Short Essay 5 - Grade: A PDF

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Analytical Essay for content covered in class...

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Name: Ahmad Hanif Andrew ID: ahanif Course: Global Histories 79104-W Thursday, November 28, 2019.

What do you think is the most important lesson about the nature of European imperialism that Orwell is trying to tell us in his story about shooting an elephant in Burma? In his story “Shooting an Elephant” (1936) author George Orwell talks about the issue of European imperialism and the effects of colonization. Through the story the author conveys his disdain for imperialism as it not only affects the people being colonized but the colonizer as well. The elephant being shot is symbolic of the failure of European Imperialism and British colonial policies, which is reflective of Orwell’s lesson, the lack of popularity of European Imperialism amongst the colonized people and how it was enforced upon them. As George Orwell starts the story, we get to know of the hate that is embedded within the local Burmese population for imperialistic powers. This is evident in the example of the antiEuropean sentiment that Orwell quotes “The young Buddhist priests were the worst of all. There were several thousands of them in the town and none of them seemed to have anything to do except stand on street corners and jeer at Europeans.” The root of this hatred stems from the forcible nature of European Imperialism and how it was thrusted upon the locals which gave them little choice. George Orwell also expresses the fact that the colonizing powers had little regard for the local population. The ideology of European Imperialism was such that it looked to divide the Raj between us and them. The Imperialistic powers believed that they were superior and owned the land they colonized. This was evident in the reaction shown as the elephant was shot. The younger men in Europe believed that the narrator had done wrong shooting an elephant because they believed “it was worth more than any damn Coringhee coolie.” In addition to this, the general sense of privilege and ignorance in the minds of the Europeans was also apparent in the narrators attitudes after he killed the elephant, “I was very glad that the coolie had been killed; it put me legally in the right and it gave me a sufficient pretext for shooting the elephant.” This reflects the ignorance and disregard in the ideals of European Imperialism as well. Moreover, the privilege that the officers from the imperialistic powers enjoyed was also evident in the treatment that they got. The locals always served the higher powers, in this case, the coolies, orderlies were a few examples of the officers that served underneath the European officials. Orwell in this story also tells us the increasing dependence the locals had on the Europeans where they relied on them to solving their problems in this case, killing the elephant. The double standards of the colonizers is also shown as on the face of it the narrator might be happy killing the elephant and saving the locals from the it, but in reality the narrator did it all to “avoid looking like a fool.” In conclusion, Orwell’s story gives us various lessons on European Imperialism and its disdain in the eyes of the Burmese and the narrator. The most important lesson concerning the nature of European Imperialism Orwell tells us about is the general disregard it holds for the colonized area. This in turn leads to a feeling of superiority, privilege and lays down the roots of hatred....