Shooting an Elephant Study Guide
Shooting an Elephant: Themes
Shooting an Elephant: Characters
Shooting an Elephant: Analysis
Shooting an Elephant: Critical Essays
Shooting an Elephant: Multiple-Choice Quizzes
Shooting an Elephant: Questions & Answers
Shooting an Elephant: Introduction
Shooting an Elephant: Biography of George Orwell
Introduction to Shooting an Elephant
“Shooting an Elephant” is an essay by George Orwell. It was first published in New Writing magazine in 1936, and it is unknown whether the events it describes are fiction or not. Orwell served in a similar position to that described within the essay while living in Burma, and his anti-imperialist sentiments were well established. However, there is no definitive proof one way or another as to whether such an incident truly occured or whether the essay is a primarily fictitious exercise in pursuit of an anti-imperial cause.
One of the central ideas presented in the essay is that conquerors sacrifice their own freedom in order to subjugate others. The narrator notes that even prior to the incident with the elephant, he was already against the occupation of Burma by the British. However, the shooting of the elephant highlights his already developing beliefs: Though he is a part of the ruling class and is therefore responsible for maintaining order over the native Burmese people, the narrator finds himself powerless in the face of their calls for the elephant’s death. Power, then, is a double-edged sword. Those who seek to wield power over others must sacrifice their own freedom in favor of maintaining that unnatural hierarchy. Once someone has lost the respect of those they seek to rule over, disorder will follow.
A Brief Biography of George Orwell
George Orwell (1903–1950) was a socialist, born Eric Arthur Blair, who wrote some of the greatest criticisms of totalitarianism published in the twentieth century. He did so through honesty and direct personal experience, and is best known for his novels Animal Farm and 1984. The first is a fable written in simple language; the second is a dystopian novel full of brutal descriptions and dense theoretical discussions of politics. Both novels methodically expose the dangers of the totalitarian state. Orwell is also known as one of the greatest essayists of the twentieth century. “Shooting an Elephant” and “Politics and the English Language” are still widely read today and still offer powerful statements on the nature of ethics, responsibility, politics, and writing.
Frequently Asked Questions about Shooting an Elephant
Shooting an Elephant
How does the Burmese crowd react when they see Orwell approach the elephant with his rifle?
In the story, Orwell is a sub-divisional police officer in Moulmein, Burma. He serves at the pleasure of the British Empire, and his position bestows him with great authority and influence....
Shooting an Elephant
What is the elephant death scene in "Shooting an Elephant" most likely a metaphor for?
There are a couple of ways to read and understand the elephant death scene in "Shooting an Elephant." From a psychological point of view, the narrator definitely feels that killing the elephant is...
Shooting an Elephant
What is the principal cultural conflict in "Shooting an Elephant"?
The principal cultural conflict in "Shooting an Elephant" is between the colonized Burmese people and their British colonizers. At the time the story is set, the 1920s, Burma was a part of India,...
Shooting an Elephant
What is the meaning of "when the white man turns tyrant"?
The phrase "when the white man turns tyrant" alludes to the British Empire's oppressive imperial rule in Burma and the transformation experienced by agents of the colonial regime. The British waged...
Shooting an Elephant
How would you describe George Orwell's feelings about killing the elephant in his essay "Shooting an Elephant"?
The narrator, who is likely to be George Orwell, feels anguish, self-disgust, and remorse over shooting the elephant. If we are told to live with integrity by being true to ourselves, killing the...
Shooting an Elephant
Who is the audience of "Shooting an Elephant"?
The audience of "Shooting an Elephant" is the British people back at home in the early 1930s who have been propagandized to believe in the glory of the British empire. Orwell, like many...
Shooting an Elephant
Who is the antagonist in "Shooting an Elephant"?
Assuming that Orwell himself is the narrator and protagonist, the most immediately obvious choice for the role of antagonist in "Shooting an Elephant" is the elephant itself. Orwell shoots and...
Shooting an Elephant
What is Orwell's inner conflict, and how does he deal with it?
Orwell's narrator's inner conflict in "Killing an Elephant" is whether to be true to himself and lose face by walking away from killing an elephant or doing the socially acceptable thing, which is...
Shooting an Elephant
What happens after Orwell starts firing at the elephant?
In the story, the narrator is reluctant to shoot the elephant. However, he does so after realizing that his reputation among the local populace depends on him doing so. To shoot the elephant, the...
Shooting an Elephant
What does the elephant symbolize?
The elephant symbolizes the sacrifice of the innocent to the British imperial system. The elephant has gone on a hormone-induced rampage, but by the time the narrator gets to it, the creature has...
Shooting an Elephant
What damage does the elephant cause in the town?
The narrator first learns through a phone call from a sub-inspector that an elephant is "ravaging" a bazaar nearby. Riding on horseback on his way to see what is going on, the narrator is told more...
Shooting an Elephant
Why does the crowd want Orwell to shoot the elephant?
In "Shooting an Elephant," George Orwell says that he had no intention of shooting the elephant, until he saw the crowd. He had called for his gun as a precautionary measure, but when he saw how...
Shooting an Elephant
Which of the three positions stated in the final paragraph does Orwell expect his readers to agree with?
The three positions stated in the final paragraph are as follows. The elephant's owner was furious that Orwell had shot the elephant. The older Europeans in Moulmein said Orwell had done the right...
Shooting an Elephant
What is the mood of "Shooting an Elephant"?
The mood of "Shooting an Elephant" might best be described as one of carefully controlled anger. This seems to have been the mood with which Orwell approached his duties in the Burmese Imperial...
Shooting an Elephant
What rhetorical devices are used in "Shooting an Elephant"?
Rhetorical devices are persuasive devices. Orwell, in this essay, wants to persuade us that imperialism is a system that is destructive towards everyone involved in it. One way he does this is...
Shooting an Elephant
What is the irony in "Shooting an Elephant"?
George Orwell begins his essay (sometimes classed as a short story) "Shooting an Elephant" with a description of his ambiguous status in Moulmein, lower Burma. In the story, the narrator is a...
Shooting an Elephant
What is the main idea of "Shooting an Elephant"?
An episode in which he feels forced to kill an elephant against his will crystallizes for the narrator everything that is wrong with the imperialist system in Burma that he is a part of. Although...
Shooting an Elephant
What is the value of the elephant in "Shooting an Elephant"?
An elephant is a valuable commodity in Burma, as the narrator notes. He states, as he is faced with the task of needlessly shooting an elephant that was once rampaging but is now peaceful, that...
Shooting an Elephant
Is "Shooting an Elephant" an allegory?
Orwell's story is not an allegory in the traditional sense, but it can be read in a similar way. An allegory is a symbolic story in which the main elements have specific meanings that relate to a...
Shooting an Elephant
What is Orwell’s message in “Shooting an Elephant”?
One message that George Orwell might be trying to get across in “Shooting an Elephant” is the ease in which humans can be coopted by society or groups of people. In the story, Orwell presents his...
