- Published: December 12, 2021
- Updated: December 12, 2021
- University / College: McGill University
- Level: Secondary School
- Language: English
- Downloads: 15
“ SHOOTING AN ELEPHANT” BY GEORGE ORWELL In this essay, I would like talk about the biographical influences that may have caused George Orwell to write “ Shooting an elephant”. “ Shooting the Elephant” describes how a police officer in Burma is forced to shoot and kill an aggressive elephant. Orwell was a political writer, and he was an eagle-eyed observer of the political world and for that reason an outspoken advocate on the beliefs and discrimination that govern the people in his world.
In real life, George Orwell could be considered in political terms to have moved from early socialism or communism to conservatism. This was mainly because of his life as a youth when he gained a scholarship as a student among England’s wealthy elite. He experienced several hardships in this cutthroat environment, and this influenced his political views.
Furthermore, Orwell could not afford to go to college after high school and was forced to join the Indian Imperial Police in Burma. His experiences in a British Colony profoundly influenced his ideas in “ Shooting an Elephant”. This is because he hated how the Colonizers treated the natives of Burma and due to his experiences he could seriously relate with the poor and the oppressed. Since his job as an Indian Imperial Police officer put George in the position of the privileged oppressor, he quit after five years of service and went back to England.
It is my opinion that Orwell devoted his literary work on exposing the problems of class and government. This is after experiencing discrimination as a child by the aristocrats when he gained a scholarship. He also saw how people of lower class or race were mistreated when he was a police officer in Burma.
Work Cited
Scammell, Michael. George Orwell The Chestnut Tree Cafe. 15 June 1992. Retrieved on: 5 May
2012. .
