“Shooting an Elephant” – Shift of Power

There is only one group with referenced in George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant” that has complete power, and that is the English Empire. This group, however, does not include Orwell himself, for his power is entirely dependent on the Burmese’s’ perspective of his position. When Orwell walks through the street, people taunt and attempt to provoke a reaction from him, mocking the fact that he is a white man in their country. As a body of people, they have the strength to offer resistance in the most meager form they can manage. But as individuals, not a single person has the strength to organize a legitimate resistance. The British empire, therefore, has power over the Burmese, as they are affecting the Burmese contrary to their interests (Gaventa). The Burmese and Orwell both have some degree of power over the other, due to traditional and legal authority, respectively. The British empire holds power over Orwell, as he states he does not enjoy his position of authority and secretly agrees with the Burmese; the empire affects Orwell contrary to his personal interests.

Once the elephant comes into play, however, the dynamic of power completely shifts. As Orwell stands in the field, staring at the elephant, with 2000 Burmese watching and assuming he will shoot the creature, he decides it would be immoral to do so. He feels strongly that the elephant should live, yet those around him believe otherwise. Orwell puzzles through the consequences of not shooting the elephant, and concludes that he must kill the animal for the sake of the English empire, and so he himself does not look like a fool. In this moment, the Burmese people have power over both the English Empire and Orwell. Orwell is pushed to contradict his personal perspective, and the English become dependent upon the will of one man to shoot an elephant.

9 thoughts on ““Shooting an Elephant” – Shift of Power

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  2. the top, Orwell being the middle, and the Burmese being the bottom of the power scale. You also describe the English empire as having complete power, but they do not. Just as Orwell is influenced by the opinions of those who have less power than him, so the English government is influenced by those who have less power than them – i.e. their citizens, such as Orwell. Just as Orwell has only a facade of power and must do as the

  3. In this post you describe a top, middle and bottom: The the English Empire being the top, Orwell being the middle, and the Burmese being the bottom of the power scale. You also describe the English empire as having complete power, but they do not. Just as Orwell is influenced by the opinions of those who have less power than him, so the English government is influenced by those who have less power than them – i.e. their citizens, such as Orwell. Just as Orwell has only a facade of power and must do as the Burmese wish him to do in the case of the elephant, the actions of the English empire are influenced by the people “below” them, such as Orwell.

    • Thank you for your clarification. As far as I know, Shooting an Elephant is an essay by the British writer George Orwell, first published in the literary magazine New Writing in late 1936. The essay describes the experience of an English narrator, possibly Orwell himself, in shooting an aggressive elephant while serving as a police officer in Burma. Since the locals expect him to do the job, he does it against common sense, his suffering is magnified by the slow and slow movement of the elephant. painful death. History is seen as a metaphor for British imperialism. Moreover, according to Orwell, “when a white man becomes a tyrant, he destroys his own freedom.” Orwell spent part of his life in Burma in a position close to that of a storyteller, but the autobiography of his story is disputed without convincing evidence that it is fact or fiction.
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