In 1936, influential 20th Century political author George Orwell composed the famous essay “Shooting an Elephant.” In his essay, Orwell describes his feelings of how control and domination have two faces. Through his story about having to shoot an elephant, he express how the people who dominate others are in a way dominated by the same people as well. He refers to the dominators as being puppets pushed to and fro destroying their own freedom. In the story Orwell was a police officer for the British Empire in Burma. He bitterly hated his job and how the British treated and dominated the native people. He expressed how closely he was able to see how not only he but the other Englishmen felt that way but he felt there was nothing to be done but continue in the role they were given. “He wears a mask, and his face grows to fit it,” is what Orwell said to express his and the other Englishmen’s feelings. On a given day Orwell went to investigate an incident he received a phone call about. He had to take control of an elephant that had gone “must,” a state of violent, destructive frenzy that occurs in the rutting season of male elephants. In the pursuit of finding and taking control of the elephant he came to realize how much of an impact the natives had in his decision to shoot the elephant. Though personally he did not want to or feel it was necessary to shoot the elephant, he felt pushed by the natives to play the role of a sahib, “to appear resolute, to know his own mind and do definite things.” So Orwell shot the elephant, but the elephant did not die instantly. In fact, he suffered and struggled to die for a half hour. Orwell even tried shooting it several more times to speed up the process. After it was all done there were many different opinions about the shooting and if it was right. Most of his colleagues criticized him for destroying an expensive working elephant, but Orwell only did it so he would not look like a fool. Deciding to shoot the elephant saved him from the humiliation of not playing the role of the dominator and living up to his duties, but by shooting it Orwell also ended up compromising a bit of his own freedom and he didn’t do what he felt was right and just (Orwell).

 

 

Works Cited

Orwell, George. "Shooting an Elephant." George Orwell 1903-1950. K-1 Internet Publishing. Web. 21 April 2015. <http://www.k-1.com/Orwell/site/site/about.html>.