shooting an elephant

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Shooting an Elephant
George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant” is an autobiographical essay in which the author outlines his disgust for the colonial rule by recalling an event from his life in Burma as a policeman. The essay describes the author’s inner conflict as an imperial police officer (Keskinen 667). The author outlines how the Burmese civilians were discriminated upon in a time when racial discrimination was rife in the society. The British had undue control over the Burmese civilians as they were not even supposed to own any gun. The author detested his situation in life as he was always faced with a moral dilemma. The Burmese hated the rule and expressed their displeasure by taking any opportunity to harass the Europeans (Alam 126). The author was ironically among those harassed now and then through insults by the locals, yet he was on their side. He felt stuck between his loathing of the British Empire that he served and the Burmese who still made his work difficult (Orwell 2844).
Orwell did not like the British authority as it was very oppressive to the Burmese citizens, but he had no otherwise but to take a neutral position as his efforts alone would have been insignificant. There were also serious repercussions that would befall him if he took a contrary position on the matter. The betrayal of his country would have been treated as treason. He would also be treated as an outcast by siding with the Burmese. According to him, quitting his job was the only way out of his predicament, and the sooner he got out, the better it would be for him (Orwell 2845).

Orwell’s “wait and see” approach is abandoned when he is called to look into reports of a sexually aggressive elephant on the loose. The event presents a moral dilemma in which the author has to choose between two undesirable options.
The author responded to the call by taking his small rifle with the intentions of frightening the elephant with the rifle’s noise. While on the way the locals assure him that the elephant was not wild; it was a domesticated animal that had broken its chains to satisfy its sexual needs. The elephant had however killed livestock and destroyed other private and public property. A sighting of a laborer’s dead body, however, led to his conclusion that the elephant was dangerous. The laborer seemed to have been in excruciating pain at the time of his death. Orwell orders for a stronger gun that would be able to kill the elephant. The crowd became excited after seeing the gun as they were ready for some good action. More and more people joined the crowd as they went to find the elephant and the number reached to around two thousand people (2846 Orwell). Orwell began being uncomfortable in the presence of the large crowd as he doubted his actions.
Orwell had not been ready to shoot the elephant, and the gun was only for self-defense. According to him, shooting an elephant was like destroying a large piece of machinery that was quite costly. The elephant was also very calm at the time of the sighting, and this made him conclude that there would be no need for killing the animal. The crowd, on the other hand, expected him to shoot it as they were only ready for the entertainment from the animal’s demise. The author had no option but to shoot the elephant as the crowd would have scoffed at him for his failure to take action, something that would not have been good for him as a colonialist. Orwell decided first to test the animal’s temperament and only shoot it if its behavior became uncontrollable. He would shoot the elephant if it marched towards him with the intention of harming him. Orwell’s insecurities, however, made him discard this plan and shoot the animal. He aimed at the elephant’s head as the crowd waited in anticipation and fired. He took the first shot, but the elephant seemed strong. At the third shot, the elephant was still struggling on the ground, breathing heavily. He had to fire the fourth and fifth shot as the elephant was still not willing to die. Orwell was by this time engulfed in pity towards the elephant. He was unable to bear the animal’s suffering and therefore decided to walk away from the scene. He was told later by the locals that the animal took around half an hour to die after he had left.
The elephant’s owner was quite angry with Orwell for killing his elephant. However, as he was an Indian, he had no legal recourse against the police. His decision to shoot the animal was also backed by the majority of the colonists. There are however those who felt that it was not appropriate to kill the animal for just killing a laborer as the elephant was more important than him. Orwell at the end justified his actions with the killing of the man, however, deep inside he hopes that his friends do not learn that he killed it to avoid looking like a fool (Orwell 2848).
The essay outlines the influence of external factors in logical reasoning and decision making. Colonialism and its associated power contradict all Orwell’s principles and exert undue influence in the ratification of these principles. He was always critical of the colonialists’ cruel and oppressive nature and always supported the locals although they did not know this. However, the colonialist power was still entrenched in him and makes him change his reasoning and come up with decisions that would be considered questionable. Orwell’s shooting of the elephant had no justification as the animal had become calm and posed no further danger. He had decided not to shoot it but changed his decision to avoid being humiliated (Keskinen 668). He saw that as a colonialist, it would not be good for his ego if he were humiliated and mocked due to his failure to shoot the animal. He believed that the locals should see him as powerful and this lead to forsaking of his principles.
Works cited
Alam, Mohammed Sarwar. “Orwell’S “Shooting An Elephant”: Reflections On Imperialism And Neoimperialism”. IIUC Studies 3.0 (2009):110-120. Web.
Keskinen, Kenneth. “”Shooting An Elephant” – An Essay To Teach”. The English Journal 55.6 (1966): 667-669. Web.
Orwell, George. Shooting An Elephant. 1st ed. London: Penguin, 2003. Print.