In many ways, Orwell did not have a choice, he presents it soon after the first actual sighting of the elephant that while a practical method could be followed: "It was perfectly clear to me what I ought to do, I ought to walk within 20-30 yards from the elephant testing it's behavior: If it were to charge I would shoot, if it did not react it would be safe to be left until the Mahout arrived" It was not something he felt able to advocate: Orwell negates this obligation through a mixture of cowardice, prejudice and pressure that the massing crowd of "yellow faces" have instilled in him. Orwell is demonstrating that the splicing of cultures has led to this stand off and he must somehow act, he chooses to shoot the elephant, not because he has too but because it would be expedient to follow his prejudices against "appearing a fool " in front of the "natives" rather than adhere to idealist ethics. Evidence for this lies in his moment of comic irony when he says that if the elephant were to trample him the native would laugh at him- this touch of ridiculousness emphasizes the effect Imperialism has had on Orwell. Although that particular image is not intended to be fully serious it is representative of the "hopelessness of the white man's dominion in the East" that even in his death he is struggling not to be laughed at. He has become "the traditional image of the Sahib", who in theory has absolute power and as such could turn around and walk away, the compulsion to shoot the elephant comes about from the polar relationship that links the "natives" with the "Imperialists Orwell seems to be commenting on the battle between the compulsion to do what is right and what one feels obliged to do- his prejudices have led him in this case to abandon his morals. His argument running that once you have donned the "mask" your "face grows to fit it" and the empire you are master of compels you equally as much as you compel it. In such a relationship Orwell must bend to the will of the dehumanized collective mass who want the elephant dead, he is given no other choice.
The narrator takes his rifle with him when shooting the elephant, even though he doesn't want to shoot it, because he needs to maintain an appearance of authority and control in front of the crowd of onlookers. Carrying the rifle gives him a sense of power and responsibility in the situation.
In Orwell's "Shooting an Elephant" (1936) he displays the imperial administration's ambivalence concerning his action of destroying an elephant. On the one hand, it was his legal responsibility because the elephant had murdered a local "Coolie." On the other hand, killing the elephant is tantamount to destroying the means of production, which from a utilitarian point of view is a great crime. Orwell exposes the late-Victorian uncertainty over their true purpose as rulers - whether to uphold some truth-value embedded in the legal-rational state, or simply to maintain the utility of their dominion. This opposition between rational and utilitarian justification can be equated to the collapse of metaphysical truth to the realm of meaning-from the Idea of the True to the utility of communication within postmodern linguistic philosophy. For examples, consider Wittgenstein and Derrida.
Orwell shoots the elephant when it is in heat because he is destroying property and also took someones life. Orwell didnt really want to kill it but the people following him made him feel pushed forward to do it.
Orwell shoots the elephant when it is in heat because he is destroying property and also took someones life. Orwell didnt really want to kill it but the people following him made him feel pushed forward to do it.
what do you want to shoot.
George Orwell disliked his job as a police officer in Burma. He experienced guilt over being part of an oppressive colonial system, which he later criticized in his writing. The experience influenced his views on imperialism and social injustice.
The shooting of an elephant is illegal because they are a protected species and why would anyone want to shoot one if not for the value of their ivory tusks as the ivory trade is also not permitted.
no but i wish that was possible. i want an elephant
I WANT AN ELEPHANT! WANNA TRADE ELEPHANTS?!?!?!? Wait....?
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If you really want you can shoot anything you want with a gun