Shooting an Elephant

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"Shooting an Elephant" is an essay by George Orwell written during the autumn of 1936. A narrative, Orwell retells his account of shooting an elephant in British-controlled Burma as an Imperial Policeman in 1926.

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Context

Britain conquered Burma over a period of 62 years (1824 - 1886), during which three Anglo-Burmese Wars took place, and incorporated it into its Indian Empire. Burma was administered as a province of India until 1937 when it became a separate, self-governing colony; independence was attained as a result of the Aung San–Attlee agreement which guaranteed Burmese independence. Aung San was assassinated before Burma attained its independence on January 4, 1948.

A strong proponent for the poor, Orwell, born into a middle-class family, developed an affinity for the destitute as a member of the British Imperial Police; obligated to enforce strict laws for an imperial power, Orwell's distaste for severe regimes deepened. After quitting his position, Orwell traveled back to England, where his sympathy and liking for the poor grew, and lived among other impoverished residents, as detailed in Down and Out in Paris and London.

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Synopsis

In Moulmein, Orwell was a policeman during a period of intense anti-European sentiment. Although all his sympathies were with the Burmese, he was obligated to act in his official role as a representative of the oppressor. As such, he was subjected to constant baiting by the Burmese, especially by Buddhist monks, whom he called the "worst of all". After receiving a phone call relating a tame elephant's escape, Orwell, armed with a small rifle, mounted a pony and headed to the bazaar where the elephant had been seen. Travelling to the poor quarter of the village, Orwell received conflicting reports. When almost at the point of leaving, thinking the incident was a hoax, Orwell saw an older village woman chasing away children who had attempted to look at the body of a dead Indian, whom the elephant had trampled. After Orwell sent an orderly to retrieve an elephant rifle, a crowd of roughly two thousand gathered, and they headed toward the paddy field where the elephant had stopped to eat.

Not planning to shoot the elephant, Orwell had originally retrieved the gun for protection. When he saw the elephant, it was obviously quite docile, and he knew that he ought not to shoot it. He also knew, however, that the crowd fully expected him to kill the elephant, and he realized that he was in fact trapped by their expectations, and by the fear of looking foolish if he did nothing. He realized, as well, that if one empire enslaves another it makes itself as though it has to always look tough and large. He also realized that if he decided to get closer in an attempt to gauge the musth of the elephant, and he had misjudged the animal's mood, his poor rifle skills and a charging elephant would have assuredly resulted in his death, perhaps to the delight of the crowd. Hence Orwell concluded that he could not disappoint them.

Aiming at his perceived location of the elephant's brain, Orwell fired a shot which brought the elephant to its knees. After another shot, the elephant gained his footing only to be brought collapsing down with another rifle round. The elephant being still alive, Orwell fired two more elephant rifle rounds and then a clip of regular rifle rounds into the beast to no avail. Unable to stand the elephant's agony any longer, Orwell went away only to learn later that the elephant remained in that state for another thirty minutes. Afterward, the elephant carcass was swiftly stripped of its meat by many Burmanese people.

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Symbolism

An anti-imperialist essayist, Orwell frequently and clearly states his displeasure with colonial Britain, "I had already made up my mind that imperialism was an evil thing... I was all for the Burmese and all against their oppressors, the British." Enslaved, Orwell adds, "all I knew was that I was stuck between my hatred of the empire I served ... I was only an absurd puppet pushed to and fro by the will of those yellow faces behind." Reflective, Orwell realizes being forced to impose strict laws and to shoot the elephant -- he states his feelings against the act, but submits after comprehending he "had got to shoot the elephant" -- illustrates an inherent problem of hegemony: "when the white man turns tyrant it is his own freedom that he destroys." By enforcing the strict British rule, he was forfeiting his freedom while concurrently oppressing the Burmans. A call to end imperialism, "Shooting an Elephant", ironically, appeals Britons to cease colonialism to maintain their freedom.

Bernard Crick who wrote a biography of Orwell, George Orwell: A Life, has cast doubt on the idea that Orwell actually shot an elephant. No independent account of Orwell's actions have been found and there was no official record of the incident, which was unusual considering the destruction of valuable property (in the essay, Orwell writes, "Alive, the elephant was worth at least a hundred pounds"). Peter Davison the editor of Orwell's Complete Works includes an interview with George Stuart, a contemporary of Orwell in Burma who says that Orwell was transferred to Katha as punishment for shooting an elephant. Davison also includes in the complete works a news item from the Rangoon Gazette, 22 March, 1926 which describes a Major E.C. Kenny shooting an elephant in similar circumstances.

See also: Burmese Days

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External links

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