There is certainly no definite answer as to who has power in George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant”. The answer depends on perspective. From the perspective of the Burmese natives, George Orwell and his fellow English officers unequivocally have the power. In fact, most people, I think, would agree that the English have the power in this scenario. After all, the English were the ones to come assert their rule and establish a colony in Burma. The officers are the ones with the weapons and the ones that enforce the laws created by the English.

However, Orwell offers us a very interesting perspective from the view of the officer. To them, though they do enforce the rules, they also feel forced to act a certain way because of the natives. They are required to act in a certain way so as to fill their role of ruler. Yet, as Orwell speaks about, this often leads them to acting in ways they would not act out of their own volition (i.e. shooting the elephant).

So in many ways, both the Burmese natives as well as the English officers have power. The English force the Burmese to act a certain way and conform to their laws through the use of violence and fear. However, the Burmese force the officers to act a certain way and embody their positions though the use of their numbers and their opinion: the officers do not want to “disappoint” the natives.