Chaudhry 1

Noman Chaudhry
Prof. Smith
Comp. 2 (ENGL 1302)
July 13, 2016
Shooting an Elephant: Justifying an Orwell
Among the worst feelings is helplessness, especially in the phrase Im just doing my
job. Being the middle man is never easy to swallow, dystopic literary figure George Orwell can
attest to this based on his experiences in Imperial Burma, when he writes of the time he shot an
elephant. The short story Shooting the Elephant is Orwells experience of being in a position
of power, with no power. For the sake of his position, Orwell was justified.
Imperial England was a cruel mistress. London was a city commerce and trade supported
on the backs of colonies worldwide, and Britains most profitable holdings were in south to south
east Asia, where [Orwell] was [a] sub-divisional police officer of the town. His job was, as
Rudyard Kipling Describes it, was the White Mans Burden. Orwell was in a position of power,
over the natives, but had already made up [his] mind that imperialism was an evil thing. For
this he was resented by the general populace, and yet he still had no honor among Europeans, he
was only an officer working under his superiors [he] had to think out [his] problems in the utter
silence that [was] imposed on every Englishman in the East.
Although an agent of the Crown, [Orwell] was all for the Burmese against their
oppressors, the British. This, to a minor degree, is seen when Orwell hesitates to conclude the
elephant must be put down, he even mentioned this four times, had no intentions of shooting
with perfect certainty that [he] ought not to shoot [the elephant] not to do it if it can possibly
be avoided [Orwell] did not in the least want to shoot. Orwell second guessed this idea
because the elephant was another mans property, comparable to destroying costly
machinery and how the said man work without his beast of burden? The legality of his action is
questionable, but his position as an officer allows him to absolve a problem within logical limits,
a sahib has got to act like a sahib.
However, [Orwell] would watch him for a little while then go home His action was
forced by the crowd, all happy and excited over this bit of fun, all certain that the elephant was
going to be shot. Orwell notes that he is an alien among them, and equal subject to their distaste
of Englishman, manipulated by their pressing wills a puppet had committed [himself] to
doing it when [he] sent for the rifle. Orwell wanted to keep a position of respect more than he
wanted to enact justice; [Orwell] has to appear resolute. Where Orwells action was justified,
his intention was not, The crowd would laugh And [his] whole life was one long struggle
not to be laughed at solely done it to avoid looking like a fool.
The ordeal was heart wrenching to Orwell it would be murder, he writes. A white man
mustnt be afraid of in front of natives, he justified quite probable that some of them would
laugh. [The Burmese] would have their bit of fun, Orwell crouched into the muddy field to

Chaudhry 2
stabilize his shot, [he did not hear the bang or feel the kick. To Orwells chagrin one didnt do
the job [he] aimed further forward, and had to fire into the same spot a third time
finally [he] fired his last two shots into the spot [he] thought [the] heart must be. Orwell was so
horrified by [the elephants] tortured breaths [he] sent back for [the] small rifle and poured
shot after shot into his heart and down his throat no impression. [Orwell] heard later it took
a half an hour for him to die, but [the Burmese] would get meat were already racing across
the mud before I left. It took five shots from an elephant rifle and several from a smaller rifle
to kill the giant. Legally [Orwell] had done the right thing the older [officers] had said.
George Orwell is a considerable writer. His Magnum Opus, 1984, brought his name to
the forefront of political criticism. Even though Orwell wrote a piece abhorring authority, he
himself was a proponent in Britains rule over parts of Asia. One could assume his distaste of
authority came from when he had to shoot the elephant. Orwell was justified, however, Orwell
had the wrong reasons. This story is factual, maybe hyperbolized, but true enough, and gives us a
look into a splendid metaphor for imperialism; the Englishman had to shoot the Asian elephant.