Eric Arthur Blair, more famously known as George Orwell, is one of the most influential writers of the English language. Two of his most noteworthy books, 1984 and Animal Farm, have become a staple in the literary study of oppression from imperialism, fascism, and totalitarianism, and their powerful themes continue to resonate even today. Orwell’s essay “Politics and the English Language”, which addressed the dilemma of political jargon and euphemisms meant to confuse the reader, would later provide the fundamental framework for modern academic writing to preserve and encourage individual thought. In another essay, “Shooting an Elephant”, Orwell himself is exposed to the true follies of imperialism by having played the roles of both the oppressor and the oppressed as a police officer during an incident in Burma. Shortly after the event, he injected himself into the Spanish Civil War to aid in the fight against the nationalist control of Francisco Franco, a decision which may not have been made without having first understood the true nature of oppression. Orwell’s interpretation on how destructive these political ideologies could be (both to society and the individual) can be credited to his own experiences that were noteworthy enough to inspire him to create his most famous works that detested these types of governments.
The personal events that led George Orwell to write “Shooting an Elephant” proved to be some of the most troubling to him. After suffering from academic setbacks, he opted to join the Indian Imperial Police in Burma, which was at the time under British rule. It was there that he was met with rejection and ridicule by the locals, proclaiming that “…the sneering yellow faces of young men that met me everywhere, the insults hooted after me when I was at a safe distance, got badly on my nerves” (“Shooting an Elephant,” par. 1). He was apathetic about his job, and had already rejected the political schemes of the British, so to have to face the backlash of the people of Burma troubled him deeply. He admits he secretly was “…all for the Burmese and all against their oppressors, the British” (“Shooting an Elephant,” par. 2). It was surely a difficult time for the young Orwell, who was torn between his bitterness towards his own country and the abysmal conditions he was forced to endure in Burma. It was not until he was faced with a dilemma that involved a rogue elephant ravaging a nearby town that he truly understood the destructive nature of imperialism.
During its escape, the elephant had trampled over some crops and killed a bystander. It was then that Orwell determined it may be necessary to use lethal force to stop the elephant from wreaking more havoc. Upon arriving at the scene, he was faced with a moral choice, wondering if shooting the elephant would be justified. Now, he was met with an enormous crowd that awaited the elephant’s demise, the same people that spent their days mocking him. It was in this moment he realized “…the hollowness, the futility of the white man's dominion in the East” (“Shooting an Elephant,” par. 7). His role had shifted from the oppressed to the oppressor because of the overwhelming pressure to establish his dominance in the situation. Orwell reluctantly fired upon the elephant multiple times, too troubled to witness its death. Recalling what he had done, he “…perceived in this moment that when the white man turns tyrant it is his own freedom that he destroys” (“Shooting an Elephant,” par. 7). He must have felt that the only way to rebel against the opposition was to become an antagonist himself. Killing the elephant was not an action based off moral obligation, but simply to “avoid looking a fool” (“Shooting an Elephant,” par. 14).
The result of the event had undoubtedly left an impact on George Orwell and his already distasteful philosophy on imperialism. Shortly thereafter, he enlisted as an infantryman for the Republicans in the Spanish Civil War against Francisco Franco, a powerful nationalist leader who had taken control of the country. He was a strong advocate for, and eventually joined, the Independent Labor Party and fought alongside the Marxists and anarchists. Orwell was forced to leave after being shot in the neck, a critical wound that almost left him unable to speak (“Biography of George Orwell”). In his book Homage to Catalonia, he expresses how noteworthy his time was spent with the revolutionaries and the massive influence they had on his own political ideals. He realized that “...the ordinary class-division of society had disappeared to an extent that is almost unthinkable in the money-tainted air of England” (“Homage to Catalonia,” ch. 7).
Armed with his new political views as a “democratic socialist”, Orwell would then later publish Animal Farm in 1945, written as an allegory to showcase his views of contempt toward Stalinism under the guise of political satire. The book tells a tale of a group of animals overthrowing the owners of their farm and then later inheriting responsibilities on equal ground. As the story progresses, the distribution of power ultimately becomes totalitarian in nature, making a direct reference to Stalin himself and the current state of the Soviet Union (Woodcock). Through the outstanding success of the book, Orwell was finally able to live comfortably and his political influence began to take hold.
A year later, Orwell would go on to publish one of his most famous essays, “Politics and the English Language”. His intention was to expose the euphemistic nature of many political writers at the time, who relied on “meaningless words” and “dying metaphors” to sway their readers into unconsciously finding them reputable. He proposed a series of guidelines within the essay that were meant to help writers correct these mistakes, all of which are very straightforward and encourage simplicity. He stressed that “…if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought” (“Politics and the English Language”), urging his readers to recognize the trends found in this type of faulty writing in hopes of avoiding manipulation by the author. The theme of the essay sets the tone for his most famous novel, 1984.
Published in 1949, Orwell’s 1984 tells the story of a man named Winston Smith, the manipulative society he lives in, and the dangers of restricting and reinventing language. Citizens are under constant watch by Big Brother, a government body whose main goal is to restrict individual thought and expression to maintain absolute control. The government replaces traditional language with “newspeak”, a new form of pacified English, that reinvents the meaning of words as Big Brother wishes. The overall themes of the book encapsulate Orwell’s own life experiences, from witnessing the overarching control of a totalitarian state, the manipulation of language, and, most importantly, the consequence of the oppressed allowing themselves to remain oppressed. Orwell’s final warning in the novel urges his readers to not “…let it happen. It depends on you” (“1984”). From his experience with the elephant back in Burma, he learned that the only way to fight against oppression was to refuse and act accordingly.
The works of George Orwell continue to remain just as influential today as they were during his own lifetime. With all the inspiring events in his life, it’s interesting to wonder if things may have been different on that day in Burma if he had chosen to walk away and not shoot the elephant. His writing could have been less inspirational, he may not have been driven to rebel against imperialism in the way that he did, or he could have been overpowered and killed by the locals. The event created a rippling effect in his life that seemed to have shifted his apathetic, anarchic views into something much more proactive. Having to shoot the elephant was George Orwell’s defining moment in his life and, as a result, left a resounding impact on English literature quite possibly forever.
Works Cited
Orwell, George. “1984.” The Complete Works of George Orwell, www.george-orwell.org/1984/0.html. Accessed 4 May 2018.
Orwell, George. “Homage to Catalonia.” The Complete Works of George Orwell, www.george-orwell.org/Homage_to_Catalonia/6.html. Accessed 4 May 2018.
Orwell, George. “Politics and the English Language.” The Complete Works of George Orwell, www.george-orwell.org/Politics_and_the_English_Language/0.html. Accessed 2 May 2018.
Orwell, George. “Shooting an Elephant.” The Complete Works of George Orwell, www.george-orwell.org/Shooting_an_Elephant/0.html. Accessed 2 May 2018.
Woodcock, George. “George Orwell - British Author.” Encyclopædia Britannica, 3 Jan. 2018, www.britannica.com/biography/George-Orwell. Accessed 4 May 2018.
“Biography of George Orwell.” The Complete Works of George Orwell, www.george-orwell.org/l_biography.html. Accessed 4 May 2018.