DJ CookeNovember 1, 2013

1st PeriodShooting an Elephant

George Orwell was born in Motihari, Bengal, India, in 1903 and died in 1950. Orwell’s original name was Eric Arthur Blair. Orwell is not only known for writing Shooting an Elephant, but also Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-four. He was said to have written his first poem at the age of four. Orwell married twice and had one son.

Author and Background information

The theme for this piece of literature would be: sometimes not always the best decision, is the right decision.

Theme

Shooting an Elephant starts off by Orwell referring to how the natives didn’t like the British, and how he was a member of the British police in India. In the town that he was stationed in, an elephant got loose during his period of “must.” During his period of must, he terrorized the town folk , and even killed a man. The elephant was spotted in a nearby rice field and Orwell had to make a hard decision; whether or not to kill the elephant. The crowd then had gathered, and through peer pressure and not wanted to be made fun of, he killed the elephant.

Plot

George Orwell – narrator, author, main character in the story

The guy who went and got the gun – contributed to killing the elephant

The imperial police – Orwell was a part of this

Characters

The conflict in Shooting an Elephant is an internal one that Orwell has because he doesn’t want to shoot the elephant, but because of the continuously intensifying crowd, Orwell was about to go insane because he didn’t know what to do.

Conflict

Because of the immense crowd, and Orwell didn’t want to look like a fool, Orwell decided to shoot the elephant.

Resolution

“When the white man turns tyrant, it is his own freedom that he destroys”

This means that if a person tries to stay on top too hard, he will fall.

Memorable Quote

What would have happened if Orwell didn’t shoot the elephant?

How did the man not see the elephant coming?

Why did the guy only bring five bullets?

Questions

I find it outrageous that the Imperial Police didn’t pay compensation to the owner of the elephant. I also find it outlandish that the guy who brought Orwell the gun only brought five bullets with him. If I were Orwell I would have just turned the other cheek and not have cared what the crowd said.

Additional Information