In George Orwell’s essay “Shooting an Elephant,” from the outside looking in, it would appear that the white man, specifically Orwell and his fellow police officers, hold the power in Burma. However, it soon becomes clear that this is not the case. Orwell recounts the time when an elephant got loose, going on a sort of mini-rampage, destroying a hut while also killing a cow and a person. Orwell sets out to locate the elephant and handle the situation. However, when he asks and receives an elephant rifle, the townspeople expect to see the elephant killed. Not only do they want to observe the spectacle of the elephant being killed, but they also want the meat of the dead elephant. When Orwell locates the elephant, he comes to the conclusion that it is no longer and danger to society, and it need not be killed. Orwell also realizes, though, that the 2,000 townspeople expect to see the elephant killed. Through this encounter, it becomes evident that it is not the white man who holds the power in Burma. Rather, it is the people who hold the power, whether they know it or not. Orwell explains how he did not see the need to shoot the elephant, but “suddenly [he] realized that I should have to shoot the elephant after all. The people expected it of [him] and [he] had got to do it; [He] could feel their two thousand wills pressing [him] forward, irresistibly.” The phenomena that Orwell describes is a perfect example of domination. He did no want to kill the elephant, but he felt he had to do something against his will due to the wills of other people. Orwell himself recognizes this when he says, “Here was I, the white man with his gun, standing in front of the unarmed native crowd \u2014 seemingly the leading actor of the piece; but in reality I was only an absurd puppet pushed to and fro by the will of those yellow faces behind.” In this instance, Orwell recognizes the power that the people of Burma have over him, despite the fact that he is an authority figure. It becomes very clear, both to Orwell and the reader, that the real power in Burma lies with the people.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In George Orwell’s essay “Shooting an Elephant,” from the outside looking in, it would appear that the white man, specifically Orwell and his fellow police officers, hold the power in Burma. However, it soon becomes clear that this is not … Continue reading