Essay on Shooting an Elephant

Throughout George Orwell’s, Shooting an Elephant, the reader can perceive George’s deep hatred towards the empire and their totaliaristic regime over India. His hatred grows from such a deep place inside of him that George does not even hate back the Burmans when they hurt him, instead he redirects his hate towards the empire, as page 285 states, “Theoritcally – and secretly, of course- I was all for the Burmese and all against their oppressors, the British.” He mentions this right after “a nimble Burman tripped me up on the football field and the referee (another Burman) looked the other way, the crowd yelled with hideous laughter” (284). Orwell hates the empire more than what the Burmans hate him, he might even love the Burmese people, which drives him to illustrate the empire not as the oppressor, but as the oppressed in this story.

Throughout Shooting an Elephant, Orwell portrays this bitter feeling towards the empire to the point were Orwell mocks the British empire and depicts them as the oppressed people’s puppet. Orwell states, “white tyrants destroy their own freedom as they control another country, they make their sole purpose in life to impress the natives.” Orwell exhibits this evil and destructive empire not as the oppresors, but as the oppressed, meaning that empire would do just as natives want them to do. This story illustrates this idea, Orwell did something he did not want to do. Apparently, he was the authority in the situation, nevertheless he did exactly what the natives wanted him to do. As page 288 states, “seemingly he runs the show, but he is just a puppet of an unarmed crowd.” Clearly, Orwell hates the empire and blames the empire for the impoverishment of the people. Nevertheless he displays the empire as they really are, a puppet, an insecure empire who make their purpose in life to impress the natives.