Would You Shotting an Elephant?

 

In 1936, George Orwell wrote “Shooting an Elephant.” This story happened when he was working as a policeman in the British Colony of Burma, and he shot an elephant. Being European and a policeman are enough reasons to make the Burmese hate a man. He was living with constant verbal attacks from the natives who only did it when he couldn’t respond or do something about it. But even if he was serving the British imperialist, he secretly hated to be part of it. He hated the oppression and tyranny that he saw when he was doing his job. But, he didn’t feel prepared to do something against it. He just did his job the best he could in that moment. At the same time, even if he secretly supported the natives, he didn’t like them at all. This is easy to understand because during the time he was a policeman there, he had to ignore the native’s hatred and jeers. During his time in Burman, he had an experience which was really important in his life. A tame elephant ran away into the town and went on a rampage. The mahout was far away, so he couldn’t help to control the elephant in that moment. Orwell went to investigate the situation even if he didn’t know how he could help, but he was a policeman in the town, so he went anyway. When he was trying to find the elephant, he found a native killed by the elephant. The dead body was on the ground. He asked for an elephant rifle for his protection. When the natives saw him with the rifle, they followed him. They were excited to see what would happen, if he would shoot the elephant. Finally, he found the elephant. It had already calmed down. It was eating peacefully, without paying attention to what was around it. Orwell didn’t feel it was right to shoot it anymore. Not only because it was a big animal, it was more because it was not dangerous anymore. Unfortunately, he felt there was pressure from the natives to shoot it. They were following him, he thought, to see him shot the elephant. But Orwell was fighting with himself. He didn’t want the natives to make fun of him, but at the same time, he didn’t want to shoot the elephant. In the end, he decided to shoot it because he felt he would look foolish to the Burmese if he didn’t. Because he didn’t have any experience in shooting elephants he didn’t know how or where to shoot it. He had to shoot it several times and it caused the elephant a slow and painful death. The elephant was suffering for half an hour until it died. The elephant’s owner was really angry, and some of the European colleagues were upset as well because to them an elephant life was more valuable than a native life. Finding the dead native was the perfect excuse to justify the killing of the elephant.

 

This episode changed his life for many reasons. He saw the oppression, he was against the tyranny, but for a moment he became a tyrant himself. Feeling himself like a tyrant made something click inside his head and make the decision to warn people about it. He wanted warn them, that they are the only ones to stop their oppression. The “Shooting an Elephant” episode, mixed with the political situations in other countries during his life (like the communism of Stalin or the Spanish Civil war) made him write about it. He later wrote books like Animal Farm (1945) and 1984 (1949), both being about oppression, tyranny, power, acceptance, and how history could finish if we don’t do something about it.

 

In the book 1984, George Orwell describes a country where the government takes control on every part of the person’s life, including their minds. The government found the perfect balance to make the people do and even think the way the government wants. If someone decided not to follow their rules, they would torture and break that person until they would do. (Video Spark Notes). It is amazing how George Orwell could write about something that happened and still is happening today. The story has many similarities with the communism of Stalin, and even the North Korean government today. He wrote about Stalinism in Animal Farm as well. In Animal Farm, Orwell criticizes the situation in the Soviet Union when Stalin took power after the revolution against the monarchy. He uses the animals to characterize the politicians and the different social classes. And the farm is the Soviet Union. It is a story about how the power can turn a good idea into a bad or worse idea. How a revolution against the tyranny and oppression, could finish in tyranny and oppression as well, and how the people accept and let that happen. This story has many important parts to talk about for example, how the power turns and changes the person. This is something that we can still see these days, not only in the Soviet Union, for example, this is happening in Venezuela now. And the big warning about those books, is how the people accept and don’t do anything about it. (LaCiudadDeLosLibros)

 

At the same time, the story in “Shooting an elephant”, made George Orwell learn how the people accept to be oppressed, and how easy it is to find a reason to convert someone to an oppressor. When George Orwell was a policeman, he hated the imperialism because of all the oppression he saw. Even if he didn’t do anything about it in that time, he was against it. So, why did he become like one of them? Why did he become a tyrant? In the story, he shot an elephant because he felt pressure from the natives to do it. He was a European policeman and an agent for imperialism. In the locals’ eyes, he was supposed to be a tyrant. Even if he had a rifle only for his own protection, in natives’ eyes he had to shot. In “Shooting an Elephant” Orwell wrote about being the sahib, he said: “He wears a mask, and his face grows to fit it”. He just did what the natives expected of him as a tyrant European policeman. He didn’t want the natives to look at him like a fool. So he decided to just fit his mask. That way, he became an oppressor.

 

But the pressure, and wanting to fill the mask are not the only reasons to be an oppressor. In history there are people who were fighting against the tyranny, and then became one of them. For example: The Bolsheviks in Russia’s revolution. The Bolsheviks fight against the monarch and for the Russian people. But after the revolution, the Bolsheviks became tyrants, the same or worse kind of people they were fighting against. (Andalusies). Why? Because they liked power? Because they liked money and the nice things? Because they wanted power in the beginning and used “the revolution” like an excuse? Maybe. Therefore, there are many reasons to become a tyrant. But there won’t be a tyrant if the people fight against it. Tyran can exist only if there are people to oppress.

 

Why do people accept being oppressed? In “Shooting an Elephant”, Orwell wrote about the natives: “no one had the guts to raise a riot.” They didn’t like the imperialism; they didn’t like the oppression, but they accepted it and lived with that. Likewise in Animal Farm, Benjamin (the donkey) knows about all the abuses, but he doesn’t do anything about it. (LaCiudadDeLosLibros). Even if they accept the oppression, they were fighting against them before, but they lost. So the acceptation comes with fear. In 1984, Orwell wrote about the people accepting the government’s rules, and they don’t do anything about it. They accept the oppression, because if someone decided to think by themselves or try to fight against the government, they would torture them until they break their spirit, like what happened to “Willson”, the protagonist. The people accept being oppressed, because the fear, or because they don’t want to do anything about it (Orwell).  

 

In the books 1984 and Animal Farm, the ends are hopeless. In Animal Farm, the animals finished as the oppressed, but with a different oppressor. And in 1984, Wilson finished with his spirit broken. At least in “Shooting an Elephant”, we know the people from Burma don’t have the imperialism anymore. They live in a Republic country now. At least we know the reality has a better ending than the two others books. But, in reality is the ending always good? I think that will depend on us. Will we notice when the oppression and tyranny happen against us? Will we let that happen? Will you?

 

 

Worked cited

 

Andalusies, "La Revolucion Rusa En Color 2: Miedo Y Paranoia." YouTube., 1 Oct. 2012. Web. 29 Apr. 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGJANQK95R0>.

 

LaCiudadDeLosLibros. "Libro: Rebelin en la Granja/ Autor: George Orwell." YouTube. 29 Apr. 2014. Web. 25 Apr. 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhhUOm1fZME>.

 

Mog Documentary. "Animal Farm-George Orwell (Full Length Animated Movie 1954)." YouTube. 31 Mar. 2013. Web. 29 Apr. 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5110BLvXd0>.

 

Orwell, George. "Shooting an Elephant" George Orwell 193-1950 Web. 22 Apr. 2015. <http://www.k-1.com/Orwell/site/work/essays/elephant.html>.

 

Video SparkNotes,"Video SparkNotes: Orwell's 1984 Summary." YouTube. 21 Oct. 2009. Web. 29 Apr. 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9JIKngJnCU>.