How old is George Orwell when this event took place? Do you think his age had a great influence on his decision to shoot the elephant? Why or why not.
When this event took place, Gorge Orwell was young, perhaps in his twenties because he was working as a police officer, where he discloses that, “I was young and ill-educated and I had had to think [about] my problems in the utter silence that is imposed on every Englishman in the East.” (Orwell par 2). Certainly, his young age played some role in his decision to shoot the elephant. Although his inner conscience was telling him that killing the elephant is bad, he was still too young to overcome such conscience, and he acts beyond his will for the sake of meeting Burmese’s expectations, “I was only an absurd puppet pushed to and fro by the will of those yellow faces behind.” (Orwell par 7).
The narrator realizes that he had been forced to inflict authoritarian laws and kill the elephant – this submission illustrates an inherent problem of a young man who is able to understand the rights of people, but his tender age limits him from practicing what he believes in. Nevertheless, lack of education coupled with his youthfulness is certainly forms a big influence in his actions. Had he lived longer and got some education, he could have been able to exercise some level of independence of conscience and actions – he could only do what he thinks is right to do, in spite of what other people thinks about him or do to him. Also, at young age, people may not understand the worth of preserving the lives of animals, perhaps because they have not got enough experience about their usefulness in the society, and that is why Orwell maintains that, “At that age I was not easily upset about killing animals…” (Orwell par 8).
On the other hand, it could be right to argue that age was not a determining factor in killing the elephant, because if were a factor he would have not killed the animal. The evidence for such an argument is founded on the narration that “ the older men said I was right, the younger men said it was a damn shame to shoot an elephant for killing a coolie, because an elephant was worth more than any damn Coringhee coolie” (Orwell par 14). This contradicts Orwell’s action because the young do not seem to support such a killing.
Why were the English in Burma, and what was their goal?
The English are in Burma to serve their colony, which was perhaps acquired for political and economic purposes. When the English invaded this colony, some of the major goals could have been to rule them hence enjoy their resources, and also prevent other colonies from invading the territory. To achieve these goals, the English are forced to impose a draconian rule on the locals in order to sustain the territory. This is the reason why the Burmese are treated so unfairly by the English (A Brief History of Burma 2). In the long-term, they hoped to acquire the ownership of Burmese, which they could use for economic and political purposes, for example by using their resources to make wealth.
Why did Orwell later regret killing the elephant?
After killing the elephant, Orwell is inflected by his own conscience after it dawns on him that what he did was not worth doing. This happens when he is torn between the “hatred of the empire [he] served” and his “rage against the evil-spirited little beasts who tried to make [his] job impossible.” (Orwell par 2). Most importantly, Orwell regrets after killing the elephant because he knew that that act was in furtherance of the British motive, which he claims that he is “all for the Burmese and all against the British” and add that “feelings like these are the normal by-products of imperialism; ask any Anglo-Indian official, if you can catch him off duty” – all this implies that he has realized that what the British was doing in Burma was unwarranted and uncalled for, and this extends to the act of killing the elephant, which he did because he was supposed to do so for the sake of the British policy. In essence, his furtherance of the British atrocious act generates a sense of empathy from his heart, for the natives. More importantly, the author is regretting the fact that perpetration of the British unfair rule is forcing him to sacrifice his own freedom, of acting as per his conscience. In reality, the author sees no point of oppressing Burmese, because doing saw is like oppressing oneself. He hopes that, if he could stop treating the Burmese unfairly, this could guarantee him a more quality life, characterized by freedom.
Bonus Question: What did the elephant symbolize?
The elephant is used to symbolize many things in this story. Most importantly, the elephant would not have become violent or a threat if it had been given freedom to enjoy its own life……………………………………………..
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