If you wish to, you may use this post to discuss "Shooting an Elephant."
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I really enjoyed reading Shooting an elephant and believe that it was ironic that the narrator was so worried and focused on how the Indians perceived him because he had more power than them. He was british and a policeman. Also, I feel that the elephant was very symbolic. I believe that it might had represented the people of India since the elephant keep trying to stay alive and that the narrator represented the British Colony.
ReplyDeleteThis essay was somewhat funny. The narrator of the story is a real people pleaser and would rather entertain people than to follow what he thinks is the right thing to do. Also, the way the author describes the pain and agony that the elephant felt was a bit disturbing. He uses sensory detail and makes a connection with the reader by describing pains that we have all felt before. If this essay has any moral at all in it, I think it would be to follow what your heart tells you or what you think is just instead of what others want.
ReplyDeleteI'm pleased you enjoyed the irony in Orwell's writing. This is an autobiographical essay. He served his country in Burma. What is the political orientation of this essay? Why does
ReplyDeletethis man feel so uneasy about what he has done? Why did he shoot the elephant? Would you have shot the elephant? Why did he not want to shoot the elephant? What do you think of his ambivalence? How does he feel toward the natives of Burma? How do the natives feel toward him? What thoughts does he have about the British, his countrymen? Is he serving the British Empire by shooting the elephant? How so? What does he think of himself? What does this essay reveal about imperialism?
Since this essay was written in retrospect, we are presented with the thoughts and emotions of a young man as he faces a duty for the empire he represents. The essay also distills the wisdom of an older man who has gained perspective and an understanding about the event and what it really signifies.
I really enjoyed writing this essay. After rereading the two poems, I stated to see the difference between them,how they both have different literary elements and they different tones between them. One of them is more optimistic and the other is more pessimistic.
ReplyDeleteThis essay to me was very interseting. What I found most interesting is the fact that alhough he didn't want to shoot the elephant he did it anyway, out of pressure. To me it seemed like he didn't want to make himself look bad in front of all those people. I sort of of felt bad for the elephant becuase it was so unexpected for him. What I found most interesting aboout the elephant's death was that he kept on breathing after he was shot. He kept on striving to live. I don't recall the amount of times the elephant was shot, but it shows how powerful he was. As for the narrator, he feels that if he didnt shoot the elephant he would be weak, which is what the other people thought. In fact I beleive the elephant is way more strong minded then the narrator.
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ReplyDeleteKatherine,
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry you didn't post your comment; however, when you delete your comment,
either repost it within 24 hours or permanently remove it from the class blog. That goes for everyone including me. We don't want clutter. Okay?
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, Orwell's short story was not only amusing but, it gave the reader the critical position in what to do in a certain situation.I only imagine if I were to be determine to choose between power and guilt. From the beginning of the story, a villager was killed by a rather upset elephant which was only a temporary rage. Legally, the Europeans, in this case the author himself, can kill the animal if the owner has no control. But, the issue is that no matter how complicated the situation may be, the narrator was in a unscaled position in which he wanted to prove a true hero to others. But is he a hero within himself? He held the rifle and mentions that, what if it might not be the best thing to do. Why would the author include doubts with his own story? The answer is quite simple, he is still underestimating himself as someone wrong who did a wrongful thing. Killing an animal might be easy to do, especially when a crowd full of defenseless people cheer for you to do such thing. However, Orwell wants to give the reader the experience that he has been through. Obviously he couldn't move on from this incident because he, himself feels guilty even though among the eye of society he was the almighty. This story symbolizes modern times. Examples are: peer pressure, depression, and other issues that complicate humans over all with in their own society. So what can we all learn from this story between a man and an elephant? The society versus you is the clear indication for what might symbolize reality versus illusion. The final question to the reader is: What would you do to the elephant? Shoot it or let it free? What ever makes it seem fair to you counts but, on the other hand what will the others presume of you? The elephant asked for his own death. If nobody would have died, then the story was never to be written at all but, it happened for a reason. The reason being is because we the people need to figure out the pressures that society and yourself need to overcome. If not, then we wouldn't be discussing this matter.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing is that, Maurice mentions about the symbolic value through the elephant in the story. what I believe the main theme is the loss of innocence. The reason is because the narrator previously told us that he was "young and ill-educated" and by killing this elephant he was able to notice the reality between Europeans and Indians.
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