In George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant,” there is a dynamic of power that is seemed to be maintained from the account of fear. The British Empire, which Orwell works for, has an authoritative power over the the Burmese. However, there rule and what they do is largely based off the people of which they govern. For example, In “Shooting an Elephant,” Orwell is largely concerned of doing what the Burmese want him to do. He does not want to shoot the elephant that seems and appears to be tame, but he knows that if he doesn’t he will seem like a coward to the people he is supposed to be in control of. And how easy is it to overthrow a coward? This anxiety hovering over him even follows him after the shooting of the elephant when he says, “I often wondered whether any of the others grasped that I had done it solely to avoid looking a fool.” This fear of being seen as less allows the Burmese to have a form of power over the people that are supposed to be in total control.  If the “balance” of power is thrown off then the scales are flipped and the Burmese and the British have a situation where revolt or rebellion could occur.