“Shooting An Elephant”
George Orwell
“In Moulmein, in lower Burma, I was hated by large numbers of people” (Orwell).
George Orwell



(1903 - 1950)
Orwell was a British journalist and author, who wrote two of
the most famous novels of the 20th century 'Animal Farm' and
'Nineteen Eighty-Four'.
Orwell was born Eric Arthur Blair on 25 June 1903 in eastern
India, the son of a British colonial civil servant. He was
educated in England and, after he left Eton, joined the Indian
Imperial Police in Burma, then a British colony. He resigned in
1927 and decided to become a writer. In 1928 he moved to
Paris where lack of success as a writer forced him into a
series of menial jobs. He described his experiences in his first
book, 'Down and Out in Paris and London', published in 1933 he took the name George Orwell, shortly before its publication.
Novels

Orwell wrote:
Vocabulary
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Prostrate: defenseless/in a prone or lying position
Imperialism: policy and practice of forming and
maintaining an empire in order to control raw
materials and world markets by the conquests of
other countries and the establishment of colonies
Despotic: tyrannical
Squalid: miserably poor; wretched
Dominion: rule or power to rule; a governed territory
Senility: mental or physical decay due to old age
Literary Device/Irony

Irony is a literary device that brings out
surprising or amusing contradictions. In verbal
irony, the intended meaning of words clashes
with their usual meaning, as when Orwell
describes the dangerous elephant as
“grandmotherly.” In irony of situation, events
contradict what you expect to happen, as when
the young Buddhist priests are revealed to be
the most insulting toward the British.
Personal Narrative

Personal narratives usually focus on
one key event. Though true, they are
told like fictional stories: They have a
setting, a main character among a
group of characters, a series of
events that lead to a climax, a
resolution or ending.
About the Selection

Orwell’s essay reveals the ambivalence a
person may feel in a position of power.

On one hand young Orwell sympathizes with the
Burmese people, on the other hand Orwell, the
police officer, is committed to continuing and
even defending that oppression.
Orwell’s conflicting attitudes
Orwell’s sympathy for the Burmese
 His dislike of imperialism
 is desire to leave his job.
**these attitudes conflict with his role as
police officer, and his bad treatment by
the Burmese.

State of “MUST”

When an elephant goes wild in a
Burmese marketplace, Orwell must
act, making decisions more from his
confused feeling than from COMMON
SENSE, and in the process
demonstrating the intense human
desire to avoid embarrassment.
Summary

The narrator, an officer of
the British imperial police in
Burma, considers himself
an enemy of imperialism,
but his role as a
representative of the British
crown invites the hatred of
the Burmese. One day an
elephant ravages a bazaar
and kills a laborer (coolie).
The narrator, who must
track the elephant down,
has not intention of
shooting it, especially when
he finds it grazing
peacefully in a paddy.
Summary - continued

Yet, Orwell feels he
must maintain “face” in
front of the crowd of
Burmese who have
followed him.
Inexperienced, he
repeatedly wounds the
elephant, leaving the
scene before the
animal dies. The
villagers cut up the
elephant’s body for
food.
“Shooting an Elephant”
Setting: Time:
Place:
Characters: Main:
Other:
Events: 1. An elephant kills a laborer.
2.
3.
Climax:

Resolution:
On-Line Text/”Shooting An Elephant”

http://www.orwell.ru/library/article
s/elephant/english/e_eleph