephant
immediately just like policing the Burmese people does not place them under the control of the
British. George Orwell shoots a number of bullets at the elephant but the elephant does not die
immediately. This is also symbolic of the futility of the British rule in Burma wherein the British
people are ultimately unable to seize complete control over the Burmese people even though they
resort to violence. The rule of the British leads to a lot of bloodshed and leaves behind a lot of
bloodshed just like the killing of the elephant entails a lot of bloodshed. Thus, George Orwell
realizes that the nature of imperialism in Burma is essentially performative in nature.

Kruse 3
REFERENCES:
Doyle, James M. "Orwell's elephant and the etiology of wrongful convictions." Alb. L. Rev. 79
(2015): 895.
Ghaforian, Ahmad, and Ahmad Gholi. "A Postcolonial Reading of George Orwell’s Shooting an
Elephant With Special Reference to Edward Said’s Orientalism and Binary of the Self and the
Other." Theory and Practice in Language Studies 5.7 (2015): 1361-1367.
Graham, Peter W. "Byron, Orwell, politics and the English language." Byron: The Poetry of
Politics and the Politics of Poetry. Routledge, 2016. 69-79.
Stephens, Gregory. "Split-Screen Freedom." Writing on the Edge 28.1 (2017): 54-62.