What I think is most important to analyze in George Orwell’s Shooting an Elephant are the feelings Orwell elicited throughout the story as he is tasked to shoot the elephant. What Orwell is getting at is that by being an Englishman–white and representing (though not willingly) British imperialism–he is forced to act as “an absurd puppet” to the “yellow faces behind.” Although he states that he is secretly against the Burmese Oppressors, his vocabulary suggests that his hatred for the Burmese citizens far exceeds that of the “dirty work of Empire.” Ultimately, this–what I presume–fictitious hatred towards the British, is superseded primarily by an anger and frustration with the Burmese who fail to give him the respect he feels he deserves.
When confronted with the problem of the once rampaging elephant, Orwell decides to shoot the animal not due to an allegiance towards his occupation as a police officer nor a feeling of retribution considering the elephant did kill someone, but rather due to the mere fear of being laughed at by the “natives” who are, in that society, below him. I ascertain that this feeling of (absurd) “fear” and “vulnerability” is exacerbated by the fact that those who surrounded him are of a lower class than him. The idea that his façade performance of dominance will be exposed for its real weakness, is unacceptable for Orwell, a man who has been given the power to decide who or what lives or dies based upon his rank as an official. This pivotal exposure demonstrates the varying and dichotomous stakes of the oppressor-oppressed dynamic. In total, whether or not Orwell shoots the elephant, the only thing at stake is his pride. He understands this but does not understand how ludicrous and comical it is; rather he accepts the role he feels he needs to play and shoots the elephant. Only once the gun is shot and the huge animal staggers at the sudden blow, does this “veil” of the dominant fall from Orwell’s eyes. Unlike what Orwell expected however, the animal does not die immediately, but instead half an hour later and only after couple of more bullets had been shot into its rough skin. During this process, Orwell seems to believe that he is taking the higher road by trying to quell the anguished cries of the poor beast. And yet when he can no longer deal with the elephant’s whimpers, Orwell leaves–unwilling and unable to accept the consequences of his actions. And to think that all of this could have never happened if only he had the will to get over a fear of ridicule.
When it comes to Orwell, the Burmese exert an implied control that is not based on “fear of being laughed at,” but rather on keeping him to the norms and conventions that are expected of an agent of the British Empire.
sting that Orwell did the right thing, but I do not think that we as readers have the right to look down on his decision to kill the elephant. He was clearly under a lot of pressure from several outside sources, and I think most people in his scenario would have done the same thing.
Orwell appears to think he is basketball legends doing the right thing by attempting to calm the beast’s wailing cries during this time.
The implicit power that the Burmese exercise upon Orwell is not one of “fear of being laughed at”, but instead, holding him to the standards and conventions expected of an agent of the British Empire. That is to say, even though the British hold all of the tangible coercive power in this relationship, through acting as the dominators, they have established the rubric under which they are implicitly held, both by themselves and those over whom they have ostensible total control. Thus, Orwell’s central point, and the motivating factor is not a fear of ridicule but the tacit power of observation, a more indirect and Foucauldian means of control.
I completely agree that the real conflict of this story was over Orwell’s pride. But I think you underestimate the amount of pressure that was on him throughout this incident. I am not suggesting that Orwell did the right thing, but I do not think that we as readers have the right to look down on his decision to kill the elephant. He was clearly under a lot of pressure from several outside sources, and I think most people in his scenario would have done the same thing.