Orwell’s Life Changing Event
George Orwell is one of the most famous authors of the 20th century. In the essay “Shooting an Elephant” he writes about his time in Burma as a part of the British Indian imperial police. In this work he talks about a time when he had to shoot an elephant to save face. This story was a defining moment in his life that changed how he viewed the world
The essay starts off with an elephant raging in a bazar that he must take care of as an imperial police officer, who is an oppressor of the Burman people. He goes down to the bazar and finds that a man was killed by the elephant. After finding this, he sends a man to go get an elephant gun. Orwell goes down to a patty field where the elephant is, with the local townspeople following him. Orwell decides after seeing the elephant he shouldn’t shoot him because the elephant had stopped its rampage and was now just sitting peacefully in the field. But because of the people around him, and trying to keep the status of his position intact, he shoots the elephant. Afterwards he talks to the Europeans about what he did and the older ones think he did the right thing while the younger ones have mixed feelings. But Orwell shot the elephant saying “that I had done it solely to avoid looking a fool” (“Shooting an Elephant”).
During the time he was in Burma there was a big anti-European feeling in the country. Orwell himself wasn’t a fan of the British imperialism going on at the time which is evident by reading his essay. In the beginning of his essay he writes, “For at that time I had already made up my mind that imperialism was an evil thing and the sooner I chucked up my job and got out of it the better.” Given the pretext of how he felt about imperialism the events that happened in shooting an elephant went to reinforce his feelings.
The events in the story were a defining moment because it reinforced how he felt about the British imperialism. In Orwell’s essay he says, “I perceived in this moment that when the white man turns tyrant it is his own freedom that he destroys.” I feel as this is talking about how Orwell feels concerning his position as a part of the British Indian Imperial Police. I take this statement as him saying he has turned into a tyrant. “In the East the white man wears a mask, and his face grows to fit it” is another statement he made is his essay that shows himself as being an oppressor. Also, through this statement he is expressing his disdain for British imperialism.
This event shaped how he lived the rest of his life. After Orwell’s time in Burma, he started writing about British imperialism. Also, later in his life he wrote Animal Farm which was an anti-Stalinist piece. Without the events that happened in Burma that he wrote about he might not have continued to write all the works that he did. Because of his anti-Stalinist feelings, he also took part in the Spanish Civil War shortly after writing "Shooting an Elephant". This goes to show that the events that took place had an enormous impact on the way he felt and how he would live the rest of his life.
The theme of oppressors and the oppressed is included in most of his writing throughout his life. For example, in Animal Farm the whole novel is about the oppressors and the oppressed. In the beginning the farmer is labeled as the oppressor and the animals are the oppressed. Then after the animals overthrow the farmer the pigs rise to power and become the new oppressors. Also, in his final warning he talks about being oppressed and to not let it happen. In his essay "Why I Write" he even states on of his reasons for writing is for a political purpose. Orwell also says “Every line of serious work that I have written since 1936 has been written, directly or indirectly, against totalitarianism and for democratic socialism.” This shows that his work was greatly influenced by his time in Burma and just shows how the events that took place in “Shooting an Elephant” were a defining moment in his life.
All of this information combined goes to show how much of a profound moment this was in Orwell's life. Without the events that occurred in Burma Orwell might not have written essays and novels about the oppressors and the oppressed. These events shaped who Orwell was as a person and also who he was as a writer.
Works Cited
“Biography of George Orwell.” George Orwell, N.d. www.george-orwell.org/l_biography.html. Accessed 25 April 2018.
Orwell, George. “Shooting an Elephant.” Literature Network, N.d. www.online-literature.com/orwell/887/ Accessed 25 April 2018.
Orwell, George. “Why I Write.” George Orwell, N.d. www.k-1.com/Orwell/site/work/essays/write.html Accessed 25 April 2018.
AlanWattResistance. "A Final Warning from George Orwell" YouTube, BBC, 2003, www.youtube.com/watch?v=ox-shlDXKO4 Accessed 25 April 2018.