Shooting an Elephant Study Guide

Word Choice Example #4 "stripped his body almost to the bones by afternoon"

- Orwell highlights the impoverished state of the Burmese people. They are so poor that every part of the carcass of the dead elephant becomes an important source of income. They have been reduced to this level of desperation and poverty due to being exploited and subjugated by the British colonizers.

What was the author's purpose?

- convey to the reader his views and opinions about imperialism - persuade the reader to adopt his views and opinions about colonialism and imperialism - highlight the serious repercussions of imperialism on the Burmese people - emphasize that imperialism is fundamentally wrong

Word Choice Example #3 "the owner was furious, but he was only an Indian and could do nothing"

- highlights the racist views of the British colonizers and the racism that the Burmese natives had to ensure during British rule. The Empire was institutionally racist. The Burmese people were discriminated against due to their nationality and race. The British colonizers regarded themselves as being racially, culturally and intellectually superior to the natives.

What was the author's views and opinions?

- imperialism is wrong and futile - colonialists mistreat and oppress the native people - colonialists were tyrannical and abused their power

Word Choice Example #5

- word choice "glee" & "devilish" - Orwell depicts the crowd of Burmese people as being collectively savage and barbaric in their reaction to the death of the elephant. He presents them as being wild and untamable, almost like animals. This reflects the wider view that the British colonizers had of the people that they conquered.

Word Choice Example #1 "squalid bamboo huts"

- word choice "squalid" - highlights the poverty and or living conditions the Burmese people. The people were living in squalor and had to tolerate a miserable and humiliating existence.

Word Choice Example #2 "imperialism was an evil thing"

- word choice is "evil" - Orwell was British and was employed by the British Empire. Believe that imperialism is inherently wicked, malicious, ruthless and abominable, immoral. Imperialism has no moral or ethical justification. It has no redeeming qualities.

What is Orwell's job in Burma?

A police officer

Metaphor Example #2 "only an absurd puppet"

A puppet is controlled and manipulated by a puppeteer. Orwell felt controlled and manipulated by the British Empire

What is the setting?

A town in southern Burma during the colonial period

How are both Orwell and the elephant examples of a seeming control, when in reality each has little control? Support your answer with details from the essay.

Both obtain power but society and the people around them have a great influence.

What does Orwell say is the struggle of his entire life as well as the struggle of every white man in the East?

Embarrassment

How did working in Burma change Orwell's beliefs?

He became an anarchist

How is Orwell's desire when he see the elephant different from the crowd's desire?

He didn't want to kill the elephant while the crowd wanted him to

Orwell is thinking about going home when he discovered the dead man. What happens as a result?

He equips himself with a gun that could kill the elephant as a means of self defense.

How did Orwell decide to follow family tradition?

He went to Burma as assistant district superintendent in the Indian Imperial Police

What damage does the elephant cause in the town?

Huts where destroyed and a man was killed

What are the themes?

Imperialism, racism, poverty

How did Orwell grow up?

Morose, withdrawn, eccentric

How is the literary technique anecdote used?

Orwell relates a true story

What is "powerless to move, powerless to die" an example of?

Symbolism

What does Orwell say is true of stories in the East?

That the people live in the bamboo

Metaphor Example #1

The British Empire is being compared to the escaped elephant. Just as the elephant was powerful, strong, and unstoppable, so too were the Burmese people unable to prevent the British colonizers from conquering them, exploiting them and imposing their own culture and values.

What conflicting emotions does Orwell say are the "normal by-products of imperialism"?

The British Raj is unbreakable; the greatest joy in the world would be to kill a Buddhist priest

What is a pathetic fallacy?

The attribution of human feelings and responses to inanimate things or animals, especially in art and literature.

Symbolism Example #1 "Powerless to move, and yet powerless to die"

The elephant is used to represent the Burmese people. Just as the elephant is trapped and immobile due to its injuries, so too were the Burmese people unable to escape the control and dominance of their colonizers. The Burmese people had no choice but to endure the hardship, mistreatment and loss of freedom that was imposed on them by the tyrannical and dictatorial rule of the British Empire. They lacked the means by which to fight back against the British and regain their liberty and dignity.

Symbolism Example #2 "destroyed somebody's bamboo hut, killed a cow, raided some fruit stores"

The escaped elephant is a symbol of the British Empire and its tyrannical rule. Orwell is emphasizing the brutally destructive impact of the Empire on the Burmese people. Just as the elephant has ruined and demolished parts of the town, so too has the British Empire had a ruinous and destructive impact on the countries it conquered and ruled. The British have exploited the Burmese people for their own gain, reaping the benefits of the country's resources. Burma has been significantly weakened and left in state of poverty.

Explain what makes the sentence ironic. "I perceived this moment that when the white man turns tyrant it is his own freedom that he destroys."

The more responsibility you have, the less freedom you have.

Why does the author begin to think that the elephant story is untrue?

The people he asks about the elephant keep telling him different locations of the elephants whereabouts.

What opposing views do people have on the death of the elephant? Identify the opposing views and one person who supports each view. Support your answer with one detail from the essay.

The younger people wanted the elephant to be killed. The older people did not want the elephant to be killed.

How do the Burmese people show their dislike of British colonial rule? Use one detail from the essay to support your response.

They do this by laughing at the police

What does the sub inspector ask Orwell to do?

To take care of the elephant situation

How did George Orwell die?

Tuberculosis