Imperialism In George Orwell's Essay 'Shooting An Elephant'
Evils of Imperialism In life people are often faced with making difficult decisions that are influenced by other people’s opinions. In George Orwell’s essay “Shooting An Elephant”, he declares, “imperialism was an evil thing”(2). Imperialism forces people to go against their better judgment for the sake of being ridiculed. In Orwell’s thesis he states, “ I perceived in this moment that when the white man turns tyrant it is his own freedom that he destroys. He becomes a sort of hollow, posing dummy, the conventionalized figure of a sahib… He wears a mask, and his face grows to fit it”(7). The oppressor and the oppressed are both corrupted by imperialism. Doing what is expected of a person to do and doing what is morally right are not always
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He illustrates his experiences as a police officer in Burma, and uses those experiences to expose the real nature of imperialism. He wants people to sympathize and feel the emotions associated with his experiences. In this essay, Orwell states how the Burmese people treated him as a sub-divisional police officer. He writes, “As a police officer I was an obvious target and was baited whenever it seemed safe to do so. When a nimble Burman tripped me up on the football field…the crowd yelled with hideous laughter…In the end the sneering yellow faces of young men that met me everywhere, the insults hooted after me…none of them seemed to have anything to do except stand on the street corner and jeer at Europeans”(1). This shows that Orwell was constantly criticized and mocked by the natives. The Burmans have the power to manipulate Orwell, he opposes the British government and supports the natives, but yet their insults and jeering causes him to feel disgust towards them. Orwell uses language to show the people the resentment imperialism caused him to feel. Imperialism impacts Orwell’s life on a personal manner, it causes internal conflict, making him feel torn between his occupation as an officer and his
He illustrates his experiences as a police officer in Burma, and uses those experiences to expose the real nature of imperialism. He wants people to sympathize and feel the emotions associated with his experiences. In this essay, Orwell states how the Burmese people treated him as a sub-divisional police officer. He writes, “As a police officer I was an obvious target and was baited whenever it seemed safe to do so. When a nimble Burman tripped me up on the football field…the crowd yelled with hideous laughter…In the end the sneering yellow faces of young men that met me everywhere, the insults hooted after me…none of them seemed to have anything to do except stand on the street corner and jeer at Europeans”(1). This shows that Orwell was constantly criticized and mocked by the natives. The Burmans have the power to manipulate Orwell, he opposes the British government and supports the natives, but yet their insults and jeering causes him to feel disgust towards them. Orwell uses language to show the people the resentment imperialism caused him to feel. Imperialism impacts Orwell’s life on a personal manner, it causes internal conflict, making him feel torn between his occupation as an officer and his