“Shooting an Elephant” SOAPSTone

Subject: The subject of George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant” is an incident in Burma during which the author was urged to shoot an elephant that had gone ‘must’, and his feelings on the shooting and the events leading up to it. The execution of the rogue animal is illustrated with Orwell’s recounting of being told of the elephant’s rampage and subsequently goaded on by the natives’ desire to see him shoot the creature, ultimately succumbing to the pressure brought on by their inevitable teasing had he not shot the elephant and mortally wounding it. This illustrates the identified subject by detailing his thoughts on the natives’ reactions to his behavior if he were to simply allow the animal to be rounded up instead of killing it, as they wanted him to do, showing that he would not have been able to stand being laughed at for not shooting the elephant, even if it had trampled him to death.

Occasion: “Shooting an Elephant” was written in 1936. The essay’s time of creation is exhibited by the date at the bottom of the article, but also by Orwell’s talk of the Burmese natives’ oppression by the British, which came to an end in 1948, stating that “For at that time [he] had already made up [his] mind that imperialism was an evil thing and the sooner [he] chucked up [his] job and got out of it the better. Theoretically — and secretly, of course — [he] was all for the Burmese and all against their oppressors, the British.” This proves my claim by discussing events during a certain time period, the British rule in Burma, with the year in which Orwell wrote this being a part of that time period. The probable place of the essay’s creation is in Orwell’s London home, proven by the details at the end of the article.

The time and place of the essay’s creation influence the essay in the terms that Orwell uses, such as Burma, imperialism, British Empire, coolie, British Raj, as well as the way he describes his feelings towards the Burmese natives, with the then-current British rule influencing his opinion of them. This is illustrated by his statement, mentioned earlier, that he supported the Burmese and was against their British oppressors.

Audience: George Orwell’s specific audience for “Shooting an Elephant” is those interested in the life of a British citizen living in one of its colonies, specifically, in this case, Burma. The author’s target audience is revealed by Orwell’s mentioning of how “… it is the condition of [one’s] rule that [one] shall spend [one’s] life in trying to impress the ‘natives’, and so in every crisis [one] has got to do what [one is expected to do by the ‘natives’]. This reveals the target audience by showing those that may be intrigued by what the life of a citizen of an empire is like in an empire’s colony that things aren’t nearly as grand as they may seem, providing more intrigue for the reader.

The author’s general audience for the essay is anyone who may be a citizen of a colonial power, such as Britain, or anyone who is under the command of a colonial power, such as, though this is no longer the case, Burma. The author’s general audience is shown by his statement, as previously mentioned, discussing his feelings towards imperialism – that it is an evil thing – and that he wished to escape it. This demonstrates that he’s not solely concerned with British imperialism, but that any form of imperialism is going to have both negative effects on the empire and whoever may be under the empire’s control, with the former seeming to lose their freedom, and with the latter being subject to all the unpleasantries of being an empire’s colony.

Purpose: George Orwell’s purpose in “Shooting an Elephant” is to emphasize the fact that even though he was British and despite Burma being a British colony, those who are British in Burma aren’t necessarily allowed due to societal pressures from the natives to exact what would seem like inevitable colonial control. This lack of ruling power that has been stifled by the expectations of the natives of the colonized country is manifested by Orwell stating that “… it was at [that] moment, as [he] stood there with the rifle in [his] hands, that [he] first grasped the hollowness, the futility of the white man's dominion in the East. [There he was], the white man with his gun, standing in front of the unarmed native crowd — seemingly the leading actor of the piece; but in reality [he] was only an absurd puppet pushed to and fro by the will of those yellow faces behind. [He] perceived in [that] moment that when the white man turns tyrant it is his own freedom that he destroys.” This proves my claim by illustrating that the ‘yellow faces’ of the Burmese were what prevented him from exacting ‘the white man’s dominion in the East’. The purpose is further articulated by the lines stating that “To come all that way, rifle in hand, with two thousand people marching at [his] heels, and then to trail feebly away, having done nothing — no, that was impossible. The crowd would laugh at [him]. And [his] whole life, every white man's life in the East, was one long struggle not to be laughed at.” This proves by claim by emphasizing the fact that the societal pressures – in this case, the threat of the Burmese natives laughing at him for not shooting the elephant – threatened the strength of Britain’s hold over Burma, and that in order to feel as though control had not been lost, Orwell would have to shoot the elephant.

Speaker: George Orwell, a hater of imperialism, believes that when one man becomes a tyrant over another, the tyrant loses his own freedom. This value is illustrated by the aforementioned quotes that state that despite being British, and as such, having dominion over the Burmese, Orwell simply could not resist the social pressure exhibited upon him by his colonial subjects. This influences the essay’s purpose by emphasizing that ‘the white man’s dominion in the East’ is not as powerful as it seems. This was included to add to the strength of the purpose, thus making the essay more influential on the reader.

George Orwell, a supporter of equality, also believes that people should not be oppressed. This value is illustrated by his descriptions of the squalor the Burmese live in, and the abuse they endure, such as being “flogged with bamboos”. This, coupled with his hatred for his nation’s imperialistic government, illustrates his support for equality by showing that he feels guilt and disapproval towards the methods used to keep the ‘natives’ under control. This influences the essay’s purpose by emphasizing in this case the negative effects imperialism has upon those being colonized, and shows that, despite being more powerful than the Burmese, he still sympathizes with them.

George Orwell’s use of imagery is evident in his description of the shooting of the elephant, with one example being that “At the second shot he did not collapse but climbed with desperate slowness to his feet and stood weakly upright, with legs sagging and head drooping.” This influences the essay’s purpose by showing that Orwell’s inability to resist the pressures from the Burmese natives on him causes agony and pain for the elephant he has to shoot.

George Orwell’s use of chronological structure is evident in the fact that the events move in a coherent, chronological order, with the third paragraph explaining the scenario – an elephant had escaped, and Orwell was sent to deal with it – and the final paragraph discussing the happenings following the elephant’s shooting. This influences the essay’s purpose by building up and emphasizing the negative aspects of imperialism, such as the oppressor’s loss of freedom, as well as the effects on the oppressed, ending on a melancholy note, giving the reader a stronger impression of the unpleasant nature of it all.

Tone: George Orwell exhibits an angry and disapproving attitude about imperialism and its negative effects not only on those beneath it, such as the Burmese, but also those who are doing the colonizing, such as the British, in “Shooting an Elephant”. These attitudes are expressed with his talk of how imperialism is “evil”, how the motives of an imperialistic government are “despotic”, and discussions of conflicting feelings on both the oppressors – the British Raj – and the oppressed, stating that the British Raj is an unbreakable tyranny, but also expressing desires to stab a Buddhist priest. These express his angry and disapproving attitudes toward imperialism by using hateful and effective language, thus more clearly illustrating to the reader that imperialism is not a good thing. This serves the purpose of the essay by showing the readers that even those who are doing the colonizing experience negative feelings towards their imperialistic government. This is supported by his statement that he is an “absurd puppet”, illustrating the fact that imperialism has negative effects – it takes away the freedom of those who are a part of the colonial power – and emphasizes his angry attitude towards imperialism as a whole.