Essay on Orwell and Colonialism - 542 Words

Orwell and Colonialism I often wondered whether any of the others grasped that I had done it solely to avoid looking a fool. So ends George Orwells poignant reminiscence of an incident representing the imperialist British in Burma. Unlike Soyinka, who wrote about colonialism from the Africans point of view, Orwell, like Joseph Conrad in Heart of Darkness, presents the moral dilemmas of the imperialist. Orwell served with the Imperialist Police in Burma while it was still part of the British Commonwealth and Empire. His service from 1922 to 1927 burdened himwith a sense of guilt about British colonialism as well a need to make some personal expiation for it (Norton 2259). Shooting an Elephant chronicles an incident in which†¦show more content†¦Theoretically - and secretly, of course - I was all for the Burmese and all against their oppressors, the British (p.3). Seeing the dirty work of the British Imperialists oppressed me with an intolerable sense of guilt (3). Despite his support for the Burmese, Orwell endured their overwhelming bitterness and hatred because of his British heritage: the sneering faces . . . of young men that met me everywhere, the insults hooted after me . . got badly on my nerves (p.3). Orwell sums up his feelings of guilt, coupled with his reaction against being hated: All I knew was that I was stuck between my hatred of the empire I served and my rage against the evil-spirited little beasts who tried to make my job impossible (4). Although part of him saw the British Raj as tyrannical, with another part I thought that the greatest joy in the world would be to drive a bayonet into a Buddhist priests guts (4). Orwell rationalizes his rage saying, Feelings like these are the normal by-products of imperialism (4). Orwell realizes that tyrannical imperialism works against both the imperialists and the natives. Orwell abandons his morals and kills the elephant to garner the approval of the Burmans. He feels compelled to shoot the animal because the Burmans did not like me, but with the magical rifle inShow MoreRelatedShooting An Elephant By George Orwell1246 Words   |  5 PagesSalma Kingu Professor: Michael English: 1301 Essay 2 Summer: 06/26/2017 â€Å"Shooting an Elephant† by George Orwell In the 1950, George Orwell was a police officer during the British Empire in lower Burma, India who was ill- educated and secretly hated his job due to the dirty works and evil of colonialism; George Orwell wrote the story about shooting an elephant. Shooting an Elephant is a story which describes how the British occupiers were badly treating the Burmese by killing and terrorizedRead MoreGeorge Orwell s Burmese Days Essay1445 Words   |  6 PagesGeorge Orwell depicts colonialism and racism in the novel perfectly. Burmese Days by George Orwell tells the tale of white Englishmen, and women, ruling over the native Indian population during the early 20th century. 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Orwell opposed imperialism, and thus was able to feel the hatred of the people of Burma, but still resented them. The story starts with Orwell receiving a phone call about a tame elephant destroying bazaar. He carried with him an oldRead MoreThe Paradox Of Belonging : The Complex Role Of Colonialism1343 Words   |  6 PagesThe Paradox of Belonging: The Complex Role of Colonialism in Finding Identity Adrienne Clarkson the twenty-sixth Governor General of Canada once wrote: â€Å"I was, and am, a child of diaspora. I am someone who, for a while, did not belong anywhere.† For nearly everyone who has ever lived in the wake of colonialism, it can be painstakingly difficult to find a sense of belonging with two distinct cultures being juxtaposed together. 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Drawing on his experiences in the now colonized Burmese state, Orwell writes of a fictional tale that covers a wide range of topics and emotions, all engulfed into one main theme, Colonialism. The story is themed and narrated during a time when colonialism was dominantRead MoreAltered Self-Image According to Thiongo, Orwell, and Kincaid1211 Words   |  5 PagesThe writer of the essay Decolonising the Mind, Ngugi wa Thiongo, expresses his views that Kenyans had been stripped of their native languages and lost an important way to express themselves. In the essay Shooting an Elephant, George Orwell presents imperialism metaphorically through the use of animals to illustrate the power and instability of imperialism. Jamaica Kincaid focuses her essay, On Seeing England for the First Time, on how her view of England ultimately changes when she visitsRead MoreImperialism - an Irony - Shooting an Elephant1255 Words   |  6 PagesThroughout  the  short  text  we  see  Orwell  as  a  character  torn  between  two  completely  juxtaposed ideals:  that  in  support  of  the  oppressed  and  the  colonial. We  are  barely  halfway  through  the  opening  sentence  when  Orwell  declares  how  he  was  Ã¢â‚¬Å"hated  by large  numbers  of  people†Ã‚  and  we  quickly  learn  of  the  immense  anger  he  has  towards  his  tormentors. Initially,  we  learn  of  Orwell’s  personal  experience  of  power  and  how  he  is  Ã¢â‚¬Å"hated  by  large  numbers  of people†. ââ€"  We  quickly  see  how  much  of  a  struggle  it  is  for  Orwell  to  endure  the  bitterness  of  the